Mamer
(preferred pronunciation ) is a commune and town in south-western Luxembourg. It is located 7 km (4.5 miles) west of Luxembourg City. The commune includes the town of Mamer, and also the smaller communities of Capellen and Holzem. Mamer is situated on the river Mamer, a tributary of the Alzette. The A6 motorway from Luxembourg to Brussels, also designated European route E25, runs through Mamer.
s of }} 2005 [], the town of Mamer, which lies in the east of the commune, has a population of 5,047. The town is the thirteenth-largest in Luxembourg. The commune as a whole is the fourteenth-most populous in the country.
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History
The
Treveri, a
Gallic or
Celtic tribe, inhabited the region for several hundred years until they were conquered by
Julius Caesar in 54 BC. A Celtic
necropolis from the 1st century was discovered in the early 1970s on the
Juckelsboesch
plateau between Mamer and
Kehlen. A beautiful dark blue glass bowl was among the offerings found in the tombs.
[1]
During the
Gallo-Roman era which lasted until about 450, the
Romans built and maintained a number of
roads in the area including the
Kiem
(Latin
caminus
, road) linking
Trier to
Reims through what is now Mamer.
Mambra
was a Roman
vicus centred around a villa with thermal baths, sited on the banks of the
Mamer River at the eastern end of today’s Mamer. The Roman settlement was burnt by
Germanic invaders around 276.
The oldest historical reference to Mamer is to be found in a document which records how, on
8 April 960, Lutgardis, daughter of Wigeric, Count Palatine, made a gift of the hamlet of Mambra to
Saint Maximin’s
Abbey in Trier for the benefit of the monks.
Nicolaus Mameranus was born in Mamer in 1500. A soldier and historian under
Charles V, he succeeded in having the Emperor pay for the restoration of the village of Mamer after the
Duke of Orleans' troops pillaged it in 1543. In 1555, he was appointed poet laureate.
[2]
The road linking Luxembourg City to
Brussels, passing through Mamer, was built in 1790. In 1859, the railway to Brussels was opened, with a station in Mamer.
The inhabitants of Mamer suffered under the
First and
Second World Wars, although the town itself escaped bombing. The
Voie de la Liberté commemorating the victorious route of the
Allies after the
D-Day landings passes through Mamer which was liberated on 10 September 1944.
Since 1945, Mamer has prospered year-by-year as a result of its location close to Luxembourg City and its excellent road and rail connections. In 2003, the
Lycée Technique Josy Barthel was opened, as was the
Mamer Lycée railway station, which serves it.
Demographics
The population of Mamer has almost doubled over the past 30 years, reaching 5,047 in 2005. Some 46% are foreigners, representing over 60 countries, with significant numbers from
Portugal (560),
France (478),
Belgium (456),
Denmark (225), and
Germany (214). This can be ascribed to Mamer’s development as a
commuter town for those working in the international institutions and financial services in and around Luxembourg City.
Politics
Local administration
The
communal council, with offices at
Mamer Castle, consists of 13 members: 6 from the
Christian Social People's Party (currently Luxembourg's leading party), 3
Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party, 2
Democratic Party, and 2
The Greens. The
mayor,
Gilles Roth (CSV), in his second term since October 2005,
[3] is a lawyer and counsellor at the . Since April 2006, he has been chairman of the CSV's communal councils committee. A native of Mamer, he is married with one child.
Coat of arms
The communal coat of arms (top right-hand box) consists of a temple on a blue background with four golden columns which is headed by a blue wheel between two hooks
[4]. The colours are based on the arms of the Mersch-Rodemacks who were once lords of Mamer. The temple depicts Mamer's long history and its recently discovered Roman vestiges. The wheel stems from the arms of the Mameranus family while the two hooks are reminiscent of the crest of the Mamer family.
Mamer today
Only 7 km west of Luxembourg City, Mamer enjoys a pleasant semi-rural setting in Luxembourg’s
Gutland, where the undulating surroundings are ideal for cattle farming, crops and forestry. The centre of the original village is to the south of the N6 (
Route d’Arlon
) from Luxembourg City to
Arlon. This is where the church, town hall, and most of the shops are located. Several restaurants are located along the Route d’Arlon itself. The extensive shopping centre is 2 km to the east. Most of the recent housing developments have been to the north, between the N6 and the E25 motorway, particularly in the Cité Mameranus area. There have also been commercial developments to the west close to the Mamer motorway exit.
Since 2000, Mamer has seen the opening of a
high school, the
Lycée Technique Josy Barthel; a new train station,
Mamer Lycée; an old people's home; and a new local administrative centre in
Mamer Castle. In addition, the Kinneksbond, a large
primary school and
pre-school complex, opened in 2007. The facilities are to be completed in 2008 with extensive sports facilities and a community centre.
[5] There are also plans to build a second
European School in the area.
Public transport
The commune boasts three
train stations:
Mamer,
Mamer Lycée, and
Capellen. All three are located on
Line 50, which connects
Luxembourg City to the west of the country. From Mamer, there are regular train services to Luxembourg City (to the east) and
Kleinbettingen and
Arlon (to the west).
In addition to a frequent bus service to Luxembourg and
Kirchberg (European Institutions and financial centre), long-distance routes connect Mamer to
Arlon,
Clemency,
Septfontaines,
Keispelt,
Steinfort,
Redange and
Eischen. Mamer also has a variety of school-bus routes serving both the Luxembourg schools and the
European School.
Facilities and services
In recent years, Mamer has seen the development of a wide range of services including an , primary and secondary schools, a post office, a pharmacy, banks, garages, restaurants and an inn. Shopping facilities in the vicinity are excellent (large supermarkets within a couple of minutes' drive) while Mamer itself has a number of smaller shops offering day-to-day produce. Doctors, dentists, opticians and vets can be found in Mamer and its surroundings. There is an open market on the first and third Friday of the month from 4 to 7 p.m.
Mamer also has a large park on either side of the river, a sports centre, a football stadium and several children's playing grounds.
Apart from at the parish church, Luxembourg's , together with its mosque, offers a variety of educational and religious services.
Leisure and sports
Mamer has an active , a stamp-collectors' club and a . Its football club,
FC Mamer 32, with teams for both men and women, has been increasingly successful in recent years. There are also facilities for cyclists in the area including a signposted route and, once a year, a traffic-free day for cyclists between Mamer and
Mersch. There are also a number of village , usually centred on the square outside the church. Even in the winter, there is a Christmas market in mid-December and the traditional
burgbrennen
evening celebrating the end of winter with an enormous bonfire.
Standard of living
Luxembourg is at or near the top of world rankings for
GDP per capita and for quality of life.
[6] As a result, living standards are high throughout the country, especially in residential areas around Luxembourg City, including Mamer itself. Private houses, many fully detached, usually have sizeable gardens, garages and cellars. There are also a few apartment buildings and houses for rent. Costs of accommodation are high as a result of increasing demand but are offset by low municipal taxes and Luxembourg's low sales tax, particularly on fuel. Cable television is provided throughout the commune and includes stations broadcasting in languages other than the local French, German and Luxembourgish. A very wide range of TV programmes can be accessed via satellite including English-language BBC and SKY channel. Broadband or cable-based internet access is widely available. There are excellent facilities for garbage collection and recycling.
Economy
Although Mamer has developed mainly as a residential area, it has also experienced substantial progress in industry and commerce. Its most successful private company, (formerly Cerametal), now with some 950 employees
[7], has become a world player in hard materials for wear protection and cutting tools. There are also a number of construction companies in the area, a laundry, a company specializing in
computer storage and
data protection , a branch of the huge
GlaxoSmithKline pharmaceuticals company as well as a private
investment bank and some smaller financial institutions and consultants. In addition, the commercial development area between Mamer and Capellen has attracted a number of sophisticated stores and a substantial amount of new office space.
Environment
Climate
Like Luxembourg City, Mamer (altitude 310 m) has a
temperate climate with warm summers (average day temperature around 24 C, on occasion as high as 35 C) and chilly winters (daytime average 5 C but sometimes as low as -15 C at night). Rainfall is moderate, but on average it rains less than 10 days per month. The prevailing wind is south-westerly. Unlike many communities in Luxembourg, Mamer does not suffer from flooding but is occasionally hit by gales, hail storms and freezing rain. There is often a little snow in the winter but it does not usually cause inconvenience as salting and snow-clearing facilities are well coordinated.
The summer evenings in Mamer are particularly pleasant, often with temperatures of around 25 C until 11 pm. Very occasionally there are short periods of drought but the vegetation seldom loses its rich green for very long.
Daylight extends from about 5 am to 10:30 pm in June and from 8 am to 4:30 pm in December.
Wildlife
A wide variety of wild animals and birds have been observed in the area. The ones you might see when rambling around the countryside are
wild boar, deer, foxes, hares and rabbits. The birds in your garden will include sparrows, swallows, starlings, crows, rooks, magpies, pigeons, finches and robins and you may be lucky enough to see flocks of migrating wild geese flying by. In the forest, you will hear - and sometimes see - owls and woodpeckers. Some species have suffered from hunting in recent years but there are now considerable efforts to protect flora and fauna. An area of the commune's forest is now a nature reserve.
Places of interest
- , discovered on the north bank of the River Mamer in 1973.
- Mamer Castle , 1830, which was recently fully restored and now serves as the town hall or Administration Communale.
- Church of John the Baptist (1723) with a history dating back to the 10th century.
- Mamer River Valley with paths for walkers, riders and cyclists through its hilly wooded surroundings.
- Lycée Technique Josy Barthel , a secondary school which opened in 2003.
Famous people
Nicolaus Mameranus (1500-1567), soldier and historian under
Emperor Charles V.
Nicolas Frantz (1889-1985), cyclist, who won the
Tour de France in 1927 and 1928.
Josy Barthel (1927-1992), athlete, who won the 1500 m gold medal at the
1952 Olympics in
Helsinki.
Twinning
- collapsed: Dangé Saint-Romain
Footnotes