Steinsel, Roman temples on the edge of the Grünewald

Steinsel is a quiet municipality north of the capital, with 6,186 residents spread across Heisdorf, Mullendorf and Steinsel. For a visitor it has two things you wouldn’t expect a few kilometres from the banks and EU institutions, a Roman sanctuary and the way into the country’s largest continuous forest.

What’s left of Roman Steinsel?

More than you’d think. visitguttland describes a sanctuary with a central temple from the late 1st century that reached its peak in the 4th. Four buildings have been excavated, with panels explaining them. Beneath today’s church square, the foundations of a Roman residential complex with baths have been found, though the page doesn’t list them as open to visitors. For visitguttland, all this proves that this Alzette valley municipality played an important role in the region from Roman times onwards. To the north, along the Alzette, Lorentzweiler has another ancient trace, the reconstructed Neolithic house at Blaschette.

I like to pair it with the Raschpëtzer, the underground Roman aqueduct Steinsel shares with Walferdange. Do both in a morning and you’ve got a complete Roman trail without setting foot in a museum.

The Grünewald and its legends

Much of the Grünewald lies within the municipality. visitguttland calls it the most important continuous woodland in the country, and a heritage trail heads into it from Steinsel past spots with fairy-tale names, the carriage road, the six princesses, the haunted house and the dead woman. I can’t tell you the stories behind them, as the page doesn’t spell them out, but the names alone make me want to walk it. The government portal also mentions a grower in the commune with about 6.5 hectares of cherries, plums, pears and mirabelles, the fruit of Quetschentaart.

visitguttland stresses that the Grünewald has plenty of cultural and historic sites as well as its ecological and scenic value, and the trail is the way to see them. The official inventory also lists the Guttland.Trail Fuussepad, a hiking route through the municipality.

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By bike from the capital

visitguttland pitches Steinsel as an ideal stop on the Alzette cycle path, which links the Centre circuit at Dommeldange, in the north of the capital, with the Middle Sûre path at Ettelbruck. Following the river away from traffic, it’s one of the most pleasant ways to arrive. For more routes like this, see cycling in Luxembourg.

Who is Steinsel for?

Anyone who prefers a walk with history to a museum full of glass cases. Nothing visitguttland describes here involves ticket desks or opening times, just open-air Roman remains, a vast forest and a riverside cycle path. With older children, the Grünewald trail and its mysterious place names will hold their attention better than an exhibition hall. If you’re after spectacular monuments, Vianden or the Mullerthal will suit you better.

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How I’d do it

I’d leave Luxembourg City in the morning, either on the Alzette cycle path or on public transport, which is free. I’d see the Roman sanctuary, walk for an hour on the Grünewald trail and, if there’s time, drop down to Walferdange for the Raschpëtzer. It’s a half-day plan that shows a very different Luxembourg from the Ville Haute.

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