The medieval city
Vianden automne
was during the middle Ages the capital of the powerful county of Vianden, an area as large as the present Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It included 136 villages and stretched as far as Prum and Bitbourg.
It was a fortified city, tucked at the foot of the castle, which dominated and protected it. Five gates gave entry to the city, which was surrounded by ramparts with 24 semi-circular towers. The present bell-tower, the " Hockelstour", standing on a rock between the castle and the town, originally served as a watchtower, allowing an effective vigilance to be maintained. The Marechal de Bouffiers, who also dismantled the castles of Brandenbourg, Falkenstein and Stolzembourg, destroyed the city wall in 1679. About 1850, the last two gates of the town, the gate of the upper town and the bridge gate were considered cumbersome and were pulled down as well.
Merian 1643
In the 15th century ,
Vianden had a population of 3000 and was a flourishing centre for many kinds of crafts. It was the third largest town of the country and owed much of its prosperity to the talent of its artists and to the know-how of its craftsmen, who were grouped into seven corporations: there were the tanners, drapers, coopers, masons, tailors, locksmiths and goldsmiths.
We are indebted to the Vianden goldsmiths for a great number of secular and religious works of art, to be found throughout the Ardennes-Eifel region. The seven corporations of Vianden had the right to use special measurements for liquids and wheat as well as for all the merchandise sold by weight and ells. The bronze wheat standards are exhibited at the Museum for Arts und Crafts in Vianden (Musee d'Art Rustique).
In 1308, the inhabitants of Vianden received the freedom of the city and from then on, enjoyed the same liberties as the burghers of Trier. The town was administered by a mayor and seven councillors who were also practising magistrates. Vianden had three main courts of justice, as well as a feudal court and a court of the nobility.
Musée d'Art Rustique
"E.Wolff"
The Castle
became the symbol of the misfortunes and sufferings of the town of Vianden. The Nassau dynasty, which inherited the county in the 15th century, considered it only as a minor possession. The counts no longer lived in the castle and administered the county through bailiffs. This was the beginning of the town's decline, a decline accelerated by the abolition of the county of Vianden in 1794, by the surrender of 42 villages of the former county to Prussia at the Vienna Congress in 1815, and by the introduction of tariff barriers between Vianden and these villages after Luxembourg had left the German "Zollverein" in 1918.
The French troops, who had occupied Luxembourg in 1794, abolished the county, the lands of which were to belong in turn to Napoleon I, to his brother Louis Bonaparte and to his general de Marboeuf
In 1815 the Vienna Congress gave the main part of the former county to Prussia and returned the rest to William I of Orange Nassau, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg, who in 1820 had no compunction about selling the castle to the highest bidder. The fine castle was then bought for the sum of 3 200 florins by the Vianden merchant Wenceslas Coster, who quickly dismantled it and sold it off in little bits - tiles, panelling, iron, masonry, doors, windows, etc. He himself moved the entrance staircase, some furniture and panelling to his own house in the lower town. This house dates from 1475 and became the chemist-shop. A beautiful collection of18th and 19th century furniture, old kitchen utensils, bronze wheat standards and rare glass paintings is now exhibited in another old house, which is now the Edouard Wolff Museum of Arts and Crafts (Musée d'Art Rustique Edouard Wolff).
William I sought to calm the anger of the inhabitants of Vianden by re-acquiring what was left of the castle for the sum of 1100 florins. The reconstruction began in 1851 with the restoration of the castle's chapel. Today the castle belongs to the Luxembourg Government, which restored the majestic manorial seat since 1977. The restored halls of the castle are animated by exhibitions of ancient weapons and suits of armour, of precious goblins and furniture, of genealogical tables and portraits, of archaeological finds and drawings.
Guided visit of the town
Informations
ASBL des guides touristique des Ardennes Luxembourgeois
B.P. 41 L-9401 Vianden
Tél: (+352) 84 93 25-27
Fax: (+352) 84 93 25 72
E-mail: guides.ardennes@vo.lu
Famous Visitors
FAMOUS VISITORS, kings and statesmen, have come to see Vianden, as Queen Elizabeth of England, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, the French Prime Minister Robert Schumann, Gustav Heinemann, the President of the German Federal Republic, a.s.o. "Your town is not well-known enough; it is not known as it should be, I shall do all I possibly can to make it better known and to contribute to its prosperity", said Victor Hugo in 1863, who actually did contribute to the rise of the Vianden tourism. It was in 1880, that was formed a town council committee in charge of touristic concern. In 1885 the Luxemburgish poet Dicks wrote the first guide "Vianden and its Environment", and in 1893 the "Societe d'Embellissement" was set up. After the Second World War, it became the "Syndicat d'Initiative" (Tourist Office).After a century of great efforts in the field of tourism, Vianden now enjoys very good tourist equipment, with a modern hotel capacity of 500 beds, pleasant camping-areas, restful vacation homes, beautiful walking paths and various attractions.