Walferdange: Castle History, Books and Trails

Walferdange combines castle history with Roman heritage, hiking trails and a recurring book event. For your stay, you can focus on different things: historic buildings and archaeological traces, the Walfer Bicherdeeg as a specific reason to visit, or hiking trails whose lengths can be compared directly. The castle, church and Roman villa offer different historical perspectives; the routes and natural settings add themes of their own to the programme.

Castle History, the Church and Roman Traces

Walferdange Castle was designed in 1817 by William I of Orange as a royal and grand ducal stud farm. In 1841, King William II proposed converting the castle into a royal residence for the King or Grand Duke of Luxembourg. The stud farm and the later residence plan mark different stages in the castle’s history. Prince Henry moved to Walferdange and lived there until his death in 1879.

The church in Walferdange was built between 1845 and 1852. Its furnishings include side altars and statues of Saint Ignatius and Saint Francis Xavier, which come from Luxembourg Cathedral. The construction period and the statues’ origins give the church its own historical significance alongside the castle’s history.

The Roman villa is in Helmsange, and its ground floor alone comprises almost 50 rooms. The complex was inhabited for more than three centuries. Its number of rooms and period of use make it an interesting archaeological subject in terms of both space and time. Gypsum quarrying is also among the region’s Roman traces: exactly when it began in Walferdange is not known. What is certain is that the Romans used gypsum to build their villas when they settled in the Alzette Valley.

The Walfer Bicherdeeg as a Reason to Visit

The Walfer Bicherdeeg takes place every year on the third weekend of November. The weekend includes a second-hand book market with numerous stalls of various kinds. There is also an extensive reading programme for all age groups, offered throughout the weekend at Maison Dufaing and on the first floor of the Centre Prince Henri.

For readers who want to plan their stay around this event, both the recurring November date and the duration of the programme are relevant: the book fair runs throughout the weekend, not just for a single day. The specific programme may vary from year to year. Check the event dates and the programme for that year before travelling.

Compare Hiking Trails by Length and Route

The Walferdange Auto-Pédestre trail runs through the town, following the national Sentier de l’Alzette hiking trail. There is a car park right at the Auto-Pédestre trail’s starting point. CFL Route 18 reaches the Sentier de l’Alzette in the wooded heights of the Alzette Valley. The route descriptions therefore offer two different ways of describing the course: one through the town along the national hiking trail, the other in the wooded heights of the valley.

Two other trails have stated distances for comparison: the Sentier des Romains – Réimerpad is 3.2 km long, and the Sentier du gypse is 5.2 km. This makes the Sentier des Romains – Réimerpad the shorter of the two options. The distances give you a clear basis for planning when comparing these trails.

Garden and Natural Landscape

The Rousegäertchen rose garden is opposite Walferdange railway station, on the original site of the first garden. The ecological renaturation area is a different kind of natural setting: it is in central Luxembourg and covers 12 hectares in the municipalities of Walferdange and Steinsel. Thus, a specific garden site is paired with an area that extends across two municipalities.

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