Luxembourg: A modern country with deep roots

With high-tech buildings running alongside historic monuments, the capital of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, Luxembourg-City, represents a rich tapestry of contrasts and urban experiences. A Unesco heritage walk guides you through the city’s old quarters and its fortress, a recognised World Heritage Site since 1994.

Over the valley lies the contemporary Kirchberg district. Formerly an agricultural area, it has been ever-evolving since the 1970s and is home to EU institutions, the Luxembourg Philharmonic concert hall designed by French architect Christian de Portzamparc, and the MUDAM – Museum of Modern Art designed by the late Chinese- American architect Ieoh Ming Pei.

Luxembourg is European by nature, especially in its border regions. Esch-sur-Alzette is the capital of the south of Luxembourg which borders France. The area’s cultural offer is being uplifted by the countless projects underway for its year as Esch 2022 - European Capital of Culture. Today, more than 120 nationalities live in this Minett area, the old industrial heart of Europe, where the change from an industrial society to a knowledge society is already a reality.

Back to the future

From the puffing steam train via imposing blast furnaces to gloomy mines where miners once toiled: the Minett is where it is possible to feel the spirit of Luxembourg’s steel past. The men worked hard in the Land of the Red Rocks, including many who came to Luxembourg from the south to work and find a new homeland. They mined iron ore, or “Minett” in Luxembourgish, hewed galleries in the rock, rode rattling railways into the core of the hills and brought rock to the surface in wagons. The iron ore was washed, mixed, heated, and made into steel. Soot, sweat, coal, heat, steel – these were the ingredients of economic success in southern Luxembourg.

From the middle of the 19th century onward, steel was exported from Luxembourg worldwide, where it is still used – be it in the foundations of the One World Trade Center in New York City, the world’s tallest skyscraper, Burj Khalifa (828 m. / 2,716.5 ft) in Dubai, or more recently Europe’s tallest building, the Lakhta Tower (462 m. / 1,516 feet)) in St Petersburg.

The extraction through to the late 1970s and treatment of the iron and the subsequent abandonment of the operation left its mark on the landscape. Today, this densely populated territory has recovered its biodiversity, features historical heritage in need of preservation, and is the site of important urban renovation projects.

The redeveloped district of Esch-Belval is home to cutting-edge research centres, start-ups, the University of Luxembourg campus and scientific institutes integrated into the new urban concept known as the City of Sciences. The blast furnaces have lain dormant since 1997 and where they once spewed smoke, it is on research and development that hopes of achievement are now pinned. Amid the modern architectural marvels, the rusty, weather-beaten blast furnaces are a constant reminder of the roots of the country’s success.

The southern region is characterised by a high level of biodiversity, where you can find flowering orchids and lush diverse greenery next to old mining sites and red earth. As of 2020, this fascinating landscape is classified as the Minett Unesco Biosphere reserve, taking the position of Luxembourg’s fourth Unesco world heritage site.