MATTHIAS
I & II

The story of the Engel family, gathered from old documents, letters, and photographs is certainly incomplete, but I hope to add much more with the help of readers. Please note that in some documents the name Matthias is written with two tt, sometimes with one t, and I will do likewise in this document.

The Engel family tree shows that the first Matthias was married three times. Two of his sons lived in Traben-Trarbach, Richard in Trarbach, Matthias in Traben. They had different mothers. Being married multiple times was not unusual. The death of a wife, especially when children were involved, often made remarriage necessary.
 

While researching I found information I had not known before, that had not been known until 2024. It makes me wonder how much else is out there. Placing his work in chronological order makes gaps in creativity and productivity quite questionable. The discovery of a document in the Melzheim Mausoleum a few years ago convinces me that more structures should most likely be attributed to him.
 

Of the first Matthias Engel, only his work on the war memorial (Kriegerdenkmal) is known. He lived in Traben-Trarbach for many years, was married three times, had children. In all that time he only was involved in the building of the Kriegerdenkmal? That’s rather impossible. 
 

The second Matthias Engel participated in the building of structures across diverse architectural styles, each requiring expertise and knowledge. However, his name appears only on one building, the Imperial Post Office. Where are the others? Completely new to me is the discovery in the Melzheim Mausoleum, opened in 2024 that reveals his leadership in its construction. Other similar monuments, built by Engel must be somewhere nearby, never mentioned. But where are they and which structures are they?
 

I. The First Matthias Engel in Traben-Trarbach, the war memorial, and childhood memories.
 

The first Matthias Engel lived from 1824 to 1890 in Spangdahlem, Eichelhutte/Eisenschmitt, and Traben-Trarbach. He was an iron worker, stonemason and builder. I have no further knowledge of his professional activity other than his work on the war memorial in 1875,
 

The war memorial in Trarbach commemorates the fallen of the town in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71. It is located above the town, below the ruins of the Grevenburg castle.  The memorial was likely commissioned by the municipality or a veterans’ association, as was customary at the time, and still serves as a place of remembrance and historical reflection.

In my childhood, on Easter, May Day, Ascension Day, and Pentecost, a lone trumpeter stood at the foot of the memorial and played sorrowful, emotion-stirring melodies.
 

On walks to Grevenburg castle, past the war memorial, my grandmother showed me the name of her grandfather, my great great grandfather, at the base of the pedestal. We removed the weeds through the wrought iron fence as best we could to keep his name visible, but as my grandmother aged, after I moved away, and the path worsened, the weeds were free to grow tall and strong.
 

After many years of neglect, the brush had grown so high that the names of the builders were no longer visible. When the memorial was finally renovated a few years ago, the inscription on the pedestal was either buried in the surrounding soil or removed.

Perhaps someone has documents or photos showing the names of the builders on the pedestal and can share them with me.

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II. The Second Matthias Engel

 

The second Matthias Engel was the eldest son from the second marriage. He lived from 1857 to 1923 and followed in his father's footsteps. He participated in the building of structures in the styles of brick industrial architecture, Mosel architecture, neoromanesque funerary architecture, art nouveau, and eclecticism.