An historical tour of Luxembourg’s Fortifications
A guided tour by David Heal for the OUSL on 13th October, 2012
We covered much more than fortifications in our four-hour walk. Life and death in the city, water supply, Treaty of London, Roman roads, Roman signal station, road maintenance depot, flour (or rather grain) store, the remnants of Mansfeld’s palace and the grave of the unknown soldier and of the German veteran, confidence trickster and folk hero, William Voigt aka Captain von Köpenich.
Thirteen Oxonians plus David Heal started the tour at the top of the Bock, the site we were informed of a Roman signalling post which could see Dalheim in one direction and Heisdorf and Mersch in the other - a chain of stations which covered the Roman empire. Luxembourg lies on the crossing of two Roman roads, one from Rheims to Trier and the other from Metz to Liége though it started in Marseilles. The road from Reims to Trier came by way of the Grand Rue. Strassen is named after the Roman name for a military road and Kiem is the Celtic name for road thus, David informed us that Rue de Kiem, Strassen is another way of saying Road of Road, Road!
It was Siegfried I, Count of Ardennes (grandson of Charlemagne?) who traded some of his ancestral lands with the monks of the Abbey of St. Maximin in Trier in 963 for an ancient, supposedly Roman fort named Lucilinburhuc on the Bock in 963 and is said to have inspired Wagner’s hero (Rhein maidens = Melusina[1]).
Over the centuries, Siegfried's fortified castle on the Bock was considerably enlarged and protected with additional walls and defences. In 987, the castle chapel was built at the nearby Fish Market. Today's Church of St Michel stands on the same site. It was damaged, destroyed, captured and rebuilt on several occasions as the Burgundians (1473), the Habsburgs (1477), and the Spaniards (1555) attacked and took the fortress.
The 15th Century wall followed the route of Boulevard Royal. We touched on some major historical points in the history of Luxembourg including the 1648 siege under Louis XIV when the town was taken by Vauban and subsequently the defences were substantially strengthened.
David explained the difference between the Alt Munster and the Neu Munster. The two-storey bridge connecting the Bock to the old town was an important component of the fortifications. Technically, it is a rather curious structure. Built in 1735 by the Austrians, it provides no less than four ways of crossing between the cliffs: the road over the top, a passage by way of the four upper arches, a spiral staircase up through the main arch and a tunnel under the road at the bottom. It is made from German hard pink sandstone like at Merzig, because Luxembourg sandstone is too soft.
In fact the Luxembourg fortress was obsolete by time of the Treaty of London of 1867, shortly after Prussian-Austrian War.
We ambled down to Pfaffenthal past the pumping station and crossing the Alzette the gateway to the railway to the North built in 1860/1 and the flour store. We turned up Rue Jules Wilhelm past Chateau Heinz Herman Elting to the Rue Malakoff. The Malakoff Tower was built in 1861 and named after and under the authority of the last Prussian military commander of the fortress of Luxembourg. The architectural styling of the tower is similar to that of the three towers of Fort Thüngen on the Kirchberg, which was built by the same Prussians a few years earlier. Today, Malakoff Tower is used for meetings of the Boy Scouts organization. A small scout insignia can be seen on the front of the tower.
Along the way, we discussed the story of Chateau de Mansfeld, of which remains the gatehouse, brewery and some outhouses. Abandoned by heirs at his death, the burden of debt attached to the palace was heavy.
Robinson Crusoe made ink from gunpowder. The fortifications were finally demolished under the terms of the Treaty of London in 1867. The demolition took 16 years and cost the enormous sum of 1.5 million gold francs. A folly built in c19 on the montée de Clausen, using stones from fortifications removed by contractor and sold for house building. Many houses in the city are built from the stone the demolition contractor removed.
David told the story of when the Kaiser went walking in the Grand Rue. It was bad for local business, since the street was cleared for a long time before his tour.
Luxembourg independence thanks to the Prussian occupation: During the year of revolution in 1848 a large part of the province of Luxembourg devolved to Belgium but the Prussians suppressed revolution in what is now the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
At Porte Neuve, we paused to discuss the Statue of Our Lady of Consolation. Nearby, remains of Pescatore Fort are located under the grass of the park facing the institution of that name.
Limpertsberg Cemetery: Certain Luxembourgers were interned at the German concentration camp 1940 at Hinsfeld, beyond Triers. The deceased interns are now reburied in a corner of this cemetery: see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Tomb of Hauptmann von Koepenick memorial.
[1] There are many variations of the legend of Melusina. Sir Walter Scott tells of the fairy Melusina, who married Guy de Lusignan, Count of Poitou, under condition that he should never attempt to intrude upon her privacy. When Count Siegfried bought the feudal rights to Luxembourg in 963, his name became connected with the local version of Melusine. In 1997 Luxembourg issued a postage stamp commemorating this Melusina, with essentially the same magic gifts as the ancestress of the Lusignans. This Melusina magically made the castle of Bock appear the morning after their wedding. On her terms of marriage, she too required one day of absolute privacy each week. Alas, Sigefroid, as the Luxembourgeois call him, "could not resist temptation, and on one of the forbidden days he spied on her in her bath and discovered her to be a mermaid. When he let out a surprised cry, Melusina caught sight of him, and her bath immediately sank into the solid rock, carrying her with it. Melusina surfaces briefly every seven years as a beautiful woman or as a serpent, holding a small golden key in her mouth. Whoever takes the key from her will set her free and may claim her as his bride.