Brief history of Medieval Luxembourg

It is estimated that Luxembourg was founded in 963 when Count Siegfried I of Moselle and the Ardennes traded Feulen for the “Bockfiels”, which was owned by the Abbey of Saint-Maximin of Trier. There might even have been some remains of an old Roman fortress, on which Count Siegfried I built his castle, the Lucilinburhuc, that much later became Luxembourg. His servants and soldiers settled around the Bock and soon the fortress became a city and Siegfried titled himself the “Count of Luxembourg”, officially making the area around today’s Bockfiels and Vieux-Marché a Grand Duchy. It is said that the tower on top of the Bockfiels, above the casemates, might be an old Roman watchtower, but there’s little archaeological evidence of this.

Melusina and Medieval Luxembourg

The Melusina-myth however sees the foundation of Luxembourg slightly differently. It is said that Count Siegfried of the Ardennes who was living in Koerich was a keen hunter. On one of his hunting trips he lost his way and ended up in the beautiful Alzette valley. He admired the area and saw the ruins of an old Roman castle on an ominous-looking cliff and shortly afterwards heard a wonderful song, more beautiful than he had ever imagined, come from the rock. Siegfried looked around and soon saw a beautiful girl sitting high among the ruins of the old castle. It was Melusina of the Alzette valley.

Exhausted from his trip and overwhelmed by the sight of such beauty, Siegfried fell asleep. He awoke the next day, and realised he was in fact not that far from home, upon which he headed back to Koerich.


However, he could not forget Melusina and longed to see the beautiful girl again and listen to her breath-taking song. So he returned to the Alzette valley day after day, and as if by miracle one day found himself face-to-face with the wonderful Melusina. The Count instantly declared his love for her and asked for her hand in marriage. Melusina accepted Siegfried’s passionate offer, but she insisted on two conditions: firstly, she should never have to leave the cliff, and, secondly she needed to be alone every Saturday. The Count swore on his honour that he would meet those demands.

In order for the marriage to take place Siegfried had to become the owner of the Bockfiels. He sold his land around Feulen in Ettelbrück to the Abbey of St. Maximin, who in turn gave him the Alzette valley containing the rock that Melusina would not leave. Years went by and Siegfried never interrupted his spouse on Saturdays; he never even asked what she was doing. However, as his friends became aware of the arrangement, they told Siegfried to look, just once, to figure out what his beautiful wife would be doing in her room all Saturday. Alas, Siegfried couldn’t resist the temptation and he thought that one quick peek through the keyhole wouldn’t be a breach of vows.

Peeping through the hole, he saw Melusina lying in her Roman bath combing her long blond hair and humming the most melodious tune. However, as he looked closer he soon realised that his wife’s feet were replaced by a disgusting, slimy fish tail. Siegfried gasped in horror and Melusina, realising what had happened, vanished into the cliff, never to be seen by Siegfried again.

Today, it is still rumoured that Melusina will show herself every 7th year and wait for someone to free her from the Alzette River. In 1997, Luxembourg created a stamp illustrating the beautiful Melusina sitting on a rock in the Alzette River held-down by her fish-tail. That means that as she showed herself to the artist in 1997, she’s bound to appear sometime this year.

Or who knows, maybe someone has already married a beautiful blond girl who insists on living on the “Bockfiels” and spending her Saturday nights alone.