On Friday 11 July 2025, Luxembourg's Nature and Forest Agency and the municipality of Junglinster inaugurated the Wildlife Tower in Weimerich.
Over fifteen years ago, the eastern section of the Nature and Forest Agency launched a programme to redesign unused buildings in Luxembourg's green spaces with the goal of creating new habitats for bats. As part of this commitment, the vacant Weimerich House ("Haus Weimerich") was leased from the municipality of Junglinster in 2017 for a symbolic price of €1 - with the aim of developing the building as a potential roost for endangered bat species, particularly the greater horseshoe bat.
As explained by the authorities, the greater horseshoe bat is one of the bat species in Central Europe that is critically endangered and has one of its last large nursery colonies in Luxembourg. The species is protected in Europe and Luxembourg. In addition to the general loss of biodiversity, this species is also threatened by the loss of traditional habitats such as roof trusses and barns.
Against this backdrop, the idea of creating new and specially adapted habitats for this endangered species gained increasing importance. Despite the structural and pollutant-related limitations of the Weimerich House, which made redesign impossible, the original idea of a bat roost was successfully realised. After the amicable termination of the lease agreement with the municipality of Junglinster, the Nature and Forest Agency implemented a project that envisaged the construction of a specially designed new building.
The site chosen was the surrounding Weimerich nature reserve, whose structurally rich landscape and adjacent extensive pastures are said to provide optimal conditions for building-dwelling bat species. The new building was specifically tailored to the needs of these species and represents an important element in preserving biodiversity in the region. The project was made possible thanks to the financial support of the municipality of Junglinster, which covered most of the costs.
The Wildlife Tower is modelled on the bat towers of the EU LIFE project "Greater Horseshoe Bat" in Bavaria and was specifically designed to meet the needs of building-dwelling bat species. The three-story tower, with a floor plan of 3.5 x 3.5 m, combines a concrete ground floor with two wooden upper floors. This construction method creates different quarters and temperature zones that are adapted to the seasonal needs of the bats and offer them optimal conditions depending on the outside temperature. A special feature of the Weimerich tower is the integrated basement, which can serve as a potential hibernation site. The entrance opening was designed to prevent access to predators while simultaneously providing bats with safe entry and exit options.
The timber structure was built independently by the Nature and Forest Agency's forestry department using regional wood ("Holz vun hei").
In addition to bats, the tower is intended to provide shelter for building-dwelling bird species. Nesting aids for different species will be installed depending on the location to further promote ecological diversity. To scientifically support the project, the Nature and Forest Agency is also using temperature loggers, which enable easy monitoring of the indoor climate and provide important insights into the behaviour and activity of bats throughout the different seasons.
In addition to the Wildlife Tower in Weimerich, two other bat towers have been built in eastern Luxembourg, and a fourth is currently being planned. All existing buildings in the green zones that have been converted so far have also been colonised by the greater horseshoe bat - a "promising indication" of the effectiveness of the measures, according to the authorities.
The overarching goal is to establish a network of specialised installations at ecologically suitable locations and to promote structurally rich open landscapes in order to both promote the population of the greater horseshoe bat and provide new habitats for other building-dwelling and endangered bat species.
The authorities noted that this project corresponds to the objectives of the PNPN3 national nature conservation plan and is being made possible at numerous locations in Luxembourg through financial support from the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity, as well as the active commitment of several public and private stakeholders.
