Belair, Merl, Hollerich: Place de France

Whether you live in Belair, Merl or Hollerich, or are just passing through, do you know the history of this neighbourhood – and of this particular site? Here's a little background to help you better understand this iconic area of Luxembourg City, which connects the districts of Hollerich, Merl and Belair.

From medieval origins to the Fortress of Luxembourg

The villages of Merl and Hollerich were founded in the Middle Ages. During the era of the Fortress of Luxembourg, these settlements lay outside the city walls, and were regularly affected by armed conflicts. The passage of troops, looting and destruction repeatedly shaped their history. With the fall of the Ancien Régime and the arrival of the French Revolutionaries to annex the country in 1795, Merl and Hollerich became independent municipalities. Merl was eventually merged with Hollerich in 1823.

Before it became a connecting hub in the urban environment, at the crossroads between three districts, what is nowPlace de France was a commercial zone. There are records of lime production around Luxembourg City from the Middle Ages – in particular, around Merl, where chalk quarries and lime kilns operated. This activity also largely accounts for the position of what was to become Place de France in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.

On the hills behind Place de France, near the crossroads between Rue d'Oradour and Avenue Gaston Diderich today, the Luxembourg City gallows once stood. This symbol of power and justice, originally built of wood and later replaced with a stone structure, could be seen from Route de Longwy and Route d'Arlon. The gallows were used as a means of execution until 1793, when the guillotine took their place. However, old maps still show the so-called Galgenberg (Gallows Mount), on the hills where Avenue Gaston Diderich currently runs.

The urban development of Hollerich, Merl and Belair

For a long time, Merl retained its village character, but Belair followed quite a different path. In the 18^th century, the territory of Belair (now a district of Luxembourg City) was still largely rural, notably including the Jungblut and Daubenfeld farms, and the Sainte-Croix (Holy Cross) chapel. After the farms disappeared during the 1790s and the fortress began being dismantled as decreed in 1867, the area gradually began to see population growth and development, and was known as Neumerl (New Merl). It had 87 residents in 1887 and 243 in 1900. By 1934, its population had reached 3,200. Neumerl's major transformation into an urban district began in the 1920s, and gathered pace in the 1930s. The development of the district and of Place de France, so named in 1937, took inspiration, in large part, from the principles developed by urban planner Josef Stübben, whose plans held sway for decades over the way in which streets, squares and green spaces in the urban environment were laid out.

The name "Belair" was adopted officially in 1956 by the College of Aldermen. It refers to the former Rue Bel-Air, the central artery running through the district. In 1947, the road was renamed in honour of former Luxembourg City Mayor Gaston Diderich, who served from 1921 to 1940 and again from 1944 to 1946.

Hollerich, for its part, underwent significant urban and industrial development after the fortress was dismantled. In 1914, the municipality was raised to city status, with the name Hollerich-Bonnevoie. Six years later, it was subsumed into the growing Luxembourg City.