Getting to Dudelange by public transport

Forced recruitment... A perhaps sometimes obscure term, especially for younger people who often find it difficult to imagine what it really means. Archival images, documents, photos, advertisements, propaganda posters, war material, all help to paint a clearer picture of those who were forcibly recruited. They reveal the fate, the courage of these people. Because one sometimes forgets that the inhabitants of Dudelange had been evacuated, that they could not escape the German occupation and that some of them were captured, imprisoned and taken to concentration camps. One also forgets that many resisted, fought and died for their country. All this is explained very clearly in the Museum of Forced Recruits! The museum gives an overview of the resettlement of the inhabitants of Dudelange, the German occupation, the forced recruitment, the militia, the liberation, the deportation, the arrest, the concentration camps and the resistance.

The museum houses a collection of precious historical objects which come from archaeological excavations carried out on Mont St-Jean, near the restored remains of the old castle (pottery, coins, firearms, military brooches, stones, etc.). The museum is open Monday to Saturday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Free admission upon registration via tourisme@dudelange.lu Guided tours on request: T.: +352 51 17 49.

Since time immemorial, Mount St John has been a spiritual site. The church dedicated to Saint John the Baptist was the mother-church for the surrounding parishes. From 1464 to 1542 the Mount was the seat of the Order of the Bretheren of St. John of Jerusalem. Due to their large income, (the great tithes) seven priests could accommodate and feed seven destitute parishioners. Even after the destruction of both, castle and church, St John's day (on June 24th) remained an important holiday. Up until 1794 a hermit lived on the mount and read mass in the chapel. In his 'Historia Luxemburgensis' Jean Bertels -who later became abbot of Echternach- described a procession taking place in the 16th Century in honor of St. John. It was famous for drawing vast numbers of faithful pilgrims to the mount. Many afflicted would dance to various tunes to the point of exhaustion, in this way imploring the help of Saint John for a cure. Note the striking similarities with the dancing procession in Echternach. The festival was often accompanied by a market on the mount, as revealed in archive texts and through excavations in which many coins and pottery fragments were found. Nowadays, the annual procession of St. John reminds us of this centuries-old tradition. The Castle At present, we don't have any definite data neither about the origins nor about the appearance of the first castle on Mount St. John. Excavations have revealed Gallo-Roman substructures below the medieval fortifications. The first castle belonged to the lords of Gymnich and was located in Dudelange. It was destroyed around 1400 by the Duke of Bar. The construction of the castle had begun in the early 15th Century. The walls uncovered during the excavations show significantly different construction periods culminating in the castle of the 16th Century (Gothic and Renaissance). The square stone blocks and reliefs show that the Lords of Gymnich, Boulay, Neufchatel, Hunolstein and Isenbourg invested heavily in both the fortifications and the luxuries of their castle. Various documents describe it as a very 'strong place' -a mighty castle- famous for its feasts. It deteriorated dramatically when from 1542, the kings of France François 1er and Henry II made war on Emperor Charles Quint (Charles V) when it was conquered and reconquered many times before its final destruction in 1552 after which it lost any strategic value. Subsequently, the ruins were used as a quarry for the nearby villages. In the 1970s, the Friends of History of Dudelange and Mount St. John dug out the remains of the castle and uncovered the foundations of various towers, the palace, houses, stables and outbuildings; three wells and a cistern were partially excavated. The moat and the access to the castle are still visible. However, the castle still holds many legendary secrets like that of the Virgin of Mount St John, who -transformed into a snake- awaits her saviour every seven years.

Why go looking for a new building when Luxembourg’s steel heritage has already provided an exceptional setting? The cultural centre of the City of Dudelange is located on the site of the former foundry (Op der Schmelz). The architecture alone is worth a visit, but the centre also hosts jazz concerts, a singer-songwriter festival, world music, contemporary theatre and children's shows. At Op der Schmelz there is something for the whole family!

Since its opening in 1993 at the splendid renovated train station Dudelange-Ville, the Galerie Dominique Lang has experienced a considerable influx of visitors. When it was created in 1973, no one could have foreseen that the small exhibition space on the ground floor of the parish hall would give birth in 20 years to a large contemporary art gallery. Its purpose is to allow everyone access to art and culture in the best conditions.