Traben-Trarbach (German pronunciation: [ˌtraːbn̩ ˈtraːɐ̯bax]) on the Middle Moselle is a town in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde and a state-recognized climatic spa (Luftkurort). The city lies in the so-called "Valley of Dawn".

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Traben-Trarbach
Town
Traben on the Moselle
Coat of arms
Location of Traben-Trarbach within Bernkastel-Wittlich district
Traben-Trarbach Show map of Germany Traben-Trarbach Show map of Rhineland-Palatinate
Coordinates: 49°57′04″N 7°07′00″E
Country	Germany
State	Rhineland-Palatinate
District	Bernkastel-Wittlich
Municipal assoc.	Traben-Trarbach
Government
• Mayor (2019–24)	Patrice Langer[1] (SPD)
Area
• Total	31.35 km2 (12.10 sq mi)
Elevation	110 m (360 ft)
Population  (2021-12-31)[2]
• Total	5,591
• Density	180/km2 (460/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	56841
Dialling codes	06541
Vehicle registration	WIL
Website	www.traben-trarbach.de

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As early as 830, the Aacher Hof (estate) had a documentary mention. Emperor Louis the Pious, Charlemagne's son, donated Traben with all its rights and privileges, and its appurtenances, namely Litzig, Rißbach, Irmenach and Beuren, to the minster at Aachen (Aachen Foundation of Mary), where German kings were crowned.

In the 17th century, the town was part of what was then known as Rhenish Franconia, a strategic area fought over by France and the Holy Roman Empire. Seized by France in the 1683–1684 War of the Reunions, Traben was the location for the new fortress of Mont-Royal, constructed by Vauban, the leading military engineer of the period.^[3] The main ramparts were 30 metres (98 ft) high and 3 km (1.9 mi) long, with space for 12,000 troops; despite the enormous cost, it was demolished when the French withdrew following the 1697 Treaty of Ryswick and only the lower foundations are visible today.^[4]

All today's Stadtteile – with the exception of a part of Kautenbach – belonged to the Hintere (English: rear, back, i.e. hinterland; Upper) County of Sponheim, whose main centre was Trarbach. After the comital family of Sponheim died out, the inheriting landholders formed the County into a Palatine-Badish condominium and had their residences elsewhere in the County, namely in Birkenfeld and Kastellaun. Trarbach was also the seat of a Palatine oberamt, the Oberamt Trarbach.

In 1816, the area around Trarbach was annexed to Prussia, with Trarbach itself becoming the seat of a Bürgermeisterei ("Mayoralty"). Against expectations, however, Zell, rather than Trarbach, was made the district seat, even though the latter was the biggest place in the new District of Zell. The Bürgermeisterei of Trarbach was dissolved in 1884, and Trarbach no longer belonged to any Bürgermeisterei. It was, rather, administered thereafter in personal union with the new Bürgermeisterei of Traben. In 1898, the first bridge was built between the two centres, one built to plans drawn up by Bruno Möhring. This bridge, which was blown up in the dying days of the Second World War in 1945, was at the same time also the first roadbridge between Bernkastel and Koblenz. The next bridges were built only in 1924, in Cochem, and between 1951 and 1953 in Zell. In the late 19th century, Traben and Trarbach were also, together with Reichenhall, the first municipalities in Germany that, instead of having gaslamps, installed electric street lighting from the Edison Company (today AEG), although the odd stretch of street in Berlin had already been outfitted with electric lighting. In 1904, the municipality of Traben and the town of Trarbach merged to become the town of Traben-Trarbach. The next changes came on 7 June 1969, when the municipalities of Kautenbach and Wolf were amalgamated with Traben-Trarbach. One year later, the Verbandsgemeinde of Traben-Trarbach was newly formed. It has its administrative seat in the town; Traben-Trarbach is a member municipality of the Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality.

As they belonged to the "Hinder" County of Sponheim, the Reformation was introduced into Traben and Trarbach, with the town remaining even today mainly Evangelical, even though newcomers, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries, have raised the Catholic share of the population markedly. The Evangelical Church's leadership in the Hinder County of Sponheim was at first exercised from the Birkenfeld chancellery. Then, in 1672, a Hinder-Sponheim Lutheran consistory was instituted, whose duties were transferred to the consistory in Zweibrücken in 1776.

In 1818, the Synod of Trarbach was established, whose seat remained in Trarbach until 1972. Because of its size – the synod encompassed the districts of Bernkastel, Zell and Trier – this was divided in 1825. The outlying centre of Wolf belonged until 1892 to the Synod of Trier, which itself, until 1843, bore the name "Synod of Wolf" as that was the superintendent's home.

Traben-Trarbach is home to a large number of wineries including Robert Heuser, F. W. Langguth Erben, Richard Böcking, Ulrich Langguth, Martin Müllen, Weiser-Künstler and Daniel Vollenweider.

• View of Traben from the bridge to Trarbach
• View of Trarbach on the Moselle's right bank
• View from the landing stage
• The town of Traben-Trarbach and the Grevenburg on the Moselle. Aquatint by Karl Bodmer 1841.
• Outlying centre of Wolf
• Trarbach – town and palace. Copper engraving by G. Bodenehr 1704.

This section does not cite any sources. (April 2024)

• Werner Beumelburg (1899–1963), one of the best known authors of National Socialist times, honorary citizen of Traben-Trarbach
• Stefan Bockelmann (b. 1976), actor (Unter uns)
• Heinrich Böcking (1785–1865), mining adviser and mayor in Saarbrücken
• Eduard Boecking (1802–1870), law professor in Bonn and Berlin (Roman civil law; translation of Ausonius's Mosella)
• Yvonne Burbach (b. 1975), actress (Verbotene Liebe)
• Nikolaus Elffen (1626–1706), Jesuit from Protestant Traben (panis coeli)
• Hans-Willi Ellermeier, sportsman, waterskier, German champion in slalom 1967, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1981
• Oliver Lucas (b. 1966), sportsman, motorboat racer, twice world and four times European champion
• Jost Maurer (fl. 1498, 1518), German mason, architect and construction entrepreneur
• Marc Mitscher (1887–1947), US admiral, grandson of Andreas Mitscher (1821–1905) from Traben
• Martin Molz (b. 1971), former professional footballer (1. FC Nürnberg and 1. FC Saarbrücken)
• Pete Namlook (1960–2012), ambient and electronic-music producer and composer, and founder of Fax Records (FAX +49-69/450464) music label
• Paul Emanuel Spieker (1826–1896), German architect (Berlin University Library)
• Philipp Adam Storck (1778–1822), teacher, 1810 principal of the trade school in Hagen, from 1817 professor in Bremen (Perspectives on the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen)
• Johann von Trarbach, Renaissance sculptor
• Dennis Wheatley (1897–1977), novelist, lived in Trarbach and worked at the Julius Kayser Winery in 1913
• Maik Zirbes (b. 1990), professional basketball player (KK Crvena Zvezda)

• Dietmar Flach, Günter Böse (publisher): Traben-Trarbach. Geschichte einer Doppelstadt. Traben-Trarbach 1984.
• Johann Hofmann: Trorbachische Ehren-Säul. Faks.-Nachdr. der Ausg. Stuttgart 1669. Cäsar, Traben-Trarbach 1968.
• Arne Houben (publisher): Mit Carl Bodmer von Trier nach Koblenz. Eine Moselreise um das Jahr 1830; Alf/Mosel: Rhein-Mosel-Verlag, 2006; ISBN 978-3-89801-033-7 (The book contains 31 colour reproductions of coloured aquatints by Karl Bodmer, whose originals can be seen at the Mittelmoselmuseum Traben-Trarbach).
• Ernst Schütz: Trarbach in alter Zeit. Bilder aus der Geschichte der Stadt von der Reformation bis zur Niederlegung der Grevenburg; Traben-Trarbach, 1909
• Albert Rosenkranz (publisher): Das Evangelische Rheinland. Ein rheinisches Gemeinde- und Pfarrerbuch, Band 1: Die Gemeinden; Schriftenreihe des Vereins für Rheinische Kirchengeschichte, 3; Düsseldorf: Kirche in der Zeit, 1956.