Stadtmuseum Simeonstift | Das Erbe Roms

The Simeonstift Trier City Museum explores, in the exhibition “The Legacy of Rome: Visions and Myths in Art,” the exhibition explores the traces left by the fall of the Roman Empire in the formation of various political entities. Visitors are guided through the history of the mythologization of the empire’s fall up to the 19th century.

In the centuries that followed, the leaders of a wide variety of nations increasingly evolved into legendary heroes: Arminius in Germany, Vercingetorix in France, Boudicca in England, and others became central figures in the slow formation of their respective nations. The sagas of the Nibelungs, Dietrich von Bern, and Uther Pendragon reimagined these events in a legendary manner, thereby contributing to the formation of identity among modern European peoples. The burgeoning nationalism led to numerous imaginative depictions of these heroes, who defended “their” country against “Roman oppression.”

235 Media designed and implemented several interactive media stations. The “Heroes Against Rome” station, for example, offers visitors the choice between three historical figures, which can be placed as RFID objects in a recessed area of the table, thereby triggering video clips on an associated monitor.