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Place Émile-Hamilius

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The square in October 2024.

Place Émile-Hamilius is a square in the Ville Haute quarter of Luxembourg City, located between the Boulevard Royal and Rue Aldringen. It is served by the Hamilius stop on the T1 line of the Luxembourg City tramway. The square is named after Luxembourgish footballer and politician Émile Hamilius (1897-1971), who was mayor of Luxembourg City from 1946 to 1963.

History

Aldringerschoul

From 1884 to 1974, the square was the site of the Aldringen Primary School (known in Luxembourgish as the Aldringerschoul [lb]), designed by Luxembourgish architect Antoine Luja on the advice of Parisian expert Félix Narjoux. From 30 August to 28 September 1914, the school notably served as the headquarters of the German army during the First Battle of the Marne.

Centre Émile-Hamilius

The school was demolished in May 1974, when Luxembourg City's development as a financial centre made it obsolete. In its place, the municipal authorities commissioned architects René Schmit, André Haagen and Jean Ewert to build the Centre Émile-Hamilius [lb] (or Centre Aldringen), at a cost of 230 million francs, which was finally inaugurated on 9 March 1979. The building complex was mainly used by municipal services, including the municipal library, and, from 2001, the citizens' reception centre (Bierger-Center [lb]). Next to it was a major bus station, which opened in 1977 and served one of the main nodes of the Luxembourg City bus network. Under the Boulevard Royal, a large underground passageway and shopping arcade was built, which later became an important site for hip hop culture in Luxembourg, and was the subject of the documentary Hamilius: Hip Hop Culture in Luxembourg in 2010.

Royal-Hamilius

In 2015, the bus station, the Centre Émile-Hamilius and several of the buildings around it were demolished, with the exception of the apartment building at 49, Boulevard Royal, built in 1962 and whose demolition was opposed by two of its owners. The square was then redeveloped as part of the Royal-Hamilius [lb] project, a real estate and commercial complex designed by the British architectural firm Foster and Partners, dominated by a Galeries Lafayette department store and open from 2019. The Luxembourg City tramway, which ran on Boulevard Royal until 1964, returned to it in December 2020, serving the Hamilius [lb] stop.

Image gallery

  • A street sign on the square A street sign on the square
  • The Aldringen school in 1904 The Aldringen school in 1904
  • The post office and the former bus station The post office and the former bus station
  • Centre Hamilius before its demolition Centre Hamilius before its demolition
  • The underground passageway shortly before its closure The underground passageway shortly before its closure
  • Entrance to the former Aldringen underground parking garage Entrance to the former Aldringen underground parking garage
  • A Luxembourg City bus at the bus station A Luxembourg City bus at the bus station
  • Construction of Royal-Hamilius in 2016, surrounding the untouched building at 49, Boulevard Royal Construction of Royal-Hamilius in 2016, surrounding the untouched building at 49, Boulevard Royal
  • A building of the Royal-Hamilius complex A building of the Royal-Hamilius complex
  • The Royal-Hamilius complex at the end of construction The Royal-Hamilius complex at the end of construction
  • The tram stop The tram stop
  • 49, boulevard Royal, which the Royal-Hamilius complex had to be built around 49, boulevard Royal, which the Royal-Hamilius complex had to be built around

References

  1. ^ Aschman, Christian; Grodeckt, Joanna; Philippart, Robert L. (2013). Lëtzebuerg Moderne: Liebeserklärung an die Hauptstadt (in German). Luxembourg: Maison Moderne. pp. 124–133.
  2. Jean Probst (December 1985). "L'école de la rue Aldringen" (PDF) (in French). Ons Stad.
  3. Richard Ries (November 1979). "Centre Emile Hamilius: das neue hauptstädtische Verwaltungszentrum" (PDF) (in German). Ons Stad.
  4. "Das Verwaltungszentrum Emile Hamilius" (in German). Revue. 1979-03-19.
  5. "Où est passé le boulevard Royal d'autrefois?". lessentiel.lu (in French). 2021-05-19.
  6. "Royal-Hamilius". codic.eu. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  7. Schimizzi, Ioanna (2019-11-28). "Six étages pour les Galeries Lafayette au Royal-Hamilius". paperjam.lu (in French). Retrieved 2024-10-15.

49°36′39.5″N 06°07′36″E / 49.610972°N 6.12667°E / 49.610972; 6.12667

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