Traben-Trarbach is not a typical Moselle village. It is a double city with Traben on one bank and Trarbach on the other bank. Trarbach was completely burned down in 1857. So you will find few typical Moselle houses there. The entire village was rebuilt in Art Nouveau style, most of it by architect Bruno Möhring. The only original remains is the beautiful gate on the bridge on the Trarbach side. In Traben you can visit Mont Royal. A fortress built by Vauban during the time of Louis XIV, of which large parts still remain. On the other side, in Trarbach, you have the Grevenburcht, whose remaining facade is the sign of the city. You need strong calf muscles for both sights!
Where is Traben-Trarbach?
Traben-Trarbach is a double city on the Moselle with Traben on one bank and Trarbach on the other. Traben-Trarbach is located about sixty kilometers north of Trier and about twenty kilometers above Bernkastel-Kues.
Traben-Trarbach
Traben, the side with the Mont Royal and Trarbach, the side with the Grevenburcht
Traben
Traben was first mentioned in documents as early as 820. Yet Traben always remained a village. It was only in the nineteenth century, when Trarbach almost completely burned down, that Traben gained a dominant position. Thanks to its location on a peninsula, Traben offered better expansion opportunities for the wine trade. In 1883 a connection to the railway network was added and the people of Trabe were also the first in Germany to enjoy electric street lighting.
Trarbach
Despite the fact that Trarbach is only found in writings in 1142, this part developed better than Traben. In 1350, the part on the right bank was elevated to a city by the Count of Sponheim. He also started the construction of the Grevenburcht. In 1794, the French Revolutionary troops invaded. In 1857 a devastating fire destroyed almost the entire city.
Traben-Trarbach
In 1899 a bridge was built over the Moselle between Traben and Trarbach. Yet it took until 1904 before both sides were united in Traben-Trarbach. To this day, Traben-Trarbach is characterized by a very special architecture.
A beautiful gate has been preserved on the Trarbach side. It was completed in 1899 by the Berlin Art Nouveau architect Bruno Möhring. There is now a wine cellar in the Brückenpoort. The original iron arch bridge, also designed by Bruno Möhring, was blown up in 1945.
A visit to Trarbach
The Grevenburg
The Grevenburg was built in 1350 by Count Johann III. Until 1437 the castle was the seat of the Count of Sponheim. During the various wars in Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the castle changed hands thirteen times. In 1734 the castle was conquered and destroyed by the French. The destruction was too great to rebuild the castle and today only the facade of the commander’s former home remains. High on the mountainside it is the sign of the Trarbach district. A scale model of the castle and excavated objects can be viewed in the Mittelmosel Museum. The ruins of the castle itself can be visited for free. It is quite a climb to the top. In addition to the facade, there is also a terrace where you can enjoy something and information boards about the castle.
The Mittelmosel Museum
This museum is located in the Baroque villa Böcking, on the corner of Enkircher Strasse and Moselstrasse. Goethe, the Prussian King Frederick William IV and the French poet Apollinaire once stayed in this stately Baroque villa. The museum now houses valuable furniture and many art objects in more than twenty exhibition rooms. You will learn a lot about the history of Traben-Trarbach.
Out and about in Traben
Lorettahaus and Imperial Post Office
Anyone who crosses the bridge from Trarbach and enters Traben will see an imposing building complex on the right. The Lorettahaus and the Imperial Post Office date from the period 1906-1908. Bernhard Wendhut, a sculptor from Traben-Trarbach, provided the rich decorations on the building.
The market square
There is a fountain on the market square, designed in 1907 by Bernhard Wendhut. On the fountain you will find the Moselblümchen”