Helperknapp, a commune of castles and a pilgrims' hill

Helperknapp is a commune named after a hill. It was created on 1 January 2018 by merging Boevange-sur-Attert and Tuntange, and takes its name from the Helperknapp, the hill within its boundaries, according to Visit Guttland. It now has 5,326 residents, says STATEC, and the national register lists 14 villages, two more than the regional tourist office mentions. For a visitor, two of them count for more than the rest, Ansembourg and Hollenfels.

St Willibrord’s hill

Start with the hill that gave the commune its name. At the top, a spring rises inside a small chapel called Willibrord’s chapel, after the statue of the saint beside it. Visit Guttland thinks the spring was probably already used for worship in Gallo-Roman times and notes traces of Roman fortifications on the hill. Forty metres away stands the Gehaans chapel.

The hill was a place of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages, and once a year it hosted the Helpermaart, one of the largest markets in the region. The tradition lives on in an annual procession in the saint’s honour on Whit Monday. The site is open access, though the 1902 chapel can’t be visited inside. Walks climb the hill from Boevange-sur-Attert and the villages around it, Grevenknapp, Bill, Finsterthal, Buschdorf and Brouch, and a cycle path passes nearby.

Ansembourg, two castles and a garden

visitluxembourg credits Ansembourg with a pair of castles, a medieval one and a 17th-century one. The newer house, built by an ironmaster, stays closed, but its 1750 Baroque garden is yours to wander, statues of classical gods and all. The old castle is the private property of the Count of Ansembourg. The village is covered in Ansembourg and the gardens, with opening times, in Ansembourg Castle.

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Hollenfels, the keep above the Eisch

A kilometre and a half away, in Hollenfels, a castle mentioned as early as the 11th century lifts its keep, 39 m by Visit Guttland’s measure, high on its rock. For now it’s closed for works and its youth hostel takes no guests. A playground beside it gives a head-on view, and a footpath heads for the Reiterlee, a crag with a knightly legend and a fine view over the Eisch valley and the Marienthal.

A valley made for walking

This is a commune of woods and rivers. Visit Guttland describes the landscape around Boevange as forest along the banks of the Attert, and the Eisch valley between Ansembourg and Hollenfels has an 8.51 km waymarked circuit past the Neimillen mill. All of it fits into the valley of the seven castles route, which has its shortest and prettiest stretch here.

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How I’d spend a day here

I’d start in the Ansembourg gardens, which open at 10am, taking my time over the statue avenue and the rose garden. Then I’d cross to Hollenfels, 1.5 km away, to see the keep from the playground and, legs permitting, drop into the valley on the 8.51 km loop, with 151 m of ascent. In the afternoon I’d go up the Helperknapp, quieter and with no monuments to queue for, to see the spring and the statue of St Willibrord. If the day happens to be Whit Monday, I’d flip the order and start with the procession.

One practical warning. Weddings and private functions shut the Ansembourg gardens now and then; two such closures were already announced for early October 2026, so look at the castle’s agenda first.

Staying and getting there

According to STATEC, the whole commune had just two hotels and no campsite in 2025, and the network lists the Hollenfels hostel as on hold. I keep track of it in youth hostels in Luxembourg, and will update this page when it reopens. Personally, I’d stay in the capital, where the choice is far wider. British travellers used to paying for rural buses will be pleased to hear there’s nothing to pay here. Without a car, public transport is free, with stops at Ansembourg, five minutes’ walk from the gardens, and at Hollenfels, by the school.

The town hall is in Tuntange, at 2 rue de Hollenfels, which is only useful if you need local information or want the commune’s events listings.

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