Musée National des Mines

Musée National des Mines de Fer à Rumelange

Useful Information

Location:	Rumelange, Kayldall. South of Luxembourg. ()
Open:	APR to SEP Thu-Sun 14-18, tours at 14:30, 15:30, 16:30. OCT to MAR 2nd Sun 14:30, 15:30, 16:30. [2021]
Fee:	Adults EUR 9, Students EUR 7, Children (-15) EUR 5. Groups (15+): Adults EUR 8, Students EUR 6, Children (-15) EUR 4,50. [2021]
Classification:	Iron mine
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	T=10 °C.
Guided tours:	D=90 min., L=900 m, Max=31, Audioguides:
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	yes
Bibliography:	Marcel Klein (1985): Nationale Minnemuséium zou Rëmëléng, Nationales Grubenmuseum in Rümelingen, Musée National des Mines à Rumelange. Musée National des Mines, Rumelange, 1985, 236pp. Jean-Claude Schumacher (1996): Monuments historiques de l'industrie luxembourgeoise, Service des Sites et monuments Nationaux Luxembourg, pp 143, ISBN: 2-919883-00-3
Address:	National Mine Museum in Rumelange, Carreau de la Mine Walert, L-3730 Rumelange, Tel: +352-565688, Fax: +352-565704. E-mail: Kayldall.lu a.s.b.l., c/o Romain Becker 11, rue de la Fontaine, L-3768 Tétange, Tel: +352-562325. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

Description

The village of Rumelange, at the southern border of Luxembourg, is the center of the Luxembourg iron mining area called Minette. It has been a valuable source of ore for thousands of years. The exploitation of iron-ore started already in Celtic and Gallo-Roman times, more than 2000 years ago. Even in younger history the neighbours France and Germany always had a yearning eye on this mining area. But since the mid 20th century the mines are closed, and today there is no more mining activity.

The National Mine Museum is located in the village Rumelange, at the southern end, where the mining fields start. Here in Luxembourg, the mining was permitted onlly in areas where no houses existes, and also the construction of houses was only allowed where no mining took place. The reason is the mining technique, were the ore was removed and after some time the overlying rocks collapsed. This resulted in earth movements on the surface and frequent collapse "dolines". The parking is for both a small resaurant and the museum entrance. The restaurant with its beergarden is a good place to wait for the next tour, or to take a meal before the museum opens.

The museum is only a small building with some showcases. There are historic mining tools, lamps, and so forth. Interesting is a scene where women or children bring lunch to the miner. In the first time after the marriage, the wifes continued to haul ore into the waggon, while her husband was eating. Documents, maps, diagrams, and photos explain the history of the mining and the working conditions in the mine from the 19th century until today. But the most interesting part is the geology section. Maps and cross sections show the ore bodies, the layers are named after their primary colour. There are red and yellow ores. All different ores are on displays, the examples connected by strings with their location in the cross section.

Despite the name, this is not primarly a museum, this is a huge and impressive mine which is used to show the development of heavy mining machinery in the 20th century. This is why it is called a museum, but the main exhibition is underground. The tour starts with the obligatory helmets, and then the visitors walk to the nearby train station. Here a really modern and comfortable mine train is mounted, where all passengers sit in huge cabins with panorama windows and roof. It seems those trains wer used in the mid 20th century, as the mines and tunnels were rather huge and allowed the use of such big trains. The train first shows a section of the old open cast iron mining. After one kilometre of quarries it enters the mine and follows an impressive tunnel for 3.6 kilometers. In the last straight tunnel part befor reentering the surface, it stops and all visitors follow a round course inside the mine before the train brings them back to the surface.

The underground part of the tour, 900 meters of the mine 106 meters below ground, are full of heavy iron mining machinery. This mine was mined only by manual work, and so the tour starts with tools, some exhibits like miners horses, a miners toilet and the used tools and train waggons. Then the machinery of the 20th century gives an impressive impression of (more or less) modern mining. Huge caterpillars, trucks, special machines for drilling boreholes, who do the work of a day in a few seconds. There are machines designed to transport the blown up ore onto the grinder. Even the destruction of the ore by concentric explosions is demonstrated.

Musée National des Mines Gallery