The Luxembourg City Tourist Office (LCTO) has announced that the Casemates du Bock series of underground tunnels have reopened to visitors yesterday, Saturday 18 February 2o17.
The tourist season has started again with the famous Casemates du Bock in Luxembourg. These labyrinthine tunnels carved into the rock are unique in the world and bear witness to the glorious past of the legendary fortress city. In 2016, more than 125,000 visitors have set foot on this site, making it the first tourist attraction in the Grand Duchy's capital.
From April to September, guided tours are organised three times a day.
For four centuries, Luxembourg was under foreign rule, and the best engineers of the new masters (Burgundians, Spaniards, French, Austrians, Germanic Confederation) transformed the city into one of the strongest places in the world, earning it the nickname "Gibraltar of the North". The defense of the citadel was assured by three fortified belts with 24 forts and 16 other powerful structures, as well as this extraordinary underground network of 23 km of casemates - the famous set of underground galleries that stretched for 23 km and several stories high, dug to a 40 m depth. The Casemates du Bock, dug by the Austrians in 1745/46, spanned an overall area of 1,100 m2; they could house a garrison of 1,200 soldiers with their equipment and about fifty guns. All these developments would make the city one of the most important strongholds in Europe. After the dismantling of the fortress in 1867, the casemates were partly destroyed and reduced to 17 km in length.
Access to the Casemates du Bock is via the Montée de Clausen in Luxembourg city; Opening dates are from 18 February to 5 November 2017.
Opening Hours: From 18 Feb to 31 Mar and 1 Oct to 5 Nov: open every day from 10:00 to 17:30 (last entry admitted at 17:00). From 1 April to 30 Sep: open every day from 10:00 to 20:30 (last entry at 20:00).
Entrance fee (without guided tour): adults €6; Adults in groups, students, seniors €5; Children from 4 to 12 years old €3. Free for children up to 4 years old.
Guided tours from 1 April To 30 September 2017; daily at 11:00 (German / French), 16:00 (German / English) and 18:00 (Luxembourgish / English); Entrance fee: adults €12; Adults in groups, students, seniors €10; Children from 4 to 12 years €6. Free for children up to 4 years old.
Guided tours on request: €100 per guide (2 hours) + admission price of Casemates du Bock
Reservations: Luxembourg City Tourist Office, tel: 4796-2709, email: guides@lcto.lu
