Clausen, beer, a vanished palace and the capital's nights out

By day, Clausen looks like just another quiet valley district. As evening falls it changes character, and that’s when you see why the city’s official listing highlights its “large number of cafés and restaurants”. It’s small, 36 hectares and a little over a thousand residents, but it packs a lot of history into a tight space, from a vanished Renaissance palace to the birthplace of one of Europe’s founding fathers.

A district that smells of hops

Clausen’s origins go back to the 12th century, and its link with beer goes back almost as far. By the 14th century Benedictine monks were growing hops here, according to the tourist office. That tradition ended up in the Mousel brewery, whose buildings are now Rives de Clausen, a complex of bars, restaurants and clubs, each with its own style, drawing people from across the region.

I think it’s a good example of how to repurpose an industrial site without wiping out the memory of the place. If you’re interested in the capital’s evenings more broadly, I cover them in Luxembourg nightlife.

The palace that’s gone

In the 16th century Count Peter Ernst of Mansfeld, governor of Luxembourg, built a Renaissance palace in Clausen, the residence known as “La Fontaine”, famous for its exotic gardens and art collections. What’s left is a scattering of remains and a public park, Mansfeld Park, which the city wants to turn into a place for meeting and culture. The big ones, from the municipal park to the Pétrusse, are in parks in Luxembourg City.

The tourist office runs the Mansfeld circuit, which follows the count through the district and explains how the siege of 1543 reshaped Clausen. You can do it with a guide, booked for groups, or on your own with the city’s VdL-AR augmented-reality app.

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What is there to see in Clausen besides bars?

The city’s listing names the Mansfeld park and circuit, Place Sainte-Cunégonde, the Plateau Altmünster and the Malakoff Tower, one of the pieces of the Luxembourg fortress. Along the Alzette there are quiet paths and small green spaces that, according to the tourist office, families use a lot.

Overhead runs one of the capital’s four stone railway viaducts, the Clausen viaduct, 208 metres long and lined with arches. The other three and the rest of the valley crossings are gathered in bridges in Luxembourg City.

Robert Schuman, a Clausen boy

Robert Schuman was born in Clausen on 29 June 1886, and his mother tongue was Luxembourgish, according to the government’s official portal. The declaration of 9 May 1950 that bears his name led to the European Coal and Steel Community, hence Europe Day, which Luxembourg made a public holiday in 2019. There’s also a guided walk on his life organised by the tourist office, and the Schuman monument from 1966 stands in Kirchberg, across the valley.

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Getting there and back

From the Ville Haute you’re down in a few minutes on foot via paths and bridges. Coming from Pfaffenthal or the Grund, simply follow the river. City buses connect it with the centre and Kirchberg, and all public transport is free.

For a late return, the City Night Bus keeps running until 03:30 in the early hours of Saturday and Sunday, and line CN1 links Clausen with the Ville Haute, Hollerich, the Gare, Neudorf and Cents, with a bus roughly every quarter of an hour after 21:30. For anyone sleeping in the upper town, the Pfaffenthal lift also carries you up for free until one o’clock.

My way of doing it

I’d arrive mid-afternoon along the river from the Grund, walk through Mansfeld Park while it’s light and stay for dinner at the Rives. Clausen isn’t a district of monuments; it’s a district for lingering, and that’s how it’s best enjoyed.

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