Esch-sur-Alzette

Esch-sur-Alzette (Luxembourgish: Esch-Uelzecht pronounced [ˌæʒ‿ˈuə̯ltsəɕt] (listen), German: Esch-an-der-Alzette [ˌɛʃ ʔan deːɐ̯ ʔalˈzɛt] or Esch-an-der-Alzig, French: Esch-sur-Alzette) is a commune with town status in south-western Luxembourg. It is the country's second "city", and its second-most populous commune, with a population of 35,040 inhabitants, as of 2018. It lies in the south-west of the country, on the border with France and in the valley of the Alzette, which flows through the town. The town is usually referred to as just Esch; however, the full name distinguishes it from the village and commune of Esch-sur-Sûre which lies 45 kilometres (28 miles) further north. The country's capital, Luxembourg City, is roughly 15 km (9.3 mi) to the north-east.

Esch-sur-Alzette

Esch-Uelzecht
Commune
The town seen from the Gaalgebierg parc

Coat of arms
Map of Luxembourg with Esch-sur-Alzette highlighted in orange, and the canton in dark red
Coordinates: 49.4969°N 5.9806°E / 49.4969; 5.9806
Country Luxembourg
CantonEsch-sur-Alzette
Area
 • Total14.35 km2 (5.54 sq mi)
Area rank81st of 102
Highest elevation
426 m (1,398 ft)
 • Rank32nd of 102
Lowest elevation
279 m (915 ft)
 • Rank84th of 102
Population
 (2018)
 • Total35,040
 • Rank2nd of 102
 • Density2,400/km2 (6,300/sq mi)
 • Density rank1st of 102
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
LAU 2LU0000204
Websiteesch.lu

History

For a long time Esch was a small farming village in the valley of the Uelzecht river. This changed when important amounts of iron ore were found in the area in the 1850s. With the development of the mines and the steel industry the town's population multiplied tenfold in a couple of decades. In 1911 the steel- and iron-producing company ARBED was founded.[1] The development of the steel industry, especially in the south of the country, provided Luxembourg with sustained economic growth during the second half of the 19th century.[2]

In the 1970s, as a result of the steel crisis, the mines and many of the blast furnaces were shut down, the last one, in Esch-Belval, definitely halting its operations in 1997.[2] The blast furnaces were replaced by an electric furnace that is fed with scrap metal rather than iron ore.[3]

Today the industrial wastelands on Belval left behind by the steel industry, are being redeveloped and converted into a new, modern town quarter. New cultural buildings such as the cinema Kinepolis Belval[4] and the Rockhal, Luxembourg's biggest concert hall,[5] schools, flats and Belval Plaza, a shopping centre, have been built in the last years.

The area around the old blast furnaces will host different structures of the University of Luxembourg, many research centres and the national archives.[6] Two of the University's three faculties relocated there: The Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Education Sciences already moved in the summer of 2016, and the Faculty of Sciences, Technology and Communication in fall 2017.

Places of interest
The town hall

Esch-sur-Alzette is home to the National Museum of the Resistance, which has material related to the resistance to German occupation during the Second World War. Lucien Wercollier's sculpture The Political Prisoner is in its entrance hall. Other tourist attractions include the large park, and the Berwart Tower, built in 1621.

The Lankelz miniature railway operates on Sunday afternoons and public holidays from May to mid-October.[7]

Esch is home to the Conservatoire de Musique.[8] Founded as a school of music in 1926, it achieved Conservatoire status in 1969.

There are two cinemas in the centre of the town, one called the 'Ariston' ( which has since closed down), the 'Kinosch' and a third one called 'Utopolis Belval' is situated in the former industrial wastelands Belval. The main theatre is the Théâtre d’Esch. There is also the Kulturfabrik, a cultural centre in a reconverted abattoir which hosts performances of various kinds. The town is the site of one of the six regional headquarters of the Grand Ducal Police.

The town has the longest shopping street in Luxembourg.[9]

One of the largest employers in the town is ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel producer, which formed from the merger of Aceralia, ARBED, Mittal, and Usinor.

Government and politics

Local

Esch is governed by its communal council, consisting of 19 councillors. Elections take place to this body every 6 years, under a system of proportional representation. Currently the mayor is Vera Spautz, of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP).[10] The governing majority on the council consists of the LSAP and The Greens.[11] The council that is currently in office reflects the 2011 local election results. Its mandate will run out in January 2018.

2011 election results[12]
Party Popular vote Seats Change
G Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP) 38.48%
9 0
Christian Social People's Party (CSV) 19.22%
4 1
G The Greens 12.51%
2 0
The Left 10.89%
2 1
Democratic Party (DP) 7.50%
1 0
Communist Party of Luxembourg (KPL) 5.25%
1 1
Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR) 3.85%
- 1
Citizens' List 2.30%
-
Total: 19

'G' denotes parties that went on to form the governing majority.

2017 elections

The most recent elections were held on 8 October 2017; the results are listed below.[13] This new council will take office in January 2018.

After the elections, a coalition agreement was signed between 3 parties, the CSV, the Greens, and the DP, who will form the new governing majority on the council. The designated new mayor is Tom Schlesser of Dei Lénk.[14]

Party Popular vote Seats Change
G Christian Social People's Party (CSV) 30.87%
6 2
Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP) 27.86%
6 3
G The Greens 13.54%
3 1
G Democratic Party (DP) 9.11%
2 1
The Left 9.53%
2 0
Communist Party of Luxembourg (KPL) 4.14%
- 1
Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR) 3.29%
-
Pirate Party of Luxembourg 1.66%
-
Total 19

National

For national elections to the Chamber of Deputies, Esch is located in the Sud constituency.

Sport

Esch is in the heart of the traditional footballing heartland of the south of the country, and the town was the first place in the country to embrace the game. The first two football clubs in the country, CS Fola Esch (founded in 1906) and Jeunesse Esch (1907), both come from the town. Jeunesse have been the most successful Luxembourgian club, winning an unrivalled twenty-eight National Division titles; combined with thirteen Luxembourg Cup victories, Jeunesse have won eight Doubles. They play at Stade de la Frontière, in the south of the town. Fola were very important in the early history of the sport in Luxembourg, winning five titles up to 1930. Fola's home stadium is Stade Émile Mayrisch, in the south-east of Esch, which it shares with its sister athletics club CA Fola Esch. In 2017 US Esch (who play round the back of the sport centre in Lankhelz) joined Jeunesse and CS Fola in the top flight after winning the second division Promotion d'Honneur.

At the 2006 Tour de France, Esch-sur-Alzette hosted the end of Stage 2 and the start of Stage 3. The Tour also passed through the town in 2017.

Transport
Sign at Esch-sur-Alzette railway station.

Esch-sur-Alzette is the southern terminus of the A4 motorway, which runs northwards to Luxembourg. The east-west A13 meets the A4 just to the north of Esch, and terminates at Pétange in the west and meets the German Bundesautobahn 8 at its eastern end.

Esch is one of four towns in the Grand Duchy to have more than one railway station.[15] Esch's three railway stations, Esch-sur-Alzette, Belval-Rédange, and Belval-Université, all lie on Line 60 of the Chemins de fer luxembourgeois network.

Esch is connected by the bus lines 1,2,3,4,5,7,12,13,15 and 17 of the communal public transport company T.I.C.E [16](tramways intercommunales du canton Esch/Alzette, intercommunal tramway of the canton Esch/Alzette), which maintenance depot and headquarter is situated in Esch, and by the line 307,312,313 and 314 by R.G.T.R.[17]

Notable people
Archbishop Fernand Franck, 2005
Raoul Biltgen, 2012
Mandy Minella, 2015
Emile Hamilius
Viviane Reding, 2014
Luc Frieden, 2013
  • Pierre Brasseur (1832–1918) an entrepreneur, businessman and mining magnate, involved in founding what would become ARBED
  • Jean Origer (1877-1942) a cleric and director of the newspaper Luxemburger Wort
  • William Justin Kroll (1889–1973) a metallurgist, invented the Kroll process to extract metallic titanium from ore
  • René Deltgen (1909-1979) a stage and film actor, worked in Germany [18]
  • Camillo Felgen (1920–2005 in Esch-sur-Alzette) a singer, lyricist, disc jockey and TV presenter [19]
  • Gust Graas (born 1924) an abstract painter and businessman and who developed RTL Group; lives in Pollença, Majorca
  • Fernand Franck (born 1934) a Roman Catholic prelate, Archbishop of Luxembourg 1990-2011
  • Marcel Wengler (born 1946) conductor and composer of symphonies, concertos, chamber music and musicals [20]
  • Michel Maquil (born 1950) president and CEO of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange 2001-2012
  • Raymond Freymann (born 1952) an engineering professor and researcher, works for BMW
  • Nico Helminger (born 1953) an author, writes poetry, novels, plays and libretti for operas; lived in Esch-sur-Alzette since 1999
  • Max Kohn (born 1954) a painter and sculptor
  • Monique Philippart (born 1955) a children's writer who writes in German
  • Guy Helminger (born 1963) an author, writes novels and plays in German
  • François Besch (born 1963) a photographer, artist and autodidact
  • Désirée Nosbusch (born 1965) a TV presenter and actress [21]
  • Raoul Biltgen (born 1974) an actor and writer, lives in Vienna [22]
Sport
  • Nicolas Adam (1881-??) a gymnast who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics
  • Jean Welter (1901–1977) a light heavyweight boxer who competed in the 1924 and the 1928 Summer Olympics
  • Jean Flammang (1905–1990) a featherweight boxer who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics
  • Mathias Sancassiani (1907–1972) a boxer who competed in the 1928 and 1936 Summer Olympics
  • André Wollscheidt (1914–1995) a lightweight boxer who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics
  • Jean Majerus (1914 - 1983 in Esch-sur-Alzette) a professional cyclist 1936-1947
  • Marcel Ernzer (1926–2003) a cyclist, competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics
  • Fränz Ehringer (1928–1987) a boxer, competed as a lightweight at the 1948 Summer Olympics
  • Tilly Decker (born 1930) a sprinter, competed in the women's 100 metres at the 1948 Summer Olympics
  • François Fug (born 1931) a former sports shooter, competed in the 50 metre pistol event at the 1960 Summer Olympics
  • Ginette Rossini (born 1939) a fencer, competed in the women's individual foil events at the 1960 and 1964 Summer Olympics
  • Ray Cillien (1939–1991) a boxer, competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics
  • Louis Pilot (1940–2016) a football player and manager, played over 450 team games and 49 for the national side
  • David Fiegen (born 1984) a middle distance runner, competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics
  • Sascha Palgen (born 1984) a gymnast, competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics
  • Mandy Minella (born 1985) a professional tennis player
  • Gilles Bettmer (born 1989) a football player, 58 games for the national side
Politics
  • Dominique Brasseur (1833–1906) a politician and jurist, Mayor of Luxembourg City 1891-1894
  • Victor Thorn (1844–1930) a politician, 11th Prime Minister of Luxembourg 1916-1917
  • René Blum (1889–1967) a politician, diplomat and jurist
  • Émile Hamilius (1897–1971) a politician, Mayor of Luxembourg City 1946-1963, competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics playing football for the Luxembourg national team
  • Émile Colling (1899–1981) a doctor and politician, the Luxembourgish ambassador to the Holy See 1967-1974
  • Arthur Useldinger (1904–1978) a politician, served two stints as Mayor of Esch-sur-Alzette
  • Paul Helminger (born 1940) a politician, Mayor of Luxembourg City 1999-2011
  • Viviane Reding (born 1951) a politician, former MEP and European Commissioner
  • Jean Colombera (born 1954) a politician and physician
  • Pierre Gramegna (born 1958) a career diplomat, former lobbyist, currently Minister for Finances
  • François Biltgen (born 1958) a lawyer and politician until 2013, then a Judge at the European Court of Justice
  • Françoise Folmer (born 1961) an architect and politician, leader of The Greens 2015-2018
  • Marc Spautz (born 1963) a politician
  • Luc Frieden (born 1963) a politician, lawyer and business executive
  • Nancy Kemp-Arendt (born 1969) a politician and former athlete, competed in two breaststroke events at the 1988 Summer Olympics

Twin towns — sister cities

Esch-sur-Alzette is twinned with:[23]

  • Coimbra, Portugal
  • Cologne, Germany
  • Liège, Belgium
  • Lille, France
  • Mödling, Austria
  • Offenbach am Main, Germany
  • Puteaux, France
  • Rotterdam, Netherlands
  • Turin, Italy
  • Velletri, Italy
  • Zemun, Serbia

References
  1. "ArcelorMittal - History". Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  2. "Economic and social portrait of Luxembourg : Introduction". Archived from the original on 14 November 2007. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  3. "History". 1 June 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  4. "Utopolis.lu - Utopolis Belval". Archived from the original on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  5. "Rockhal: Featured". www.rockhal.lu. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  6. "Site Esch/Belval - esch.lu". Archived from the original on 2015-10-17. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
  7. "Welcome to Esch-sur-Alzette" Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine, Luxembourg National Tourist Office. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  8. "Conservatoire de Musique - esch.lu". web.archive.org. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  9. "Shopping in Luxembourg - Luxembourg.lu - Visit Luxembourg". Archived from the original on 12 September 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  10. "Le Bourgmestre". Ville d'Esch-sur-Alzette. Retrieved 2017-10-31.
  11. "Le Conseil Communal". Ville d'Esch-sur-Alzette. Retrieved 2017-10-31.
  12. "Commune Esch sur alzette" (in French). Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  13. "Esch-sur-Alzette" (in French). Retrieved 2017-10-31.
  14. "Historic change: New CSV, DP and Greens coalition in Esch/Alzette". Wort.lu. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  15. The others are Luxembourg City (5 stations), Dudelange (4), and Mamer (2)
  16. "Linien und Fahrpläne (Gültig ab 5. Dezember)". www.tice.lu. Retrieved 2016-12-06.
  17. "Bus". Mobilitéitszentral. Retrieved 2016-12-06.
  18. IMDb Database retrieved 19 November 2018
  19. IMDb Database retrieved 19 November 2018
  20. IMDb Database retrieved 19 November 2018
  21. IMDb Database retrieved 19 November 2018
  22. IMDb Database retrieved 19 November 2018
  23. "Affaires Internationales". esch.lu (in French). Esch-sur-Alzette. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
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