Weimerskirch, a village from AD 723 inside the capital

Weimerskirch can claim something no other part of the capital can. According to the city, it’s the district whose recorded history reaches furthest back, to the year 723. Today it’s a residential corner of the north, on the Alzette valley slope, with 2,431 residents and a village feel you notice as soon as you arrive.

From Charles Martel to St Martin’s

In 723 Charles Martel left this estate to the Abbey of Saint-Maximin in Trier, the tourist office says, and it gives Vimaris Ecclesia as an old Latin form of the name. St Martin’s was the area’s main parish in the 10th century, and around it the cemetery steps down the slope in terraces.

The district sat on the old road heading out to Echternach and Diekirch. From the late 18th century it belonged to the municipality of Eich, and joined the capital along with it in 1920. Religious brotherhoods, the lay associations tied to the parish, were already active in 1514, and in the 19th century there were up to 184 families here, according to the tourist office.

What makes Weimerskirch different?

A memory all of its own. The tourist office mentions the Yenish families who lived here, and the district has the De Lakert relief by Myriam R. Schmit. The old Wies foundry at 5 Rue Munchen-Tesch is now the headquarters of the Guiden a Scouten, Luxembourg’s guides and scouts association.

To me it shows neatly how the capital swallowed up villages without quite erasing them. For the wider picture, see my page on the history of Luxembourg.

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

A café, a park and not much else

The plan here is simple, and that’s the appeal. The old Café am Duerf is now Le Bovary, a literary café in a white house with a terrace, the obvious place to sit down and take stock. Laval Park, 37,444 m², has an outdoor gym with ten machines and straddles the boundary with Eich. The Am Duerf cultural centre at 2 Fonds St. Martin hosts local events for around 120 people.

Who is Weimerskirch for?

Anyone who has done the old town and fancies an afternoon without tour groups or queues. Everything I mention here is seen from the street or in a public park, so there’s nothing to pay. If you’re after museums or big monuments, look elsewhere. If you enjoy reading a city through the villages it absorbed, you’ll like it.

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

Getting there and nearby districts

City buses climb up from the centre in a few minutes and are free. I’d combine Weimerskirch with Eich in the same valley, or with Neudorf on the other side. Coming from central Luxembourg City, it makes a good late-afternoon outing to see a capital less polished than the postcards.

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