Page 246 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Belgium & Luxembourg

244  BEL GIUM AND L UXEMBOURG REGION B Y REGION

1 Luxembourg City beneath the organ loft. A gallery
on the left of the nave is reserved
Bustling, elegant Luxembourg City is the largest urban centre for the royal family. This central
in the country. Its main draw, La Vieille Ville (The Old Town), is part was extended in the 1930s
perched high on an escarpment over the rivers Alzette and in a derivative Art Deco style,
Pétrusse which flow through verdant ravines below. This and the choir is a Neo-Gothic
addition of the same era.
historic centre is bound by cliffs that once made the city an The apse holds the church’s
easily defensible stronghold. The three Villes Basses (Lower most famed treasure – a
Towns) – Grund, Clausen and Pfaffenthal – hug the eastern 17th-century wooden statue of
side of the Old Town. A munitions explosion in 1554 damaged the Madonna and Child known
the town, and the stately web of streets and squares seen as the Consolatrix Afflictorum.
Crowned and dressed in
here today was built during the 18th and 19th centuries. In elaborate robes, the Madonna
1867, the city was demilitarized and most of its ramparts is the object of veneration and
were demolished. Only the casemates survived – dank pilgrimage, and the focus of the
gunnery compartments and tunnels carved into the rocks, Octave festival (see p39).
which are a strange contrast to the charm of the city above. The crypt contains the vault
of the grand ducal family and a
17th-century tomb, depicting
P Palais Grand-Ducal the entombment of Christ, with
Rue du Marché-aux-Herbes 17. seven attendants, created for
n 222809 (tourist office). the remains of the heroic Jean
Open mid-Jul–Aug: Thu–Tue. & l’Aveugle (1296–1346), Count
8 4pm. ∑ monarchie.lu of Luxembourg and King of
The official residence of the Bohemia. He lost his sight as
grand duke of Luxembourg, the an adult, but still took to the
Palais Grand-Ducal occupies the field with France against the
site of the old medi eval town hall. English at the Battle of Crécy,
The earliest part dates from 1573, and was killed.
when it was built as the
residence of the governor P Casemates de Pétrusse
of Luxembourg. This section Place de la Constitution. Open school
includes the Flemish Renaissance Arched doorway leading into the city’s holidays: 11am–4pm. & 8
façade. The palace was extended Cathédrale Notre-Dame Located underground, the
in the 18th century, and in 1890 it casemates are a set of dark
became the winter residence of R Cathédrale Notre-Dame rooms carved out of the
the grand dukes. In summer, Rue Notre Dame. Open 10am–noon sandstone rockface by the
guided tours take visitors around & 2–5:30pm daily. ∑ cathol.lu Spanish in the 1640s, to provide
the sumptuous interior, where A curious patchwork of history gun emplacements overlooking
the ceremonial rooms are lit by and styles, Luxembourg’s main the valley. In 1684, they were Cour de
Justice
chandeliers and decorated with cathedral, with its dainty developed further by the VAL DES BONS MALADES
R DU FORT NIEDERGRUNEWALD
tapestries, stucco, carved wood 20th-century twin spires, is one military engineer Vauban for Centre BLVD K ONRAD ADENAUER
panelling and wall paintings. The of the most eye-catching land- Louis XIV, and again in the 18th Européen
Chamber of Deputies stands to marks of the city. Inside, the nave century by the Austrians. Sealed R LAURENT MÉNAGER R ST-MATHIEU Kirchberg
the right of the palace and was is early 17th-century and has an after 1867, they were AVENUE J F KENNEDY
ALLÉE SCHEFFER DUCHESSE CHARLOTTE Musée d’Art Moderne
built in 1859 in Neo-Gothic style. ornate Renaissance gallery rediscovered in 1933. R DU FORT THÜNGEN
PONT DE GRANDE
Grand-Duc Jean
BLVD DE LA FOIRE AVE DE LA PORTE NEUVE CÔTE D'EICH MONTÉE DE PFAFFENTHAL RUE RUE DES Dräi Eechelen
PFAFFENTHAL
TROIS GLANDS
CLAUSEN
DU PRINCE HENRI R BEAUMONT d’Histoire et d’Art M ONTÉE DE
MANSFELD
Villa Alzette ALLÉE PIERRE DE
BOULEVARD ROYAL
VA UBAN
Vauban R GOERGEN
Musée National
CLAUSEN
AVE EMILE
BOULEVARD ALDRINGEN RUE RUE PHILIPPE II GRAND RUE AUX HERBES Palais The Bock
REUTER
R SIGEFROI
PLACE
Alzette
GUILLAUME II
PL E
Airport
AVE
R DU MARCHÉ
MONTEREY HAMELIUS Notre-Dame Grand-Ducal R DE TRÊVES 5 km (3 miles)
Cathédrale
Musée d’Histoire de
AVE MARIE THÉRÈSE ADOLPHE de Pétrusse BLVD FD ROOSEVELT GRUND
la Ville de Luxembourg
Alzette
Casemates
PONT
Train Station BLVD DE Pétrusse BLVD DU GÉNÉRAL PATTON
1 km (0.5 miles) LA PÉTRUSSE R ST- Q UIRIN
Pont
River Alzette wending its way through the Lower Town, a view from the city’s medieval ramparts Viaduc
For hotels and restaurants see p271 and pp292–93
244-245_EW_Belgium.indd 244 18/10/16 3:02 pm
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.7)
Date 1st October 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm