Bourglinster Castle, eight centuries around one courtyard

Bourglinster isn’t a castle you pay for at a ticket window and wander round. It’s a 12th-century complex above the village of the same name, in the municipality of Junglinster, bought by the state in 1968 and restored by 1988, and these days it earns its keep with concerts, exhibitions, weddings and a restaurant. To see inside you need an appointment, and that’s the thing to sort out before you go.

Booking the guided tour

You request the guided tour through a visitluxembourg form, and it runs on Mondays or Tuesdays. It lasts an hour and a half for groups of up to fifteen, and English is one of five languages on offer. It begins with a walk through the moat and carries on inside. For 2026, dates run from 5 January to 29 December. The listing doesn’t give a price, so ask when you book.

Without an appointment you see the castle from outside and from the cobbled village streets. For the full picture, the waymarked loop that begins at its gates gives you, according to visitluxembourg, several good views back towards it.

Eight centuries in layers

What I like about Bourglinster is that the history shows in layers. Linster is recorded in 1098 as a possession of St Simeon in Trier, and an earlier lowland castle stood at Altlinster. The new castle on the hill had a residential tower, a chapel and a curtain wall. In 1231 Béatrice de Linster and her husband Thierry de Fontoy, seneschal of Luxembourg, took the fief from Countess Ermesinde.

From the later 14th century the Orley family held it, remodelling the chapel and adding a building to the north. Between the late 14th and the 15th century the lower castle, the Waldeck house, went up with a moat, fortified gates and two towers. In 1527 Thierry de Metzenhausen received the whole lordship from Charles V, and not long afterwards came the blow. Between 1542 and 1544, in the wars between Charles V and Francis I, both castles were partly destroyed. The Renaissance south wing went up from 1548, and between 1682 and 1684 French troops again wrecked part of the lower castle. The Baroque façade at the back of the main courtyard dates from the second quarter of the 18th century.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Luxemburgo before prices climb.

From restored ruin to concert venue

Between the 18th and 20th centuries the castle passed through several owners, noble and otherwise, until the state bought it. Consolidation and restoration ran from 1969 to 1988, and since 1982 it has hosted exhibitions, concert series, lectures and receptions. Craft workshops operate in the restored farm buildings, and a restaurant rounds things off. The castle’s own website mentions rooms for weddings and events of up to 200 guests.

It helps to set expectations. This isn’t a castle with a ticket desk and fixed opening hours. It’s a working building, which is exactly why visits are by appointment.

Is it worth it?

I think so, if you plan it. With a booking, you get the history explained in the moat itself, in a small group. Without one, the village and the loop walk still fill a pleasant morning. If you want castles with fixed hours and tickets, see my ranking of castles in Luxembourg, and if spending a night in one appeals, Bourglinster can’t offer that, but I list what exists in castle hotels.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Luxemburgo before prices climb.

Getting there

The nearest bus stop to the loop walk is Bourglinster, Am Duerf, and buses are free inside Luxembourg. By car, the address is 8 rue du Château. ExtraTour D of the Mullerthal Trail also starts here, running 31.5 km to the Grünewald forest.

Making a day of it

If you book the Monday or Tuesday tour for the morning, I’d fill the rest of the day in the same municipality. A few kilometres away, Junglinster’s parish church of St Martin is a listed Baroque building from the 1770s. If you fancy a walk, the opening section of ExtraTour D heads through Altlinster, past rocks once used for prehistoric worship, to Blumenthal, where it joins Route 3 of the Mullerthal Trail. Out there and back to Bourglinster by the shortcut is 12.5 km, a comfortable half day.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Bourglinster Castle and choose by the reviews.

A car frees you from timetables: search car hire in Luxembourg on DiscoverCars and compare companies.

So you do not pay over the odds, look at trains, coaches and flights to Luxembourg on Omio and pick the one that suits you.