244 BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG REGION BY REGION
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp274–5 and pp300–301
E Villa Vauban
Avenue Émile Reuter 18.
Tel 47964552. # 10am–6pm
Wed–Mon, 10am–9pm Fri. &
http://www.villavauban.lu
In the 1680s, the great French
military engineer Vauban built
a set of outlying fortresses
to protect the approaches to
Luxembourg City. One of these
was located on the western
side of the Old Town. Today,
this site is occupied by the
19th-century Villa Vauban. A
grand residence built between
1871 and 1873, the villa once
belonged to the family of the
politician, entrepreneur and
philanthropist Jean-Pierre
Pescatore (1793–1855). For
many years it housed a public
art museum displaying his
impressive collection as well
as other bequests to the city.
After a 5-year programme of
renovations and extension, the
museum is now known as
Villa Vauban – Musée d’Art de
la Ville de Luxembourg. Its col-
lection of some 300 paintings
consists mainly of Dutch,
Flemish, French, German and
Italian art dating from between
the 17th and 19th centuries. It
P Centre Européen
Montée de Clausen. http://www.lcto.lu
A number of major European
institutions stand at the west-
ern end of Kirchberg. These
include the Court of Justice
of the European Union (Cour
de Justice) and the European
Court of Auditors. There are
also the European Investment
Bank, designed by Denys
Lasdun, architect of the
National Theatre in London,
and the Secretariat of the
European Parliament, which
operates from the towers,
designed by Spanish architect
Ricardo Bofill, on either side
of Avenue John F Kennedy.
The tallest of these structures
is the Alcide de Gasperi
Building or Tower Building,
which is part of the EuropeanKirchberg
Marché-aux-Poissons. Tel 479330-1.
# 10am–6pm Tue–Sun. & - =
At the eastern end of the Pont
Grande Duchesse Charlotte
(built 1966) lies the raised
plateau of Kirchberg where a
host of administrative, finan-
cial and cultural buildings are
concentrated into a strip some
3 km (2 miles) long. Kirchberg
was developed as the centre
for Luxembourg’s European
institutions. In recent years,
however, a broader vision has
overtaken these bureaucratic
beginnings and the area has
become the focus of a num ber
of exciting architectural projects
for financial institutions
and the arts. These include
the dramatically futuristic
MUDAM building and the
impressive concert hall of the
Philharmonie Luxembourg, a
delicately columned drumView of the European Union’s Cour
de Justice on the Kirchberg plateauincludes work by Jan Steen,
Anthony van Dyck, Canaletto,
Eugène Delacroix and Gustave
Courbet. The museum’s setting
is also a pleasure – it has its
own gardens and is surrounded
by an extensive municipal park.Northeast of the city centre lies the hill of Kirchberg
where modern tower blocks house many of the major
European institutions that make Luxembourg the third
capital of the European Union. There is much here to
interest enthusiasts of modern architecture, and some
cultural treasures as well. This includes Luxembourg’s
prestigious modern art museum, set in a sensational
cluster of glass prisms and sweeping curves. Just below
it, facing the Old Town, is an evocative fortress called
Dräi Eechelen, one of many that once ringed the city.
Another, the Villa Vauban, stood westwards. Now the
home of a fine municipal art collection, its military past
is remembered only in its name.
Exploring Luxembourg City designed by the award-
winning French architect
Christian de Portzamparc.
Kirchberg’s eastern end,
with its concentration of
inter national banks, includes
strikingly innovative
archi tecture, such as the
HypoVereinsbank Luxembourg,
designed by the American
architect Richard Meier, and
has his sig nature white
cladding. Kirchberg is also
remarkable for its Central
Park, which contains the
largest sports arena in the
country. Dotted around this
district are public sculptures
by international artists such as
Henry Moore, Jean Dubuffet,
Frank Stella and Richard Serra.
The elegant Villa Vauban set in the calm environs of the city park