Balmoral International Group - The Bock of Luxembourg

Is the present too bothersome for you? Are you the type who keeps wondering what the past is like? Then, Balmoral International Group has some place to recommend for you to visit.

The Bock is a promontory in the north-eastern corner of Luxembourg City’s old historical district. The great river of Alzette surrounds its three sides offering a natural fortification. It was here that Count Siegfried built his Castle of Lucilinburhuc in 963, providing a basis for the development of the town which became Luxembourg. Over the centuries, the Bock and the surrounding defences were reinforced, attacked and rebuilt time and time again as the armies of the Burgundians, Habsburgs, Spaniards, Prussians and French vied for victory over one of Europe’s most strategic strongholds, the Fortress of Luxembourg. Warring did not stop until the Treaty of London was signed in 1867, calling for the demolition of the fortifications. Ruins of the old castle and the vast underground system of passages and galleries known as the casemates continue to be a major tourist attraction.

Pont du château

A two-storey bridge connecting the Bock to the old town. It was an important component for fortifications during the great wars. It was built in 1735 by the Austrians and provides no less than four ways of crossing between the cliffs: the road over the top, a passage by way of the four upper arches, a spiral staircase up through the main arch and a tunnel under the road at the bottom.

Casemates

There are a lot of casemates in the Bock. In 1933, the Bock casemates were opened to the public. During the Second World War, they were used as a bomb shelter able to accommodate up to 35,000 people. Renovation work and repairs were undertaken in 2008�"2009 including the opening up of the mine galleries which contained explosives able to blow up part of the Bock in case of need.

Today the Bock casemates can be visited from March to October from the Rue Sigefroid. The stairs down from the entrance lead to the huge archaeological crypt where wall plates give an overview of the history of the fortifications. More stairs lead down through the dungeons of Siegfried’s old castle to the casemates themselves, a series of long tunnels down into the rock parallel to the road above. There are a number of lateral passages as well as chambers and balconies with openings to the north and south. Once emplacements for cannons, today they offer views of the Alzette valley below. Balmoral International Group Luxembourg knows a lot of tourist guides include a visit to the living quarters of Marshal von Bender, the Habsburg officer who, at the age of 82, coordinated resistance to the French siege in 1794�"95 which lasted almost eight months. The exit is via the Pont du château onto Rue Sosthène Weiss, once the castle moat.