Esch-sur-Alzette

Esch-sur-Alzette
Esch-sur-Alzette; Esch-Uelzecht
	— Commune —
	The city seen from the Gaalgebierg parc
	; Coat of arms
	; Coat of arms
	Map of Luxembourg with Esch-sur-Alzette highlighted in orange, the district in dark grey, and the canton in dark red
	Coordinates: 49°30′N 5°59′E / 49.500°N 5.983°ECoordinates: 49°30′N 5°59′E / 49.500°N 5.983°E
Country	Luxembourg
District	Luxembourg
Canton	Esch-sur-Alzette
	Government
• Mayor	Lydia Mutsch
	Area
• Total	14.35 km2 (5.54 sq mi)
Area rank	89th of 116
Highest elevation	426 m (1,398 ft)
• Rank	39th of 116
Lowest elevation	279 m (915 ft)
• Rank	92nd of 116
	Population (2011)
• Total	29,853
• Rank	2nd of 116
• Density	2,100/km2 (5,400/sq mi)
• Density rank	1st of 116
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
LAU 2	LU00010004
Website	esch.lu

Esch-sur-Alzette (Luxembourgish: Esch-Uelzecht, German: Esch-an-der-Alzette or Esch-an-der-Alzig, French: Esch-sur-Alzette) is a commune with city status, in south-western Luxembourg. It is the country's second city, and its second-most populous commune, with a population of 29,853 people. The town of Esch-sur-Alzette lies in the centre of the commune; with a population of 27,146 (as of 2001^[update]), it is Luxembourg's second-most populous town.

It lies in the south-west of the country, on the border with France. The town is usually referred to just as Esch, but there is also a village and commune further north named Esch-sur-Sûre from which to distinguish it. Esch lies in the valley of the Alzette, which flows through the town. The capital, Luxembourg City, is roughly 15 km (9.3 mi) to the north-east.

Places of interest [edit]

The city hall

Esch-sur-Alzette is home to the National Museum of the Resistance, which has material related to the resistance to German occupation during the Second World War. Lucien Wercollier's sculpture The Political Prisoner is in its entrance hall. Other tourist attractions include the large park, and the Berwart Tower, built in 1621.

The Lankelz miniature railway operates on Sunday afternoons and public holidays from May to mid-October.^[1]

Esch is home to the Conservatoire de Musique.^[2] Founded as a school of music in 1926, it achieved Conservatoire status in 1969.

There are two cinemas, called the 'Ariston' and the 'Kinosch'. The main theatre is the Théâtre d’Esch. There is also the Kulturfabrik, a cultural centre in a reconverted abattoir which hosts performances of various kinds. The town is the site of one of the six regional headquarters of the Grand Ducal Police.

The city is the centre of the country's steel manufacture. One of the largest employers in the town is Arcelor, the world's largest steel producer, which formed from the merger of Aceralia, ARBED, Mittal, and Usinor.

Sport [edit]

Esch is in the heart of the traditional footballing heartland of the south of the country, and the town was the first place in the country to embrace the game. The first two football clubs in the country, CS Fola Esch (founded in 1906) and Jeunesse Esch (1907), both come from the town. Jeunesse have been the most successful Luxembourgian club, winning an unrivalled twenty-seven National Division titles; combined with twelve Luxembourg Cup victories, Jeunesse have won eight Doubles. They play at Stade de la Frontière, in the south of the town. Fola were very important in the early history of the sport in Luxembourg, winning five titles up to 1930, but have since declined, currently playing in the second-tier Division of Honour. Fola's home stadium is Stade Émile Mayrisch, in the south-east of Esch, which it shares with its sister athletics club CA Fola Esch.

At the 2006 Tour de France, Esch-sur-Alzette hosted the end of Stage 2 and the start of Stage 3.

Transport [edit]

Sign at Esch-sur-Alzette railway station.

Esch-sur-Alzette is the southern terminus of the A4 motorway, which runs northwards to Luxembourg City. The east-west A13 meets the A4 just to the north of Esch, and terminates at Pétange in the west and meets the German Bundesautobahn 8 at its eastern end.

Esch is one of four Luxembourgian towns to have multiple railway stations.^[3] Esch's three railway stations, Esch-sur-Alzette, Belval-Rédange, and Belval-Université, all lie on Line 60 of the Chemins de fer luxembourgeois network.