Vichten, the village of the Muses mosaic

People outside Luxembourg know Vichten for something that’s no longer in Vichten. In 1995, beneath a farmer’s land, an almost intact Roman mosaic turned up showing the nine Muses gathered around Homer, and ever since, the name of this village in the northern Guttland has been tied to one of the most striking archaeological finds in the country.

A mosaic from around AD 240

The commune dates it to around AD 240. It’s a polychrome mosaic, very rare according to its website, because it presents the Muses in the order set by the Greek poet Hesiod around 700 BC, around the prince of poets. It was made in workshops in Trier and covered the floor of the reception room of a substantial Gallo-Roman villa.

The Guttland regional tourist office adds that it measures nearly 60 m² and was reassembled piece by piece at the museum in Trier. Today the original is on show in the capital’s Ville Haute, at the National Museum of History and Art; it’s also the image heading this page.

What can you see in Vichten today?

A meticulous copy of the mosaic, between the church and the town hall. The church deserves a look too, because its Romanesque bell tower has fragments of Roman origin built into its walls. To dig deeper into the period, the village’s small museum mainly holds finds from the Roman villa site at Rippweiler, in neighbouring Useldange, and it opens for guided visits booked in advance.

The commune also notes that the area was well populated as far back as the Stone Age, that in the 9th century it belonged to the county of Useldange, and that many 18th- and 19th-century houses have been lovingly restored. In the same canton, Préizerdaul has the birthplace of the geologist Michel Lucius at Reimberg, now a museum.

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Which order should you see it in?

For me, the order matters. I’d see the original in the capital first and then come to Vichten to understand where it came from, in a village the commune describes as rural and agricultural since the 16th century. Seen that way, the copy stops feeling like a stand-in and becomes the missing piece of the story. The museum in the capital is free on Thursdays from 5.30pm to 8pm and for under-26s, so you can do the whole thing for nothing if you pick your day. If you only have time for one, choose the original, though the regional office does call the copy meticulous.

Getting there

Trains don’t stop in Vichten. Drive, take a bus (free, like all public transport here) or cycle the Dällchen Radtour; there’s also a walking circuit through the commune. It’s close to Saeul and its ancient oak, and the three villages of Vichten, Saeul and Useldange make an easy loop on a bike.

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