Remich ( lb, Réimech ) is a commune with

town status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, city status ...

in south-eastern

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 land ...

with a population of 3,645 inhabitants . It is the capital of the

canton of Remich Remich is a canton in the east of Luxembourg. Its capital is Remich. Administrative divisions Remich Canton consists of the following eight communes: * Bous * Dalheim * Lenningen * Mondorf-les-Bains * Remich * Schengen * Stadtbredimus * Waldbre ...

. Remich lies on the left bank of the river

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...

, which forms part of the border between Luxembourg and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. The commune is the smallest in Luxembourg by surface area. The Moselle valley is dominated by wine-making and many small wine-making towns, of which Remich is one of the most picturesque and frequented by tourists.

History

In the 5th century, after the withdrawal of Roman troops, the Roman settlement of "Remacum" gradually turned into "Remich". In the 8th century the

King of the Franks The Franks, Germanic-speaking peoples that invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, were first led by individuals called dukes and reguli. The earliest group of Franks that rose to prominence was the Salian Merovingians, who c ...

Pepin the Short the Short (french: Pépin le Bref; – 24 September 768), also called the Younger (german: Pippin der Jüngere), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian to become king. The younger was the son of ...

ceded his crown estate "Hof Remich" to the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

St. Maximin's Abbey St. Maximin's Abbey (german: Reichsabtei St. Maximin) was a Benedictine monastery in Trier in the Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. History The abbey, traditionally considered one of the oldest monasteries in western Europe, was held to have been fo ...

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

and to

Prüm Abbey Prüm Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey in Prüm, now in the diocese of Trier (Germany), founded by the Frankish widow Bertrada the elder and her son Charibert, Count of Laon, in 721. The first abbot was Angloardus. The Abbey ruled over a ...

. In 882, the

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. T ...

destroyed the settlement. Fragments of the medieval town fortifications from 952, such as the St. Nicolas gate, are still visible today. Originally the town gate, it is dedicated to the patron saint of fishermen and sailors, and is registered as a national monument today, as is the decanal church, whose rectangular tower is a former defensive tower from the 12th century. In 1687 the town's fortifications were demolished by the army of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ve ...

. There are still various coats of arms and guild symbols on some of the houses today. In 1866 the first bridge was built over the Moselle. After its destruction in

World War II 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

it was replaced first with a wooden construction, then in 1958 with the bridge that still stands today. Since its canalisation in 1964, it has been possible for boats to sail on the Moselle all year round.

Population

Remich Fuesend Karneval

Remich annually holds a three-day-long celebration for

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival ...

(called Fuesend Karneval in

Luxembourgish Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. As a standard form of t ...

). Remich is notable for two special events in addition to its Fuesend Karneval parades. The first of these is the Stréimännchen, which is the burning of a male effigy from the Remich bridge that crosses the

separating the Grand Duchy from

. The Stréimännchen symbolizes the burning away of winter. The other special event at the Remich Fuesend celebrations is the Buergbrennen or

bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration. Etymology The earliest recorded uses of the word date back to the late 15th century, with the Cath ...

that closes the celebration.

Communal council

Current composition

The communal council is composed as detailed below. The results are those of the most recent communal elections on 8 October 2017. NB: The "Change" column refers to a party's number of seats gained/lost since the 2011 communal elections.

Past

List of mayors

* Jacques Sitz (2017–) * Henri Kox (2009–2017) * Jeannot Belling (1997–2009) * Fernand Kons (1970–1993) * Jean-Auguste Neyen (1888–1890) * Joseph-Chrétien Gretsch (ca. 1870) * Willibrorde Macher (ca. 1849–1856)

Notable people

Mary Alfred Moes Mary Alfred Moes, (born Maria Catherine Moes; October 28, 1828 – December 18, 1899) was a Roman Catholic nun who was instrumental in establishing first the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate in Joliet, Illinois, as well as the Sisters of ...

, American Roman Catholic nun, was born in Remich.

Twin towns — sister cities

Remich is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: * Bessan, France

References

External links

*
Website of the town of Remich
{{Authority control Cities in Luxembourg Communes in Remich (canton) Towns in Luxembourg Germany–Luxembourg border crossings