Commemoration - Bronze steles for victims of the rampage in Trier stand
Approximately three and a half years after the lethal rampage in Trier, the central memorial site for the victims takes form. On the bustling square near the Porta Nigra, large bronze steles have been erected - in memory of the victims. "The relatives of the victims have said: 'This is the right place. We want to be in the middle of it'", said Trier Mayor Wolfram Leibe (SPD). It is their wish that "people pass by, stop, notice, that people were senselessly killed here".
The works at the memorial site should be completed by the end of the week. The dedication ceremony is scheduled for December 1, the fourth anniversary of the rampage. On December 1, 2020, a rampage driver with a SUV plowed through the pedestrian zone and directly killed five people and injured dozens. In 2021, another man died from injuries sustained during the incident. At the end of February of this year, there was another death due to his injuries.
"A Place of Empathy"
The 2.80-meter-high steles, placed in a transparent kiosk-like structure, are designed for people to enter. It should be "a place where one feels empathetic towards the victims" and at the same time "a place of common sense," said artist Clas Steinmann. In the middle of the steles, there are small niches for candles or mementos.
A large plaque will be placed on a large boulder in front of the steles, said the city spokesperson. The plaque should be installed for the dedication ceremony. There are already other memorial sites in Trier since the third anniversary: In the pedestrian zone, various embedded memorial plaques remind of the victims since then.
Judgment not yet legally binding
The rampage driver was sentenced to life imprisonment in a new trial in May for multiple murder and multiple attempted murder. The Trier Regional Court also determined the aggravating circumstances of the crime and ordered the 54-year-old to be housed in a closed psychiatric clinic. The judgment is not yet legally binding.
- The memorial site for the victims of the 2020 rampage in Trier's pedestrian zone is being constructed in Rhineland-Palatinate, overseen by Mayor Wolfram Leibe of the SPD.
- The memorial site, located near the Porta Nigra and filled with large bronze steles, is a place of remembrance and empathy, as stated by artist Clas Steinmann.
- The city spokesperson revealed that a large plaque will be installed on a boulder before the memorial site's dedication ceremony on December 1, marking the fourth anniversary of the rampage.
- Regarding the rampage, a man was sentenced to life imprisonment for multiple murder and attempted murder in a new trial at the Trier Regional Court, but the judgment is not yet legally binding.
- Trier has already commemorated the victims with various memorial sites, including embedded plaques in the pedestrian zone, which have been present since the third anniversary of the tragic incident.
