Lëtzebuerg City Museum

The Musée d’Histoire de la Ville de Luxembourg was inaugurated in June 1996 on Rue du Saint-Esprit, in the heart of the old city.

A large permanent exhibit as well as temporary installations illustrate more than one thousand years of history of the capital city of the Grand Duchy in an original way.

Architecture

One of a city’s duties is to protect and showcase its architectural heritage. The site chosen to house the Musée d’Histoire de la Ville de Luxembourg is a restored set of four old townhouses on Rue du Saint-Esprit dating to the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, including remains dating back to the Middle Ages. An archeological study not only shed light on the buildings’ history, but also enriched their architectural and museographical design. Two examples of the successful adaptation of old architecture to the demands of modern times are the “floating” glass roof and the panoramic elevator rising through the entire height of the museum, providing spectacular viewpoints to visitors. The architecture of the museum is striking by how tall it is, reflecting the configuration of the city in a contrast between the upper and lower parts of the city. This height, which is also apparent on the logo, is transposed in the very structure of the museum, including 8 floors, 6 of which are open to the public.

Collections and exhibits

The museum itself consists of two parts: the lower levels 0, 1, 2 and 3 (located below the Rue du Saint-Esprit entrance) describe the urban, social, economic and political development of the city, while the upper levels 4 and 5 are devoted to temporary exhibitions where the museum deals with societal issues reflecting the current concerns of its multicultural, local and international visitors.

The panoramic elevator

At 18m², the elevator is a room in itself, looking out onto the surrounding neighborhoods, with a capacity of up to 65. Thanks to the inner glass walls and its slow speed, visitors can admire the exposed rock underground and enjoy a panorama of Le Grund and the Rham plateau from the upper levels. From the elevator, the entire urban stratum of the City of Luxembourg appears to visitors, taking them through 1000 years of history in only a few minutes.