Happy New Years!!!
Luxembourg was quiet with light rain and a cloudy sky but still a beautiful city all dressed for the holiday season in blue and white lights.
After a fabulous breakfast in the hotels first floor restaurant looking out through the picture windows to the expansive main street and the few residents out for a walk our waiting for a bus. This is a city of fabulous transportation options and clearly they encourage the residents to use public transportation (buses) as much as possible and for a small country they do an exceptional job at providing exemplary service. Buses to all areas run it seems every 10 minutes and they have electric signs that tell you exactly when your bus will arrive and the buses are clean and the drivers seem helpful. And they also make it affordable unlike a lot of other European countries I've been to. Here is 1.50 euros for anywhere the bus is going and it's valid for a return or second trip on another bus.
Well this morning I walked for awhile back to where the shopping area was and to some of the architectural interests like churches and municipal buildings. First I visited the glises Protestantes au Luxembourg, a Protestant church that is very beautiful and simple at the same time and not much is written about it that I could find online. It seems the only 1 percent of the population of Luxembourg is Protestant.
I left there and walked around the corner to the Notre Dame Cathedral which is much larger than the Protestant church and has beautiful vaulted ceilings and a gorgeous alter with stunning stained glass and all exquisitely decorated with a glimmering gold and white lights and lots of red and white flower arrangements. Mass was just concluding when I walked in and then tourists came in and out as I sat and admired the beauty of the artwork and large Nativity. There was an adorable young boy about 8 or 9 and his mom, from Africa and she was teaching him the meaning of lighting candles and he was just so sweet as I watched him put the money in the box and then take a few small candles and try and find spots for them on the large holder as his mom went off to light a large candle in the other corner. It's always interesting to see a ritual that we all just take as common place since we've known about it since we were kids through the eyes of a child who was mesmerized I'm sure by the many flickering lights and the impressive statues and Nativity that were all around. There is a beautiful Madonna and Child dressed in elaborate gold and silver brocade with colorful tapestry fabric woven in on the alter under glass and light from all sides and simply glowing.
Being what I imagine as the main church in the city it was amazingly a very peaceful place and a steady stream of visitors came in and out and also it seems a refuge for those less fortunate as there was a man in one of the side areas in back resting from the chill outside and drying his somewhat wet sweatshirts near the step heaters. Even in a small city like this with clearly much wealth and prosperity life is still difficult for sum and thankfully churches, like everywhere around the world should if they don't already, provide a safe haven and a quiet place to rest and stay warm.
Here is some historical information from an online source:
The Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Luxembourg, located in the
heart of the Grand Duchy's capital, dominates the city center. A skilful
combination of classicism and elegance, it blends perfectly into the skyline of
the capital. Nowadays, the Octave and the Te Deum, celebrated on the national
holiday, are performed in the Cathedral on the national holiday. As part of the
festivities to mark the Accession to the Throne of His Royal Highness Grand
Duke Henri, a thanksgiving service will be held in the Notre-Dame Cathedral.
The oldest part of the Luxembourg Cathedral of Our Lady,
Comforter of the Afflicted, is in fact the church of the former Jesuit College.
The plan of the church was drawn up by Brother Jean du Blocq (1583-1656) from
the Monastery of Tournai. Brother Otto Herloy (+1639) was responsible for the
effective supervision of the building works. The builder was Ulrich Job from
Lucerne (Switzerland). The stonework of the church (except the upper part of
the belfry) was entrusted to him. The ornamentation of the columns, a
decorative element characteristic of the architecture of the Jesuit church in
Luxembourg, was also made in his workshop. The sculptor Daniel Müller (+1623),
an immigrant from Freiberg in Saxony, also made a decisive contribution to the
artistic design of the church. The construction works were completed in 1621,
as the inscription on the portal shows. In the same year the richly sculptured
gallery, Daniel Müller’s masterpiece, was set up in the entrance to the nave.
On 17 October 1621, Georg von Helffenstein, Auxiliary Bishop of Trier,
consecrated the college church and dedicated it to the Immaculate Conception.
1815 the Congress of Vienna created the Grand Duchy. On 27
June 1870 Pope Pius IX proclaimed it a self-governing diocese and so the Church
of Notre-Dame became a cathedral.
Between 1935 and 1938, an extension enhancing the existing building was constructed according to plans drawn up by the architect Hubert Schumacher in collaboration with Canon Léon Lommel.
The extension, which rises up from the twin bays of the
chancel of the 1613-1621 building, gives a special character to the present
appearance of the former collegial church in the city skyline, due to both its
scale and its architecture effects. The wonderful stained glass of the chancel
and the transept was made in part by Louis Barillet, that of the Grand-Ducal
tribune by Oberberger, and the high stained-glass windows of the transept by the
Luxembourger Emile Probst. The latest restoration of the church was carried out
by the City of Luxembourg in 1977-1978. The purpose was to accentuate the
vertical dynamism of the architecture, and highlight sculptural elements. On
Good Friday, 5 April 1985, welding work started a fire in the old belfry. The
bells of the carillon, the Bourdon de la Vierge, and the bells of St
Willibrord, St Pierre and Ste Cunégonde in this tower were destroyed. As the
belfry collapsed, the roof above the central nave of the cathedral was damaged
in several places by debris from the burning tower. The reconstruction work of
the tower was finished on 17 October 1985.
The veneration of the Comforter of the Afflicted dates back
to an initiative by a Jesuit teacher, Father Jacques Brocquart, who organized a
modest pilgrimage in 1624 for the pupils of the college. Soon after, he had a
chapel built next to the ramparts to house the statue and encourage the
veneration of the Blessed Virgin. From 1625 onward, individual pilgrims or
groups of students traveled to pray before the statue of the Comforter of the
Afflicted. In 1639, the first "Book of Miracles" mentioned prayers
answered and cures that took place in front of the miraculous statue in the
Chapelle du Glacis. Invocation of the Comforter of the Afflicted became
increasing popular with the people of Luxembourg. Our Lady, Comforter of the
Afflicted was chosen in 1666 by the City of Luxembourg as "Patron Saint of
the City", and in 1678, she was proclaimed "Patron Saint of the
Country" by the whole population, and has remained the object of fervent
worship ever since. Every year, in Spring, the "Octave" festivities
gather round her Christians from all over the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and
also Lorraine, the Belgian Ardennes and the Gaume and Eifel regions, for a
two-week period (from the fourth to the sixth Sunday of Easter).
I then walked back toward the main street and came to the very beautiful and moving
The Monument of Remembrance, usually known by the nickname
of the Gëlle Fra (Luxembourgish for 'Golden Lady'), is a war memorial dedicated
to the Luxembourgers who fell in battle during the two World Wars and in Korea.
The Gëlle Fra was erected in 1923 in Constitution Square and
is one of the most famous monuments in the city of Luxembourg. The centerpiece
of the statue is a 21 meter high obelisk atop which stands a woman holding out
a crown of laurels to two soldiers, one of whom watches over his compatriot who
died in battle. Thus, the Gëlle Fra is dedicated to the soldiers who died in
battle during the two World Wars and symbolizes peace and patriotism.
During the Nazi occupation, the demolition of the base and
obelisk and the removal of the statue caused widespread discontent among the
Luxembourg population, provoking several demonstrations and patriotic awakening
through slogans such as "Roude Léiw, erwech” (Red Lion, Awaken). After the
Second World War, the statue was exhibited one last time to the public in 1955
at an exposition, then “disappeared” until 1981, when it was discovered under
the bleachers of the Josy-Barthel stadium. A copy was remounted on its obelisk
and the inauguration of the reconstructed monument took place on 23 June, 1985.
The original is on display in a Luxembourg museum. From the square itself can
be enjoyed a superb view of the Pétrusse valley, surrounded by the ramparts of
the fortress, as well as the prestigious architecture of the Banque et Caisse
d’Epargne de l’Etat building.
In 2001, a replica of the Golden Lady appeared as part of
the contemporary art forum, this time pregnant to emphasize the difficulty
women encounter in modern society. This work of art, certainly ephemeral and at
the origin of intense debate, is representative of the strong symbolic value
linked to the Gëlle Fra.
The Gëlle Fra was sent to the Shanghai World Expo from 1 May
to 31 October, 2010. The Gëlle
The rest of the day was spent walking around enjoying the views and the quiet peace of the city on this holiday. I was surprised to see a lone guard in one of the guard stands (a small dark grey box) outside one of the municipal buildings with his full uniform and rifle strapped to his chest. It just seemed so out of place since there were just us quiet visitors and a few locals out and about and couldn't imagine any threat to the building but that's his job and he was doing it with all the austerity the position commands. There isn't much pomp and circumstance to his job I imagine like there is with the guards at Buckingham Palace or the Swiss guards at the Vatican all dressed in their gold and red stripped uniforms. This man, on a dreary January day was stiffly protecting his post with probably very little notice from anyone around except the women in the pretty red coat holding her husbands arm standing directly in front of the little guard hut as you can see in the picture below.
I went back to the hotel to just relax and enjoy the New Year by reading, taking a fabulous bubble bath and listening to a book on tape that I had downloaded from the NYPL. Thank goodness for libraries around the world and certainly, and I may be bias, the NYPL is one of the best.
I am looking forward to seeing more the city tomorrow and sharing that all with you as well as a bit about Luxembourg itself as I must look up what a Grand Duchy is.
Happy New Year and may this be a truly joyous, healthy, happy, prosperous and most importantly peaceful year for all!!!
