Hello beautiful people,

Traben-Trarbach is a village that is crossed by the Mosel-river. Here you get to know six reasons to visit this place which you need to see.

1. Goethe’s House

The probably most famous thing in Traben-Trarbach – the reason to go see the place and the thing that makes Traben-Trarbach famous now and forever – is Goethe’s House. Of course this building is not owned by the historical German poet and politician (1749-1832). The official website of Traben-Trarbach, which you can check out here, entitles the building that is formerly known as the Mid-Mosel-Museum (Mittelmosel-Museum) in the Baroque-Villa Böcking – typically Mosel (Barockvilla Böcking) the house “where Goethe has once been a guest” (to be more precise in November 1792) “and the Prussian King [Friedrich-Wilhelm IV.] took Quartier“. In 1837 the then Prussian crown-prince was friendly welcomed in the baroque-villa and was given a gift from the famous celebrity-label Quartier. You can see this gift as well as discover many other important items, furniture and stories during your visit of this museum in this famous building that was constructed in the Roman times and survived a fire.

2. Town Hall

I know, this is getting quite old but it is like an unwritten rule “never leave a place without having seen the town hall”. Like this you know that you are not entirely lost and also have a point of orientation for yourself especially if you visit a place for the first time and do not really have an idea of what to expect (my husband and his parents as natives sure did know a few key facts and found Traben-Trarbach worthy visiting after we had visited almost everything around the Mosel-region but in the first place just because it was something new and simply beautiful – another interesting fact following at a later point in this article). Walking towards the town hall and having parked the car almost at the other side of the town had something quite adventurous and made us see almost the whole place.

3. Grapevines

Having been spending a short week or a longer weekend at least once a year for seven years at the Mosel I have already crossed a lot of grapevines and vineyards and I have got to tell you that the view always fascinates me anew. Tel-Aviv has its umbrellas, Vienna its castle gardens and Traben-Trarbach has its grapevines covering the small streets in between the houses. I have seen them already almost all around the Mosel, check out my article about the Mosel here, but I must stay that my favorite view was definitely the grapevines of Traben-Trarbach. Apart from nearly being some kind of regional symbol wine-enthusiasts all over the world meet the very origin of their preferred beverage. Would this be the ideal scenery to enjoy a glass of wine surrounded by grapevines? At Goethe’s House you also see the pattern reconstructed at the banister.

4. The Architecture

It was already proven when I posed in between the walls of the Porta Nigra in Trier eight years ago: people – especially foreigners from western countries (such as the U.S.) love the architecture of the Mosel-region. Historical, unique and spectacular castles, like Cochem which you can check out here, ruins and houses which you could not imagine to live in nowadays grace every little place along the Mosel-river in their very own way. Hereby the buildings do not necessarily have to have a big meaning such as being a Goethe’s House to be an outstanding beauty. Even average houses already make a whole unique beauty to watch and want to take photos.

5. The Mosel

There is hardly a place where you can observe the Mosel better than in Traben-Trarbach (if you are not sitting behind a window in a mode of transport). Here you are located right where the Mosel is passing through as Traben-Trarbach have originally been two separated places divided by the Mosel but in the end connected by bridges built above the river. The Mosel is probably the German Mississippi being as famous for its shape. Every time I do observe the ribbonshaped river I have got to remember how in geography-class we learned about German rivers (which is quite a tough topic if you are not a complete enthusiast) and the Mosel always being the most memorable one for its shape. It is like a fairy tale of book turning into reality.

6. The Bridge Gate (Brückentor)

Traben-Trarbach is the composition of the two places Traben and Trarbach. They are divided by the Mosel crossing the place and however connected by the bridge behind the bridge gate (Ger.: Brückentor). This is the landmark of the town. The bridge that unites Traben and Trarbach was built at the end of the 19th century in 1898 designed by the architect Bruno Möhring. So that originally Traben and Trarbach were united to the new town Traben-Trarbach in 1904. However the bridge was destroyed during the last days of World War II. So that after the war Traben and Trarbach were finally united in 1969. Trarbach (the biggest town within the circle of Zell) has been left without an administration since 1884 and had been administrated by the residents. Therefore the fusion occurred. Shortly afterwards also the the administrated was rebuilt.

Traben-Trarbach: Divided-United

I was impressed myself how much culture and history this inconspicuous place like Traben-Trarbach is holding. Apart from the fact that it is simply a beautiful place to visit surrounded by a whole lot of green nature – and would surely be a popular place for wine-enthusiasts – but furthermore Traben-Trarbach is famous for its health spa. Even if you would arrive there by car I would suggest you to walk the whole town as there is a lot to see and discover behind every corner and just in case you catch a hot summer day I suggest you to take some cooling breaks in one of the various cafés having a cup of ice-cream or equip yourself with a small bottle of cold water, or both.
Hint: The streets of Traben-Trarbach are definitely suitable for smaller travelling prams.

Love, Johanna