The Haut-Martelange Slate Museum and the Johanna mine

The Haut-Martelange Slate Museum is one of the few museums in Luxembourg where the site itself is the exhibit. There are no display cases in a gallery, there’s a whole quarrying village of 22 original buildings on eight hectares, and a mine you go down in a hard hat. Its official name is the Musée de l’Ardoise and it lies in the commune of Rambrouch, right on the Belgian border.

Two centuries of slate on one hillside

The museum’s own history starts in the late 18th century with the first underground workings. By the end of the 19th century several family firms were turning out more than six million roofing slates a year, first by pick and hammer, later with compressed-air machinery. From 1890 the German Rother family bought every quarry and every house in the village, modernised the works and gave Haut-Martelange the uniform look it still has. Around 1900 some 600 people worked there, and four years later the site had its own power station.

The quarries kept going through both world wars. In the second, the museum says, some workshops were deliberately overstaffed as a way of getting Luxembourg workers out of German labour camps. After 1960 came the decline, with new roofing materials and cheaper imported slate, and in 1986 the country’s last slate mine closed.

From dereliction to museum

The site lay derelict for six years until 1992, when people from the surrounding villages founded the Frënn vun der Lee association to bring it back to life. From 2003 the State backed the project and bought the land, and since 1 January 2019 it has been run by the Musée de l’Ardoise association, made up of the State, the commune of Rambrouch and the friends of slate. The big moment was opening the Johanna gallery, which you can visit down to 42 metres. If you know the slate country of North Wales, it makes an interesting comparison, and it’s worth knowing that local volunteers and the State run it together.

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

What you see above ground and below

Above ground, the route follows the stone from its formation and extraction to the finished slate and its transport, and shows how the slate workers lived and worked. visitluxembourg also mentions the industrial train, the Bopebistro and a detective trail for children. The train, weather permitting, takes you round the site for €2.50. All of this can be explored for free, because the museum is open ground and its FAQ says you’re welcome to come in just for a walk.

Below ground is the Johanna mine. Descents run in slots at 10:15, 11:00, 11:45, 12:30, 13:30, 14:15, 15:00, 15:45 and 16:30, for anyone aged four and over. It’s 9°C down there all year, so the museum asks for sturdy shoes and a jacket. There’s wifi across the site but none in the mine.

Self-guided or with a guide?

Self-guided, adults pay €10, over-65s and students €8, 12 to 17-year-olds €6 and children aged 4 to 11 €4. With a guide it’s €15, €12, €10 and €8. On the first Sunday of every month there’s a guided tour in French at 10:30 and in Luxembourgish at 14:30, booked at least a day ahead. With the LuxembourgPass, the self-guided mine visit is free, according to visitluxembourg.

With children I’d go self-guided and make the most of the train. Without them, and with some French, the guide is worth the extra, because by the museum’s own account that’s when you hear the stories about the old way of life that aren’t on the panels. There’s no English-language slot on the published schedule, so if you only speak English, go self-guided.

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

Getting there and combining it

The main entrance is on the CR311 between Rombach-Martelange and Wolwelange, with parking for cars, motorbikes and coaches and its own bus stop, Martelange-Leekoll. Hours are 10:00 to 18:00, Tuesday to Sunday, with Christmas Day and New Year’s Day off. The bistro takes orders until 17:30, and you can bring your own food to the picnic areas.

For a full morning in the west, Groussbus-Wal lies to the east, with its painted church at Rindschleiden. And if the stone has got you curious, Mertzig has a fairy-tale castle built by hand with Martelange slate. For more ideas, see the guide to museums in Luxembourg.

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