Luxembourg City's Largest Park Opens to Public

The inauguration of the Ban de Gasperich public park in Luxembourg City took place on Wednesday 7 June 2023.

According to the City of Luxembourg (Ville de Luxembourg - VdL) this new public park aims to offer residents and visitors to the Gasperich district (which has experienced considerable demographic growth in recent years) "a new modern and multifunctional recreation and leisure area, which emphasises the enhancement of biodiversity."

With a total surface area of 16.6 ha, the Ban de Gasperich park, designed by Mersch Ingénieurs-Paysagistes SARL, is the largest park in Luxembourg City and offers both green spaces for relaxations and facilities for outdoor activities.

According to VdL, the new park is designed to combine, on the one hand, areas intended for intensive use, such as playgrounds, sports grounds and meeting places, and on the other hand, quieter areas. The park includes the renatured Drosbach stream, a 6,800 m2 pond, recreational and relaxation lawns, dry lawns, an alluvial forest and marshy areas along the Drosbach, native trees and an orchard with more than 75 native fruit trees, as well as a main loop with a sealed surface for cyclists and pedestrians with a length of 1,350 m and a width of 4 m, among other features.

In terms of spaces and equipment, the project includes a large playground (climbing and balancing theme) with a picnic area, a multisports ground, a beach volleyball court, an outdoor fitness area, a petanque court and recreational elements, as well as public toilets, water dispensers and a brasserie with a terrace at the main entrance to the park.

Major works on the park began in summer 2020, whilst the renaturation of the Drosbach took place between 2021 and 2023. Plantations also began in 2021. Furniture installation took place in 2022 and 2023, whilst wooden works ran from 2021 to 2023. Games and sports equipment were set up in 2022 and 2023; the outdoor fitness area is expected to be operational from September 2023. The project is set to be fully complete by winter 2023.

Regarding the cost of this project, in June 2017, the VdL municipal council approved an estimated budget of €15,990,000 (including VAT) for the development of the Ban de Gasperich park. The €5,103,109.69 (including VAT) budget for the construction of the brasserie, was approved in May 2021. The budget for the premises of the VdL Parks Department and the "Hondssportveräin", approved in June 2021, amounted to €10,765,359.13 (including VAT).