252 BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG REGION BY REGION
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp274–5 and pp300–301
Château de
Bourscheid q
11 km (7 miles) W of Vianden. Road
Map F4. @ n Buurschtermillen,
Bourscheid-Moulin; 990331. # Apr–
Oct: 9:30–6pm daily; Nov–Mar:
11am–4pm daily. & 9 =
http://www.bourscheid.net
Now largely reconstructed
from ruins, the Château de
Bourscheid is an evocative
example of a medieval walled
fortress. Building began in
about AD 1000, and it was
then ruled by the lords of
Bourscheid for more than 400
years, from 1095 to 1512. Set
150 m (492 ft) above a
dramatic loop of the River
Sûre, the castle offers fine
views from the ramparts. The
current ring wall, with its eight
towers, was built between
1350 and 1384, along with the
step-gabled Stolzemburger
House in the lower part of the
castle. This now contains a
small museum of archaeologi-
cal finds. The gateway giving
access to the upper and lower
castle was completed in 1477.
Decline set in after 1512, fol-
lowing the death of the last
Bourscheid – the ruins were
bought by the state in 1972.
Environs
The N27 follows a scenic
route along the River Sûre.
The Upper Valley runs from
Ettelbruck, via Bourscheid,
for some 70 km (43 miles)
almost to the Belgian border.
THE FAMILY OF MAN PROJECT
The American photographer Edward Steichen (1879–1973)
was born in Luxembourg. He became famous during the
1920s, and after World War II was Director of Photography
at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1951, he
invited submissions for a collection of photographs that
would record the unique and universal
qualities of mankind. From some two mil-
lion submissions, he chose 503, by 273
photographers from 68 countries, and
assembled them under 37 themes – work,
family, birth, war, faith and so on. The
Family of Man was first exhibited in 1955
and toured the world to great acclaim. In
1964, the US government gave it to the
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in accor-
dance with Steichen’s wishes. Since 1994,
the collection has been at the Château de
Clervaux, and it is now listed by UNESCO
on its Memory of the World register.Wiltz e
11 km (7 miles) NW of Bourscheid.
Road Map E4. * 4,500. £ @
n Château; 957444. _ Open-air
Festival of Theatre and Music (Jul).
http://www.wiltz.luThis town is a good base for
touring the local Ardennes.
The lower part of the town
runs along both banks of the
River Wiltz, while the upper
town shares higher ground
with an impressive château.
This for mer residence of the
counts of Wiltz is in the
Renaissance style. Its stables
contain the agreeable Musée
National d’Art Brassicole et de
la Tannerie, which is devoted
to beer-brewing, with a smallEdward Steichen,
pictured in 1955Clervaux w
16 km (10 miles) N of Bourscheid.
Road Map F4. * 1,800. £
@ n Grand Rue 1; 920072.
http://www.tourisme-clervaux.luLocated on a loop in the
River Clerve in the Germano-
Luxembourg Nature Reserve,
Clervaux lies at the heart of
the forested Ardennes region
known as Oesling in northern
Luxembourg. At the centre of
the town is a whitewashed
château of medieval origins,
which has been much altered
over the centuries. It contains
three permanent exhibitions.
The first is a collection of
photographs known as The
Family of Man. Then there are
the Musée de la Maquette,
with models of 22 castles in
Luxembourg, and Musée de laGuerre or Battle of the Bulge
Museum. The tower of the
Neo-Romanesque church of
the Abbaye Bénédictine de
St-Maurice et de St-Maur,
founded in 1910, crests a
hill outside the town. The
austere interior of the church
is bathed in light from fine
stained glass and contains an
exhibition on monastic life.
The abbey is internationally
famed for its choir, which
specializes in Gregorian chant.E The Family of Man
Château de Clervaux. Tel 929657.
# Mar–Dec: 10am–6pm Tue–Sun.
& 7 0 http://www.family-of-man.
public.lu
E Musée de la Maquette
and Musée de la Guerre
Château de Clervaux. Tel 9210481.
# Mar–Dec.The sturdy towers and ramparts of Château de Bourscheid