Steipe, Gothic reception building at Main Market, Trier, Germany
The Steipe is a Gothic building on the Main Market in Trier, rising four floors with pointed arch arcades at street level, a crenellated roofline, and a steep hipped roof. A square stair tower marks the northwest corner and gives the structure its most distinctive silhouette against the square.
The building went up around 1430 and served the citizens of Trier as a place for celebrations and civic gatherings. After complete destruction in December 1944, it was rebuilt between 1968 and 1970 following the medieval design.
Between the ground floor arcades stand figures of Trier's patron saints James, Helena, Peter, and Paul, with two armored knights on the floor above. These sculptures give the facade a ceremonial character that visitors can read like an open book as they cross the square.
The building stands right on the Main Market and is easy to reach on foot from anywhere in the old town. The Ratskeller Zur Steipe restaurant on the ground floor is a good option for a break without leaving the square.
The square stair tower on the northwest corner is the only piece of original masonry from before 1944 that still stands. Touching its stones means touching something genuinely medieval in a building that is otherwise a 20th-century reconstruction.
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