Clervaux Castle ( lb, Schlass Klierf, german: Schloss Clerf, french: Château de Clervaux) in the town of

Clervaux Clervaux (; lb, Clierf or (locally) ; german: Clerf) is a commune and town in northern Luxembourg, administrative capital of the canton of Clervaux. The town's arms, granted in 1896, show three blackbirds on a gold ground in the chief of a red ...

in Northern

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

dates back to the 12th century. Destroyed by the fire in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

during the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

, the castle has now been fully rebuilt. It houses the commune's administrative offices as well as a museum containing an exhibition of

Edward Steichen Edward Jean Steichen (March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973) was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter, and curator, renowned as one of the most prolific and influential figures in the history of photography. Steichen was credited with tr ...

's photographs.Evy Friedrich, "Luxembourg: Castles and fortified castles", ''Editions Guy Bindsfeld'', Luxembourg, 1984. .

Location

The castle stands at a height of 365 metres on a rocky spur above the town, surrounded on three sides by a loop in the River Clerve."Château fort de Clervaux"
, ''Service des Sites et Monuments Nationaux''. Retrieved 11 March 2011.

History

The oldest parts of the castle from the 12th century were built by Gerard, Count of Sponheim, a brother of the Count of Vianden. The large palace and the rounded towers are probably from around 1400 when the prosperous Lords of Brandenbourg lived there."Château de Clervaux"
, ''Luxweb-Culture''. Retrieved 11 March 2011. In 1634, Claude of Lannoy built the reception halls, including the large Knights' Hall in the Spanish style of Flanders. In 1660, stables, storerooms and administrative buildings were added. Finally, in the 18th century, new stables were built. Over the years, like other castles in Luxembourg, Clervaux fell into disrepair although it was partly restored and used as a hotel before it was finally destroyed in the Second World War during the Battle of Clervaux (December 16 to 18, 1944), part of the

The castle today

After being fully restored after the war, the castle is now used partly as a museum and partly for housing the local administration. The south wing houses an exhibition of models of Luxembourg's castles; the old kitchen in the Brandenbourg House. It is a museum devoted to the

Battle of the Ardennes The Battle of the Ardennes took place during the First World War fought on the frontiers of France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg from 21 to 23 August 1914. The German armies defeated the French and forced their retreat. The battle was part of ...

. The upper floors house the permanent installation of the entire complement of 503 original and restored prints, the work of 273 photographers, from the exhibition ''

The Family of Man ''The Family of Man'' was an ambitious exhibition of 503 photographs from 68 countries curated by Edward Steichen, the director of the New York City Museum of Modern Art's (MoMA) Department of Photography. According to Steichen, the exhibitio ...

'', curated by

for

The Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of th ...

in 1955 and which toured the world to be seen by 9 million visitors. Luxembourg was where Edward Steichen was born in 1879, in

Bivange Bivange (, ) is a small town in the commune of Roeser, in southern Luxembourg. The town is known for as the birthplace of Luxembourg American photographer Edward Steichen Edward Jean Steichen (March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973) was a Luxemb ...

. The exhibition was first presented in the Castle in 1994 after restoration of the prints. The layout of the inaugural exhibition at MoMA is followed in order to recreate the original viewing experience, though necessarily adapted to the unique space of two floors of the restored Castle. Since further restoration of the photographs and displays in 2013 it now incorporates a library and contextualises ''The Family of Man'' with historical material and interpretation.Anke Reitz (2018) 'Re-exhibiting ''The Family of Man'': Luxembourg 2013', in Hurm, Gerd, 1958–, (editor.); Reitz, Anke, (editor.); Zamir, Shamoon, (editor.) (2018), ''The family of man revisited : photography in a global age'', London I.B.Tauris, The remaining rooms are used for the services of the local administration.

Visiting times

The castle is open to visitors every day from 10 am to 6 pm except Mondays. It is closed in January and February.

References

{{Coord, 50, 03, 16, N, 6, 01, 46, E, display=title, region:LU_type:landmark_source:frwiki Clervaux Castles in Luxembourg Tourist attractions in Luxembourg Castles in the Ardennes (Luxembourg) Castles in the Eifel

Location

History

The castle today

Visiting times

See also

References