Clervaux
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Clervaux

Clervaux

Luxembourgish valley town dominated by a castle housing The Family of Man photography exhibition

Clervaux is a small medieval town set in a narrow, wooded valley in northern Luxembourg's Oesling region. The 12th-century castle dominates the town from above and is reason enough to visit — it houses Edward Steichen's "The Family of Man," a landmark photography exhibition originally shown at MoMA in 1955 and now a UNESCO Memory of the World. The castle also contains a collection of models of Luxembourg's fortified castles and a small museum on the 1944-1945 Battle of the Bulge, which devastated this area.

The Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Maurice sits above the town on the opposite hillside and is still home to a monastic community. Near it stands a 12.5-metre stone cross erected in 1899 to commemorate the Oesling peasants' revolt against the French invasion of 1795-1798. The surrounding hills offer good walking, and the town makes a pleasant base for exploring the Ardennes countryside of northern Luxembourg.

Guide

Getting Around

Clervaux is small enough to cover entirely on foot. The walk from the train station to the castle takes about ten minutes, and a circular loop taking in the castle, abbey, Oesling Cross, and parish church can be done in two hours at a slow pace.

For the surrounding villages, all public transport in Luxembourg is free since 2020 — buses run from Clervaux to nearby Urspelt, Marnach, and the other Oesling villages. The CFL train line to Luxembourg city and Liège makes Clervaux an easy base for daytrips.

The Oesling hills around the town are excellent walking country, with marked paths in every direction. The tourist office in the small square below the castle has hiking maps.

Guide

Getting There

Trains run every hour from Luxembourg city and take about 50 minutes. There are also direct trains from Liège in Belgium which run every second hour and take one and a half hour.

Guide

Things to Do

The castle is the reason to come to Clervaux, and it holds three separate exhibitions — most importantly Edward Steichen's "Family of Man," one of the most influential photographic exhibitions of the 20th century. The Benedictine abbey on the opposite hill, the great stone cross above it, and the parish church round out the half-day visit. The town itself is small and easily walked.