Diekirch

Diekirch (Dikrech in Luxembourgish) is a 4,610 inhabitants town and one of the most important in the north of Luxembourg. This town is crossed by Sûre or Sauer river and has the most important brewery in the Luxembourg. It hosts an important cross country running competition anually (Eurocross).

How do I arrive to Diekirch?

  Diekirch is a town quite well communicated by public transportation. 

• Train: there are trains to Luxembourg City from Diekrich every 30 minutes (aprox. 45 minutes).
• Bus: from Diekirch there are often buses Luxembourg City (1 hour). From Echternach there are at least 8 buses (aprox. 40 minutes) for 2€ (one way). 
• Car: if you rented a car, it's a 35 minutes journey from Luxembourg City, a 15 minutes journey from Ettelbruck, 15 minutes from Larochette, 30 minutes from Clervaux, 35 minutes from Wiltz and 15 minutes from Vianden.

History

The town received its name when Charlemagne resettled Saxons in the late 8th century, being one of the centre of these settlements was in the area of Diekirch. Pagan Saxons were tried to convert into Christians building a church, which gave the settlement its name: "Diet-Kirch" ("people's church"). In the 14th century, John of Bohemia fortified Diekirch and it remained more or less fortified until the beginning of the 19th century when the French, during their occupation, levelled the old walls and substituted avenues of trees. In the 1960s, it was shown that the St. Laurence church is a Roman building and wall ruins and mosaics were being found north of the town center. Archaeological investigations enabled the reconstruction of a large Roman villa, which extended over all the land of the medieval town and was abandoned in the early 5th century.
Germany occupied Ettelbruck on 10 May 1940 and US forces first liberated the town on 11 September 1944 (Germany retook the town during the Battle of the Bulge). Then US General George S. Patton led US troops in the final liberation of Ettelbruck from Nazi occupation.  

 

What can I visit in Diekirch?

Diekirch is an interesting town in the center of Luxembourg, fact that can make you be hosted here and visit other towns on day-trips. In Diekirch surroundings hiking, cycling and other outdoors sports can be practised.

These are Diekirch's main attractions:

• National Museum of Military History (10-18 Tue-Sun; 5€/ 3€/ free  adults/ retiree and students/ kids under 10): museum, considered the best in Luxembourg of its kind, that has many vehicles and objects related to WW2. It's specially focused in the Battle of the Bulge (1944), having life-size models to remember how that battle in a snowy Christmas was.
• Diekirch History Museum (10-18 Tue-Sun; 5€/ free  adults/ students and kids): modern museum which shows Diekirch's history, telling secrets of a misjudged past and reflexions about today's life. It has objects related to archeology (like a mosaic from the near Roman villa), geology and many more.
• National Museum of Historical Vehicles (10-18 Tue-Sun; 5€/ free  adults/ students and kids): placed in a historic car assembly factory, this collection has cars from the 19th century to the 1970s. The concept of the museum is that collectors from the region can create a living exhibition of their vehicles and objects within the museum.
• Beer Museum and Brewery of Diekirch (10-18 Tue-Sun; 5€/ free  adults/ students and kids; the entry is included in the National Museum of Historical Vehicles): Diekirch's beer is the most important in Luxembourg and this museum has a small collection of objects related to it, including glasses, advertisements...
• St. Laurent Old Church (10-18 Tue-Sun; free): church placed in the rest of a Roman wall and a Pre-Romanesque church that has a mixture of several styles, specially important the Gothic one (in windows and frescoes). In 1960 a Merovingian cemetery was found under the church.
• Bee Museum of Diekirch (10-18 Tue-Sat from Jul to Aug; free): small museum which tells the story of ancient and modern beekeeping. You can also taste and buy honey, honey liqueur and other products from the hive.
• Deiwelselter: 19th century reconstruction of a 2nd millenium BC dolmen. Its name means "altar of the devil".
• Just 7 km west from Diekirch is located Ettelbruck (Ettelbréck in Luxembourgish, Ettelbrück in German), a town with 7,500 inhabitants where there aren't many touristic sights. It has the General Patton Memorial Museum (10-17 Tue-Sun; 5€/ 3€  adults/ students and kids), a museum which pays tribute to him, the General who liberated Luxembourg from the Nazi German invasion. Its local church, St. Sébastien Church, has a decagonal shape (from the 19th century) and dates back to the 15th century.
• In the area there are some trails like National Hiking Trail "Adrien Ries Nordstad" which goes around Diekirch and Ettelbruck.

Roman mosaic at
Diekirch History Museum

Scene represented in the
National Museum of Military History

Bourscheid Castle

In the north of Diekirch, 14 km from it, can be found Bourscheid (Buerschent in Luxembourgish, Burscheid in German), a small village with 266 inhabitants by the river Sûre. The main sight is Bourscheid Castle (9:30-18 from Apr to Oct; 11-16 from Nov to Mar; 5€/ 4€/ 3€  adults/ retiree and students/ kids under 12), the biggest and one of the most important (sometimes considered the best) medieval castle in Luxembourg. The castle was first built in the year 1000 and enlarged during the 14th and 15th century. From the tower keep can be seen the Sûre river's bend.

Where can I eat in Diekirch?

There aren't many culinary offers in Diekirch but you can try one among them, for example in Restaurant du Commerce Sàrl (1 Rue du marché) or the hotel-restaurant Beau-Séjour (12 Rue Esplanade). 
Nearby to Bourscheid there are some nice places to eat like Brasserie Am Keller (7 Buurschter Millen). Snack Cafe Panorama (17 Schlasswee) is a good place to have something to eat and great views from the castle

Posted in: Europe,Luxembourg