Koerich, gateway to the Valley of the Seven Castles

If I had to pick a single commune in western Luxembourg, it would be Koerich. Four villages and 2,814 residents at the start of 2026, yet they pack in a medieval castle you can walk into free of charge, a Baroque church the commune ranks among the most extraordinary in the country, and a Roman villa that’s open, free, all year. You can get to all of it by bus, at no cost. To the south, Garnich has the country’s biggest water tower at Hivange and a cinema in Kahler’s old school.

A thousand years on the map

The commune dates the first official mention of Koerich to 979, though Celtic graves and Roman remains have turned up around Goeblange, many now on show in the National Museum of History and Art in the capital. In the 13th century the village had not one castle but two. The Fockeschlass, built by a junior branch of the local lords, has gone entirely, though it still appears on the map Count Ferraris drew in 1777 for Empress Maria Theresa. Of the other, the Gréiweschlass, the ruins stand in the middle of the village.

For centuries Koerich was a village of quarrymen, stonecutters and paviours rather than farmers, who were concentrated in Goeblange and Goetzingen. In the 20th century the craftsmen gave way to steelworkers.

The castle, open to everyone

The Gréiweschlass, the count’s castle, is a lowland castle with a massive keep, nicknamed the witches’ tower, and outer walls that form an almost perfect square. It was once ringed by a moat 10 to 12 m wide. Now state property, it reopened after a decade of restoration, 2009 to 2019, and lets you in free of charge daily from 9am to 6pm. The commune stresses that no other castle in the valley offers free access. The full story and visiting tips are under Koerich Castle.

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St Remy’s, the Baroque church

The church went up in three stages, with the bell tower in 1727, the nave in 1747-48 and the onion dome in 1791. All the choir furniture is carved oak, and the 1755 high altar, three altars joined together, is the work of sculptor André Doyé of Diekirch and cabinetmaker Frédéric Biver of Koerich. The paintings are by Joseph Muller, an artist from Bohemia. After a painstaking restoration the commune calls it one of the most impressive churches in the country, and Visit Guttland lists it among the most beautiful. With the castle and the old houses it makes a lovely ensemble.

Goeblange, Romans and Celts

The Miecher villa near Goeblange was one of the larger farming estates in the land of the Treveri. It had at least eight stone buildings over five hectares, a mausoleum built around AD 30 and a small temple. In the late 3rd century it became a burgus, a fortified refuge with a palisade and tower, and it was abandoned towards the end of the 4th. Father Georges Kayser rediscovered it in 1964. From the car park on the CR 189, between Goeblange and Simmerschmelz, boards guide you round free all year, and 500 m along a forest path lie the Celtic mounds and the 13 graves of the Goeblange-Nospelt necropolis, shared with Kehlen.

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The storm forest

In 2014 a storm wrecked much of the Härebësch forest. Visit Guttland suggests an educational trail showing nature reclaiming the ground, part of Koerich’s circular walk, almost entirely on earth tracks. Walkers, says the tourist office, talk of a real jungle feel. Stick to the marked path; it’s a recovering forest, not a park. Another oddity is the pumping station that supplies drinking water to the south of the country, in an early 20th-century building with an interactive exhibition you can visit by appointment.

How I’d spend a morning here

I’d arrive on bus 255 at the Gemeng stop, beside the castle. I’d see the Gréiweschlass and St Remy’s, walk out to the Roman villa, an hour on foot according to the commune, and have a picnic among the ruins. With a hire car I’d make Koerich the grand finale of my seven castles drive. If you can choose your dates, the castle hosts the Tempus Mediaevale fair every third weekend in September, according to the commune. As for beds, STATEC publishes no hotel figure for the commune, so I’d head back to the capital.

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