WILTZ CASTLE
Read moreBuilt on a rocky outcrop, like many castles in the region, the present building dates from the 17th and 18th centuries, although its origin probably dates back to the 13th century. The first fortress did not offer sufficient security, and in 1631 Count Jan VI ordered the construction of the castle we see today. The former castle chapel was built in 1722 and the monumental external staircase, which led to the gardens, in 1727.
Driven out of the castle by French revolutionary troops, the last Count de Wiltz had to flee in 1793 and died abroad. All his properties were then confiscated and sold. Ceded by the French state in the mid-19th century, the castle was subsequently used as a boarding school for young girls from 1851 to 1950. It has been the property of the Luxembourg state since 1951 and was initially used as a centre for the elderly, run by the nuns of the Carmelite order until 1985. Today, the State symbolically rents it to the municipality.
In addition to the town's museums (the National Museum of Brewing and Tannery Art with its micro-brewery and the one devoted to the Battle of the Bulge from 1944-1945), it houses the office of the International Scout Centre, an international management school for the hotel and tourism industry, as well as the town's Tourist Office. Every year, the castle park hosts the Wiltz International Music and Theatre Festival.