Historic Cities · Luxembourg
Luxembourg City through the ages
Luxembourg, also known as Luxembourg City, is the capital city of Luxembourg and the country's most populous commune. Standing at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers in southern Luxembourg, the city lies in the center of Western Europe, situated 213 km (132 mi) by road from Brussels and 209 km (130 mi) from Cologne.
Luxembourg City in 1860
Gibraltar of the North
Luxembourg in 1860 is the fortress at its final strength: triple rings of bastions, rock-cut casemates and glacis dominate the town and its deep river gorges, garrisoned chiefly by Prussian troops. This walk follows the approach from the plain into the gates, threads the upper town and the Corniche above the Grund, and climbs to the Kirchberg heights to show military works, workshops and the new railway viaduct.
The skyline is a serrated line of ramparts, hornworks and angled bastions set above steep, green river gorges; the limestone cliff faces are pierced by dark casemate mouths. Slate roofs, narrow streets and clustered church spires rise within the fortifications while sentries and Prussian colours punctuate esplanades. Smoke from tanners and bakeries drifts from the Alzette valley, and an iron-arched railway viaduct now spans the Pétrusse, bold against the ramparts.
The route: 16 streets, squares and views
Road from Arlon → Porte de Trèves → Boulevard Royal → Grand Ducal Palace → Place d'Armes → Notre-Dame Cathedral → Marché aux Poissons → Bock Promontory → Bock Casemate Mouths → The Corniche → …
Step inside, 9 interiors
Trier Gate Guardroom · Garrison Canteen and Mess · Bandstand Pavilion Interior · Cathedral Nave and Choir · Powder Magazine Vault · Rock-cut Casemate Gallery · Tanner's Beam-and-Tub Workshop · Viaduct Signal Cabin · Tower Sentry Room
Planned from the Wikipedia record: Fortress of Luxembourg.
From the archive
Luxembourg City on paper: the old town as it was mapped.
A period plan or bird's-eye view of the old town, drawn between 1500 and 1850 — the streets this page's reconstructions walk. Public domain, with its source named.
Bird's-eye view of Luxembourg, from Braun & Hogenberg's Civitates Orbis Terrarum
Depicts the walled old town with bastioned fortifications, gates, winding streets, river loops and prominent church spires.
1581 · Braun & Hogenberg · Wikimedia Commons
Public domain (plate dated 1581)
Castles of Luxembourg City
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