Metravel city quest
City Luxembourg: free walking route “quest: Siegfried’s Rock and the secret of Melusina” along the sights. 14 points. Approximately 3 h. Quests and legends
It all began with a piece of stone. In 963 Count Siegfried acquired from the Abbey of Saint Maximin in Trier, by exchange, a cliff above the Alzette river and built a stronghold on it. In the charter it is recorded as Lucilinburhuc — “little castle”. From that word grew the name of the city, and later of a whole country that still fits between three neighbours and hasn’t gone anywhere.
Then came the Spanish, the French, the Austrians and the Prussians. The rock and the plateau around it were turned into one of the strongest fortresses in Europe — with twenty-three kilometres of galleries cut right into the stone. In 1867 the fortress was ordered razed; it turned out that the underground passages could not be blown up without bringing down half the city. So it stayed: a peaceful city above and seventeen kilometres of empty tunnels below.
And there is also Melusina — the woman Siegfried married. She had one condition and one secret. Siegfried broke the condition, and lost his wife. What exactly he saw you will find out for yourself — at the last stop of the route, where Melusina sits by the water to this day.
What to do: 1) Read the story and the task at each stop. 2) Find the place on the map. 3) Look around and answer the question.
The route runs from west to east across the Upper Town and at the end descends to the river, into the Grund quarter. On foot, with no transport, about three hours with stops. We start at Place d’Armes — the city’s “living room”.
The route points in order — what these places are and why they are interesting. Tasks and answers stay inside the quest.
Place d’Armes appeared in 1671, and it appeared not for cafés. The Spanish engineer Jean-Charles de Landas, Count of Louvigny, cleared a parade ground here for the garrison — soldiers drilled and marched exactly where the café tables stand now.
The obelisk, 21 m tall, was erected in 1923 in memory of the Luxembourgers who volunteered in the First World War to serve in the Allied armies — the neutral country had no army of its own.
This building began more modestly than it looks: in 1613–1621 the Jesuits built themselves a collegiate church. It became a cathedral only in 1870.
Locals call the city’s main square Knuedler — “the knot”. Until the end of the 18th century a Franciscan monastery stood here, and the monks fastened the cord of their habits with a knot; the monastery is long gone, but the nickname remained.
The palace was built in 1572–1573, and it was built as the town hall: the city architect Adam Roberti gave the façade a Flemish Renaissance look — carved stone, arabesques, stone vines of ornament across the entire wall. Later the French prefecture sat here, then the governor, and since 1890 it has been the working residence of the grand duke.
Opening hours: you can go inside only in summer, with a guided tour: 18.07–30.08.2026; the façade can be viewed from the street free of charge all year round
Turn into the narrow alley behind the palace. On a corner house, at second-floor level, a stone turret-oriel under a green copper roof juts out of the wall — in Luxembourgish a Tiirmchen, “little tower”.
An “optional” stop — and the most convenient spot for a rest on the whole route: next comes the descent to the rock and into the valley, and it’s better to head there rested. Right here, two steps from the turret with the motto, is Ënnert de Steiler.
Opening hours: check the hours on the spot: the kitchen serves lunch and dinner, and the schedule is different at weekends
Fëschmaart — the Fish Market — is the city’s oldest crossroads. Two Roman roads met here, from here the settlement began to spread across the plateau, and here fish was traded for centuries, until the square became what it is now: a quiet patch between a museum and a church.
This path runs along the top of the fortress walls, which in the 17th century were built up first by the Spanish and then by the French. Until 1870 there was no reason or place to stroll here: part of the way was taken by stairs, and the view was blocked by a parapet with loopholes.
In autumn 1792 Johann Wolfgang Goethe passed through Luxembourg. He was accompanying the Prussian army on its campaign against revolutionary France; the campaign ended ingloriously, and many years later Goethe described it in the book “Campaign in France”.
An “optional” stop — the entrance to the Bock Casemates, a labyrinth of artillery galleries cut right into the body of the rock. The first passages were cut by the Spanish in 1644.
Opening hours: usually 10:00–17:00, until 18:00 in summer; closed on 25 December and 1 January. Check the exact seasonal schedule on the website · Ticket: adult €11, students and seniors €9, children 4–12 years €5.50, under 4 free
You are standing on the Bock rock itself — on the very place where the country began. In 963 Count Siegfried acquired this cliff by exchange from the Abbey of Saint Maximin in Trier and built a stronghold here, recorded in the charter as Lucilinburhuc.
Go down from the rock to the Grund — the quarter right by the water, where the city once banished everything that wouldn’t fit upstairs: mills, tanneries, the poor. Today it is the coziest place in Luxembourg.
Opening hours: church: free entry, usually open in the afternoon. Neumünster Abbey galleries: daily 10:00–18:00, free entry
The last stop — and a return to where it all began. According to legend, Count Siegfried, having built his castle on the rock, met by the water a woman of unseen beauty.
This route is part of Metravel city quests. Below are the other quests in this city and cities with quests nearby.
Traveller articles about this city will help round out the walk.