Colourful meeting place against the backdrop of casemates Neumünster Abbey (neimënster) has much to offer. Myths entwine around the history of Neumünster Abbey, one of the most important historical sites in Luxembourg City. The historic Benedictine monastery in the Grund with its picturesque backdrop, the Bock rock and the casemates, served for a time as a military hospital and prison … Today, as the city’s largest meeting centre, it attracts children, young people and adults of all cultural backgrounds to the Grund all year round with exhibitions, conferences, concerts, festivals, dance and theatre performances.

Excavations on the site show that there were signs of settlement and craftsmanship as early as the 12th and 13th centuries. As early as the 14th century, textile craftsmen such as weavers or dyers worked here by the water. The wooden huts from the second half of the 14th or the beginning of the 15th century were replaced at some point by stone workshops. In the 17th century, there was a tanner’s community on the left bank of the Alzette, opposite the church.

After the old Benedictine Abbey of Altmünster was destroyed during the wars between the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire, by the troops of the King of France, Francis I, who had occupied the city of Luxembourg on 11 September 1543, the Benedictine monks built their new abbey church and the associated abbey buildings in the Grund district in 1606. The bones of the Bohemian King John of Luxembourg were also transferred there from Altmünster.

In 1684, when the troops of the French King Louis XIV besieged and shelled Luxembourg, the abbey was again badly damaged. Like all other monasteries, Neumünster Abbey was secularised by the French revolutionary authorities in 1796. From 1815, St. John’s Church, which belonged to the monastery, served as a military hospital for the troops of the German Confederation stationed in Luxembourg until 1867.

After the withdrawal of the troops of the German Confederation in 1867, the abbey was used as a men’s prison until 1980 when it was taken over by the Luxembourg state. After extensive restoration work, the entire complex was put to socio-cultural use. Today, the historic walls house the largest cultural centre in the capital.

Information for parents: 

  • Address: neimënster Centre Culturel de Rencontre Abbaye de Neumünster 28, rue Münster L-2160 Luxembourg-Grund Tél.:+35226 20 52 – 1 (Accueil) E-mail: contact@neimenster.lu URL: www.neimenster.lu 
  • If arriving by car, it is recommended to use the car parks in the upper town or the “Brasserie” car park on the Rives de Clausen. From the “Saint-Esprit” car park – the first car park in the city centre behind the Old Bridge (viaduct) – a public lift leads to the Grund district. At the end of the lift, go straight on, cross the small bridge and then turn left towards Église Saint-Jean-du-Grund – rue Münster – neimënster is at the end of the street. From the “Brasserie” car park on the shore of the Alzette in Clausen, walk across the footbridge to neimënster. 
  • By train: At the main station – with line 23, departing from platform 7 – get off at the stop “Stadgronn-Bréck”, the final stop of the shuttle bus – cross the small bridge opposite and turn left into Münsterstraße. 
  • By bus: By public transport, the Abbey is served by bus lines 14, 20 and 23. Line 23 (Gasperich – main railway station, Quai 7 – Dommeldange-Beggen) stops at the Stadgronn-Bréck bus stop (about 200 m walk). Lines 14 (Bahnhof – Cents) and 20 (Hamm-Clausen-Kirchberg) serve the bus stop at the top of rue de la Tour Jacob (Rumm, about 150 m walk). Opening hours: neimënster (Centre Culturel de Rencontre Abbaye Neumünster) is open from Monday to Sunday from 10.00 to 18.00.