Roeser, the Alzette valley where Edward Steichen was born

Roeser is a commune of seven villages on both banks of the Alzette, just south of the capital, and for centuries those two banks barely spoke to each other. The commune’s history explains why. The only road between them was in poor repair and often flooded, until in 1876 the Fentange station moved to Berchem-Bivange and a new link road had to be built. Today 7,184 people live here. In the same canton, Reckange-sur-Mess brings together six villages with churches and chapels from the 18th to the 20th century.

Wars and a photographer

People have lived in the valley since the Stone Age, and the commune lists Bronze Age finds near Peppange, at least five Gallo-Roman villas and Merovingian graves near Bivange. The name Roeser appears in the 7th century. From 1479 to 1795 the Rodenmacher family ruled here. The 17th century was grim, with plague and the Thirty Years’ War, and in 1684 the French marshal Créqui drove the villagers out to Thionville and Longwy for four months. Bivange was burned to the ground.

The name that interests me most is another one. In 1879 Edward Steichen was born in Bivange. He emigrated with his family to the United States and became one of the most celebrated photographers in the world. He never forgot his village, came back to visit in 1965 and died in 1973. A plaque unveiled in 1983 and a street in Bivange remember him. If his work appeals, the exhibition he put together, The Family of Man, is in Clervaux.

What to see in Roeser

Peppange is the village with most to offer. Its rural and craft museum displays ploughs and farm machinery still in working order, a forge, craft workshops and a garden of vegetables, herbs and medicinal plants, with a playground and a brasserie. Adults pay €8. On the same street, the Grand Duchess Charlotte Carriage Museum gathers 19th-century horse-drawn carriages, several from the grand-ducal court among them, plus the great gala coupé, harnesses, trunks and a complete coachbuilder’s workshop. Both are free with the LuxembourgPass, and the carriage museum closes in winter.

If you’re going in October, plan it, because the hours don’t line up. In the week of 3 October 2026 the rural museum opened every afternoon except Monday, while the carriage museum opened only on Sunday, 14:00 to 18:00. I’d go on that Sunday and do both back to back, since they share rue de Crauthem, the rural museum at number 38 and the carriages at 21, and without a pass you’d pay €8 at each. What I like about the carriage museum is that it puts the coaches in context, with harnesses, lanterns and travel trunks, and the coachbuilder’s workshop shows how they were made.

Peppange is also home to the Benedictine convent known for its frescoes, painted by pupils from the German abbey of Maria Laach.

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Kockelscheuer, leisure on the capital’s edge

At Kockelscheuer, on the edge of the city, there’s a leisure centre with an indoor ice rink, a golf training centre, tennis courts and walks, according to visitluxembourg. The campsite, top category with 161 pitches, opens from the week before Easter until 31 October and is 4 km from the centre of the capital, with buses every 8 to 10 minutes from a stop 400 m away. The Ville de Luxembourg places the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open women’s tennis tournament at Kockelscheuer “in October”, with no 2026 date in what I’ve read. To the north lies the city district of Gasperich.

Eating and staying

The Michelin Guide awards one star to the Italian restaurant Fani in Roeser. Hotels are few, three in 2025 by STATEC’s count. If you’re not camping, I’d stay in Luxembourg City, right next door.

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