Renovated Slate Museum to Open in Summer 2022

On Tuesday 1 March 2022, Luxembourg's Minister of Culture, Sam Tanson, and Minister of Tourism, Lex Delles, together with President Marco Schank of the non-profit organisation Musée de l'Ardoise (Slate Museum), invited the press to visit the underground chambers of the former slate quarries of Haut-Martelange.

This former industrial wasteland is located in the heart of the Rombach valley, in the municipality of Rambrouch. The site was acquired by the Luxembourg State in 2003 and under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture, the National Sites and Monuments Service (SSMN) has given new impetus to the project to safeguard this industrial heritage.

"Our heritage cannot be reduced to simple vestiges of the past, it is our cultural heritage that we must maintain and animate in order to make history palpable and to transmit it in an immediate and lively way" affirmed Minister Tanson in her speech, adding that “the museum work undertaken and still in progress will undoubtedly add to the attractiveness of the site and the entire region. Cultural sites such as the old slate pits give identity and visibility to a region, and constitute an essential element in the decentralisation and democratisation of culture. The slate museum must allow the public to understand the history of the region, to grasp our own history and to confer a kind of collective identity that transcends borders. It also aims to be a living place, a space conducive to exchanges where synergies are created, thus contributing to the local, regional and national cultural landscape".

As of June 2018, development and redevelopment work on the site was decided by the Luxembourg Government and implemented by the SSMN in order to enhance the site and promote educational, cultural and tourist activities. This project notably includes the development of a secure circuit in the former Johanna gallery. A total of seven underground chambers, spread over a length of approximately 350 meters and a depth of up to 42 meters underground, will allow future visitors to discover an unprecedented part of the quarry.

During the visit in the presence of the Ministers of Culture and Tourism, the representatives of the press were able to discover this unique underground circuit. The museum is expected to welcome the first visitors during the 2022 summer season.

Minister Delles, underlined: "the upgrading of the Slate Museum offers an excellent opportunity for remembrance tourism, which is one of the government's priorities and which intends in particular to highlight the industrial heritage of the Grand Duchy. It should be emphasised in this context that the extraction and processing of slate was the second largest industry in the country and played a considerable economic role for the country until the middle of the 20th century. The Haut-Martelange slate quarry site is an exceptional and unique witness to this flourishing past. The development and operation of the underground chambers of the old slate quarries of Haut-Martelange have made it possible to create an exceptional tourist attraction with enormous potential. The upgrading of the Slate Museum is also an important step for tourism in rural areas, which now has an upgraded tourist site capable of attracting both residents and foreign tourists. This museum therefore not only constitutes an exceptional new center of tourist attraction, but it also helps to raise awareness of the history of Luxembourg's industrial heritage".