Hollerich, from tobacco and railways to live music

Hollerich is one of those districts where you can read the capital’s growth layer by layer. Industrial halls, houses from several eras, offices, schools and building sites where a new neighbourhood is taking shape. It’s not postcard-pretty, but it has two clear reasons to visit and one very practical one if you’re driving.

From lime kilns to industrial town

Hollerich turns up in 10th-century documents, according to the tourist office. For centuries it was farms, quarries and lime kilns supplying the fortress city. The turning point was 1859, when it got its own rail link, bringing in industry, trade and workshops, among them the tobacco firm Heintz van Landewyck.

Its population doubled in no time, and by the late 19th century the city describes it as one of the most dynamic municipalities in the country. It merged into the capital in 1920. Today it covers 160.01 hectares, where 7,834 people lived at the end of 2023. The Gare, Belair, Merl, Cessange and Gasperich all came out of its old territory.

Den Atelier and Rue de Hollerich

To the tourist office, Hollerich means den Atelier above all, a former industrial hall that’s now one of the country’s main music venues, with national and international acts. It’s on my shortlist of theatres and concert venues in Luxembourg, near the top. Along Rue de Hollerich, restaurants and bars keep the evenings going. To see how it fits into the city’s after-dark map, try Luxembourg nightlife.

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

Is the tram museum worth it?

I think so, especially with kids or if you like local history. The Tram and Bus Museum opened in 1991 at 63 Rue de Bouillon, inside the city’s bus depot, and brings together a horse-drawn car, trams, several buses and old uniforms, plus scale models, documents and photos charting urban transport since 1875.

It opens on Thursdays from 13:30 to 17:30 and on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 10:00 to 18:00, and entry is free. It’s rather fitting in a capital whose tram returned in 2017 and now costs nothing to ride, as I explain in Luxembourg tram.

Schools, parks and an old abattoir

A large slice of the district is the Geesseknäppchen campus, with several secondary schools, the International School of Luxembourg and the Conservatoire. Next door are Merl park and the Pétrusse valley, the two green spaces the tourist office mentions for Hollerich. The Schluechthaus, the old abattoir that closed in 1997, covers about 2.5 hectares beside the planned Porte de Hollerich eco-district.

The Nei Hollerich project is turning former industrial land into homes, offices, public facilities and green space. It’s a work in progress, so don’t expect a finished neighbourhood yet.

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

Remembering the deportations

At the old Hollerich station, during the Nazi occupation, young Luxembourgers forced into the German labour service and army were assembled before leaving. The Mémorial de la Déportation there has a permanent exhibition on the Second World War that can only be visited by appointment and is closed at weekends and on public holidays. The city counts it as part of neighbouring Gasperich.

Arriving and parking

If you’re driving from Calais or the Channel ports, the Bouillon P+R is the option the tourist office points to for parking on the edge of town and taking the bus in, and on Friday and Saturday nights the CN1 night bus stops there too. The full picture is in parking in Luxembourg. On foot it’s a short walk from the central station.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Luxembourg 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.