The European Heritage Days will return to Luxembourg from Thursday 18 to Sunday 28 September 2025, and this year celebrates the theme “Heritage and Architecture: Windows to the Past, Gateways to the Future”.
The Council of Europe invites everyone to explore the richness and diversity of Europe’s architectural landscape, which shapes our shared cultural identity as part of its initiative to highlight architecture as a vital part of quality of life and to strengthen preservation efforts across the continent.
The organisers say that by focusing on architectural heritage, people can celebrate both artistic and technical achievements - from the grand monuments of major cities to the traditional buildings of rural areas. Architecture does more than serve practical needs: it stands as a powerful symbol of local and national stories.
The Luxembourg programme includes projects such as:
⁃ Luxembourg Stone in the Capital’s Architecture, Sunday 21 September (Luxembourg City): This guided tour highlights the role of Luxembourg stone in the capital city’s architecture at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries;
⁃ The Dräi Eechelen Park, Sunday 28 September (Luxembourg-Kirchberg): Learn about the history of the park as former military site and how it developed into the popular park it is today;
⁃ Architectural Walk – Old Slate Quarries of Haut-Martelange, Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 September (Haut-Martelange): The INPA (National Institute for Architectural Heritage) invites participants on a walk through the former slate industry site;
⁃ Discover the Soul of the Moselle through its Historic Houses, Saturday 27 September (Bech-Kleinmacher): The “A Possen” Museum offers a guided tour through its historic houses, revealing their construction secrets and architectural evolution;
⁃ Architectural Treasure Hunt at the “A Possen” Museum, Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 September (Bech-Kleinmacher): Explore this unique Moselle heritage with a game booklet full of puzzles about architecture and past daily life;
⁃ Transformation of the Former Organ Factory, Saturday 27 September (Lintgen): Visit the striking brick main building of the former organ factory opened in 1924;
⁃ Open Days at Cercle Cité, Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 September (Luxembourg City): Guided tours in four languages and a collaborative workshop invite the public to explore and reinterpret the story of this emblematic building - a true “memory in stone” of Luxembourg City;
⁃ Exhibition: Belval in Transformation – Through Marcel Bouschet’s Lens (1957–1997), from Friday 19 September (Esch-Belval): The CNCI, together with Fonds Belval and the Amicale des Hauts-Fourneaux A and B, presents a new exhibition of photographs by Marcel Bouschet. Entitled “Metamorphosis – Belval”, it offers two perspectives: “Before/After” and “Everyday Life in Transition”;
⁃ Children’s Workshop: Small Bricks for a Big Brownfield, Sunday 21 September (Esch-Belval): CNCI and LUCA invite children to a creative workshop on industrial architecture. Step by step, participants explore the former blast furnace site and imagine new ways to transform and reuse it.
⁃ Participatory Saturday at VEWA, Saturday 20 September (Dudelange): DKollektiv opens the historic VEWA site to the public for a creative day. The event invites everyone to rediscover and reinvent this emblematic space in line with the European Heritage Days theme “Heritage and Architecture: Windows to the Past, Gateways to the Future”.
The first European Heritage Day took place on 3 October 1985 in Granada, during the Second European Conference of Ministers responsible for Architectural Heritage, organised by the Council of Europe.
Today, 50 states party to the European Cultural Convention take part. National coordinators organise events, advise local organisers, help them shape projects and promote the initiative across their countries. In Luxembourg, the Ministry for Culture and the National Institute for Architectural Heritage (INPA) organise the European Heritage Days.
At the European level, the goals are to:
⁃ increase awareness of Europe’s cultural richness and diversity;
⁃ encourage acceptance of Europe’s cultural mosaic;
⁃ combat racism and xenophobia and foster greater tolerance across borders;
⁃ remind citizens and policymakers of the need to protect cultural heritage against new threats;
⁃ invite Europe to face future social, political and economic challenges.
The full itinerary of events in Luxembourg can be found at https://journeesdupatrimoine.lu/agenda/.
