9/14/24: Luxembourg's Little Switzerland Towns & Castles

 

Like this one in the village of Herborn, roadside chapels were a common sight all over Luxembourg.

Luxembourg is a mighty small country but it still took us over an hour to reach Echternach, 55 kms northeast of the Moselle Valley where Steven and I had stayed the first two nights. That was because we had to change direction every two or three kilometers as there were no highways, just small country roads. Thank goodness for Google Maps as reading a map would have been very tough with all the twists and turns!

The town's St. Willibrord Basilica was first raised around 700 AD before being rebuilt in 1862 and reduced to rubble during WW2 when so much of Echternach was bombed and severely damaged.  Willibrord was born in 658 in Northumbria and emigrated to Ireland where he was ordained as a priest. In 690, he and 11 companions left "the Island of the Saints" to preach the gospel on the continent. After receiving a donation in 698 from Abbess Irmina from Trier, Willibrord found the abbey in Echternach and requested to be buried there when he died in 739. 

We found the reconstructed basilica gloomy and somber apart from the 1950s stained-glass windows that told the story of the saint's life.

The Chapel of Relics contained a piece of cloth from the saint's vestments.

The central nave and side aisles were separated by alternating pillars and columns connected by two smaller arches in a large arch. This form of architecture has been called the Echternach system because the basilica is one of the last examples of this system.

I was surprised that there was a Portuguese community of sufficient size to donate the statue of Our Lady of Fatima to the basilica. 

For me, the basilica's most striking object was the 8th-century white Carrara marble crypt which held the remains of St. Willibrord where he slept peacefully even during the war's bombings!

The so-called St. Willibrord's spring was reminiscent of the saint's baptismal activity.

The basilica was part of the 19th-century Benedictine Abbaye d'Echternach that had been converted into a school and was therefore closed to the public. In its basement was a famous scriptorium that welcomed visitors.

Following St. Willibrord’s death, the monastic church rapidly developed into an important place of pilgrimage. In the 8th century, the monastery had its own scriptorium which produced books for study and church service. The workshop’s creativity centered around the artistic tradition imported by Willibrord and his English and Irish disciples. The scriptorium developed marvelous texts for German emperors during the 11th century. 

Its works included illuminated manuscripts and the stunning cover of the 989 Codex Aureus produced on the 250th anniversary of the saint's death. During the French Revolution, however, the abbey’s library was dispersed so its books are now found in other European collections. The scriptorium’s collection now held facsimiles of the original famous tomes.

Some of the manuscripts reminded me of the Book of Kells we'd viewed in Dublin several years ago.

I shall long remember the basilica's bells that pealed for 30 minutes as Steven and I strolled through the town's delightful square called Place du Marché. I could see why Echternach has been described as one of the country's prettiest towns!

The square's most distinctive building was the brick-fronted Denzelt, the former law court whose origins date to the 14th century. Its statues, turrets, and neo-Gothic appearance were rebuilt in 1895. 

The basilica in the background:

The sign on the bike basket should be our motto!

On the outskirts of town were the remains of Villa Romaine excavated when a reservoir lake was being created. We could only peer through the fence to see its ornamental garden that had been planted with medicinal species used during Roman times and imagine what the large villa had looked like.

A half-hour's drive through the Mullerthal Region nicknamed Little Switzerland for its grassy fields and forested areas, took us to the town of Beaufort and its two castles, one medieval and the other Renaissance. Because of time, we chose only to see the former which was built over four distinct construction phases between 1015 and 1650 and reflected Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance architectural styles.

We had to cross the moat and then climb a long flight of stairs to reach the castle entrance.

The 15th-century Water Tower was built as an artillery tower and featured star-shaped, eight-ribbed vaulted ceilings with the keystone bearing the Orley-Beaufort coat-of-arms. 

From the gun platforms, we had a view of the rest of the castle in the background.

Steven joked he was going to prison as the tower's cellar became the castle's dungeon in 1380!

Solitary confinement would have been miserable in the cramped space.

The northern curtain wall with arrow slits visible in the second photo:

In the second half of the 14th century, the lower main entry to the inner bailey was built. The Gothic doorway also bore the Orley-Beaufort coat-of-arms.

Above the door, stones could be thrown, or boiling liquids could be poured onto enemy soldiers attempting to breach the main doorway. 

Inside the entrance was a seven-meter-deep well as it was critical to have it within the inner bailey so there would be no shortage of water if a siege occurred. 

Opposite the well was a small guardroom with the same vaulted niche as the Watch Tower.

Climbing up the original stone steps that had been carved into the rock we reached the oldest part of the castle. The first room was believed to have been a kitchen with an oven and a water channel that led through to the outer wall.

The three-level, Renaissance-style seigneurial accommodations were installed during the fourth construction phase. The ground floor was known as the Knights' Hall.

In the adjoining round tower was a model of the castle as it was in 1650.

A niche in the wall contained the small castle chapel.

The room would also have originally been rib vaulted.

A set of steps from the kitchen led to the inner courtyard which was living and utility space from the third construction phase onwards.

A drawbridge led to the newer Renaissance Castle but we didn't tour it.

Reception Hall:

Other images that caught my interest:

After a dozen or so kilometers southwest of Beaufort and through more of the country's best area for outdoor activities, ...

we reached Schiessentümpel Cascade, a charming waterfall under an old sandstone bridge built in 1879. Though it has no practical function in terms of mobility, it has been the symbol of the Mullerthal Region since 1879. Before then, the region resembled a primeval forest, was difficult to access, and dangerous for people. It was called "The Land of the Wolves."

We arrived in time to see a cross-country race through the hilly terrain.

With my bum leg and Steven's bum back, we decided to stick to terra firma and not chance walking the steps that looked like an accordion!

In a deep valley on the banks of the Ernz River lay the small town of Larochette with its slate-roofed homes and shops. 

High above the town were the clifftop ruins of another medieval castle where the lords of Larochette first appeared at the end of the 12th century as standard bearers to the House of Luxembourg. Five separate grand families lived within the castle by the end of the 14th century. 

I did mention the castle was in ruins, didn't I?! Though there was not a single sign in any language describing any part of the castle, we enjoyed traipsing across the castle lawns and stairways and imagining what it might have been like and who might have lived there almost a thousand years ago. 

Steven had been less than impressed with the town as we drove through it but we both greatly admired the views of the Valley of the White Ernz from the 50m promontory.

The Luxembourg flag:

We climbed the exterior steps of the 14th-century keep for even more panoramic views.

Some pastoral scenes en route to ...

... Ettlebruck located dead center in the middle of Luxembourg. We'd hoped to spend an hour or so exploring the town but couldn't find a parking spot for love or money so gave up. The Hand Sculpture featured the mouth prints of 550 people of Ettlebruck who first sang the national anthem together 160 years ago!

On the very outskirts of town located at an almost impossible place to reach was Patton Memorial Park. The monument honored General George S. Patton Jr, the commander of the 3rd American Army who helped to liberate Ettelbruck on December 25, 1944. I wondered if I was the only one who thought the park shouldn’t have been relegated to a highway underpass considering the town was liberated not once but twice by Americans during the Battle of the Bulge.

Then, after heading northeast we reached the picture-perfect town of Vianden which was once again towered over by a castle. This one looked like it was inhabited by a fairy princess, it was so cutsey! Since we were almost 'castled out' by then, Steven and I gave it a miss and checked into our hotel where we were staying for the next two nights.

Shots of Vianden that night:

The waterfront looked magical at night.

Next post: Returning to Ettlebruck, touring the Dierkirk Military Museum and more of Vianden.

Posted on October 5th, 2024 from Valetta, Malta where we've arrived after spending two glorious weeks in Sicily apart from some very impatient drivers, that is! Please take extra special care of yourself and your loved ones as life is far too short and can change on a dime as Steven and I are unfortunately finding out.