Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0225/02251.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 14KB | 301 lines

$Unique_ID{COW02251}
$Pretitle{427}
$Title{Luxembourg
Part 3.}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Information and Press Service}
$Affiliation{Embassy of Luxembourg, Washington DC}
$Subject{luxembourg
de
la
ville
luxemburg
theatre
building
century
municipal
old}
$Date{1989}
$Log{}
Country:     Luxembourg
Book:        A Brief Survey of the City of Luxembourg
Author:      Information and Press Service
Affiliation: Embassy of Luxembourg, Washington DC
Date:        1989

Part 3.

The Municipal Palace
("Cercle")

     At the beginning of the 20th century the municipal council decided to
erect a new administrative building with several banqueting halls, on the site
of the old Guard House facing the Place d'Armes, which we are sorry to say has
disappeared.

     This work was completed in October 1906, and the inside arrangements were
ready by 1909.

     The main frontage of the Municipal Palace, commonly known as the
"Cercle", bears a sculpture by the Luxembourgish artist P. Federspiel. This
represents the countess Ermesinde presenting the charter of freedom to the
citizens of Luxembourg in the year 1244.

     From 1953 to 1969 the halls of this building were put at the disposal of
the European Coal and Steel Community as meeting and working facilities.

     Since 1969 the Municipal Palace reverted to its original use as a meeting
hall for various festivities and ceremonial occasions and for cultural and
artistic evenings. The Place d'Armes, which is surrounded by cafes and
restaurants, is a place for public concerts, and its atmosphere is greatly
appreciated by both Luxembourgers and foreign tourists.

     In 1903 a monument was erected there in honour of the national poets
Dicks (Edmond de la Fontaine) and Michel Lentz, author of the text of the
national anthem.

The New Theatre

     In 1959 the municipality launched an international competition of
architects with a view to the building of a new theatre in Luxembourg. 28
plans were submitted and the jury awarded first prize to that of M. Alain
Bourbonnais, a Paris architect.

     On the 8th January 1960 the municipal council approved the plans and
estimates of M. Bourbonnais. The New Theatre came to be inaugurated on the
15th April 1964. The State met 50% of its total cost of 220 million francs.

     The New Municipal Theatre comprises two halls, i.e. the theatre
auditorium proper, which seats 1000 persons, and the studio or "large
auditorium", of more modest dimensions than the theatre itself, which can
accommodate 600 persons and serves as a congress hall, being equipped with
five booths for simultaneous translation.

     Finally the theatre foyer, 70 m x 16 m, makes an excellent reception hall
capable of accommodating some 1600 persons. And indeed, a good number of
official receptions take place in the New Municipal Theatre.

     This New Theatre, built to commemorate the thousandth anniversary of the
City of Luxembourg, is a European edifice. Luxembourg, French, Belgian, Dutch,
German, Austrian and Swiss specialists and materials have gone into its
construction.

The Villa Vauban

     In order to meet the obligations it had contracted during the second
half on the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century by accepting donations
and bequests both in cash and in the form of art collections, the city
acquired in 1949 a villa built on the site of the old Fort Vauban, on the
avenue Emile Reuter.

     This mansion, built by a leading citizen in the 19th century, was
well-suited subject to some adjustments - for the purpose of accommodating and
displaying paintings collected by other distinguished citizens of the century,
according to the state of the time.

     Premises and contents complement each other in a modest but harmonious
way. Among the Dutch and Flemish works of the 17th century, let us mention in
particular a Jan Steen and several Teniers. And among French canvases of the
19th century, a Delacroix and a Courbet.

     Between 1952 and 1958 the Villa Vauban harboured the Court of Justice of
the European Communities. Since 1960 it reverted to its status of municipal
painting gallery bearing the name of its principal donor, the Musee J.P.
Pescatore. It is in this setting favoured by nature and embellished by art
that the City of Luxembourg also receives its distinguished guests.

     We draw attention to the presence, a few paces further on, of a
commemorative stone dedicated to Batty Weber, a Luxembourg poet and author,
and behind the old Fort Marie, the monument erected in 1875 to the memory of
the very popular Princesse Amelie, spouse of Prince Henri of the Netherlands,
lieutenant to the King Grand Duke William III.

The Prime Minister's Office

     In the shadow cast by the Cathedral stands the seat of the Government
named presently the Hotel de Bourgogne. This building was owned until the
year 1676 by the cup bearer of Luxembourg, member of the venerable family of
Berbourg. Previously from 1443 to 1503, the earlier Mint stood there and later
as a tenant one finds amongst many occupiers between 1475 to 1477 the deputy
governor of Charles the Bold of Burgundy and from 1480 to 1487 Claude du Fays,
Governor under Maximilian of Habsbourg. Claude du Fays had as spouse the
heiress of Berbourg and subsequently the elder generation of Luxembourg's
inhabitants still call the building the "Berbourg House". The tower with its
staircase is built with bricks and has a main entrance door decorated with
columns and gothic arch, typical features showing the passing from the Gothic
to the Renaissance style. Earlier the building was part of a whole
architectural set of houses named in 1676 "Hotel of Metternich".

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs

     The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, bears a tablet with the
inscription: Refugium Abbatiae Sti Maximini. Indeed, like those of Echternach,
Marienthal, Clairefontaine, Orval, Saint Esprit, Munster etc., the abbey of
St. Maximin had from the 15th century a refuge within the fortress of
Luxembourg.

     This refuge was rebuilt in 1751 by the engineer-lieutenant Nicolas
Steinmetz under the direction of the Abbot Scheffer. In 1839 the Germanic
Confederacy bought it as premises for the military command of the fortress
it was only in 1867, after the departure of the Prussian garrison, that the
Luxembourg Government was able to occupy it.

     The style of the building is of the period, i.e. of the time of Louis XV,
as may be seen by its stately appearance and by the impressive simplicity of
the exterior and of the various halls and boudoirs inside.

     It should be realized that these refuges, at the time, served for the
"insurance" of both persons and valuables. They were safe places sheltered by
the strong hand of garrison and sovereign. Since many monasteries were located
outside the protecting walls of cities and by this fact were an easy prey to
armed men of every species, religious communities often felt the need for a
safe place in which to keep their records, their codices or their objects of
value. Moreover, the refuges were used by monks as houses of retreat. Thus,
St.
Maximin was one of the refuges used by the very important abbey of Trier.

The National Museums

     The National Museums are situated about the Marche-aux-Poissons in the
heart of the old town. Any visitor will find something there to arouse his
interest.

     The History Museum presents not merely the prehistory of the country, but
has numerous objects on display which throw light on the daily life that went
on in this part of the world in Gallo-Roman and Frankish times. Their art is
to be discerned in the monuments they have left behind and in the humblest of
their objects of daily use.

     A bronze model gives an idea of the importance of the fortress of
Luxembourg before it was dismantled. The rich collection of ancient weapons
shows the means of defence available from the 16th till the 19th century. The
life of the peaceable citizen in the 18th and 19th centuries can be studied in
the Museum of t