The river angle
The walls and Clausen casemates on either side.
Paul Braun — CC BY 4.0 · Dietmar Rabich — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Flocci Nivis — CC BY 4.0 · Pymouss — CC BY-SA 3.0 lu
The Stierchen is a small stone bridge crossing the Alzette in the Grund, and close to the only bridge in Luxembourg to have survived unchanged since the fourteenth century — in a city that has rebuilt almost everything. Its Luxembourgish name means the little bridge, which is accurate: two stone arches and a passage too narrow for a cart. It linked the two banks of the Grund and formed part of the lower town's defences, built at a point that could be closed off and watched from the walls above. The bridge today is for pedestrians only, and lies on the Wenzel circuit that loops around the fortifications, between the Neumünster abbey and the rocks opposite. Standing on it gives the best angle on the river with the walls and the Clausen casemates on either side. A few free minutes within a walk through the Grund.
The walls and Clausen casemates on either side.
The bridge is a stop on the fortifications loop.
Rue Munster, Grund, 1129 Luxembourg
The Bock CasematesThe Bock Casemates are a network of tunnels cut inside the rock beneath the old 1 minute walk4.5
The Pétrusse CasematesThe Pétrusse Casemates are the second network of military tunnels beneath Luxemb1 minute walk4.7
The GrundThe Grund is the quarter in the valley floor directly beneath the upper town, on1 minute walk
The Castle BridgeA short stone bridge linking the upper town to the Bock promontory, and the only1 minute walk4.6
Neumünster AbbeyNeumünster Abbey is a broad white complex on the floor of the Grund valley besid2 minutes walk4.5A signed route of about fifteen stations looping around the old town through the valleys and fortifications, named after Wenceslas II, the fourteenth-century ruler of Luxembourg who extended its walls. It usually starts at the Bock rock, drops into the Grund and Clausen by way of this bridge, climbs to the Three Acorns, and returns through the Pétrusse. Three unhurried hours, free, and the single best way to understand the city.