Clemency (, ) is a town and a former commune in south-western

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. Since 2012, it is part of the commune of Käerjeng. It is part of the canton of Capellen, which is part of the district of

. , the town of Clemency, which lies in the south-west of the former commune, has a population of 2,061. Clemency is a rural community close to the Belgian border.

The old township Clemency

Until 2012, Clemency was in a separate commune similarly named

Clemency A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

. But on 1 January 2012, the Commune of Clemency was merged with the Commune of Bascharage with the combined township being named the Commune of Käerjeng. The law creating Käerjeng was passed on 24 May 2011.

Former commune

The former commune consisted of the villages: * Clemency * Fingig * Schockmillen (lieu-dit) * Nuechtbann (lieu-dit) * Neudrisch (lieu-dit)

Location

The commune is located on the Belgian border at the source of the River Eisch. At an altitude of 395 m, its highest point is in the village of Fingig. Clemency, situated on the junction of the CR 101 and the CR 110 is 21 km west of

. It is 5 km from the E25 motorway to Luxembourg and

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. The area is partly forested but mostly agricultural with mixed farming. There are fishing ponds between Clemency and Fingig as well as a marshy nature reserve, the ''Neidriesch'', where there is a colony of crested newts, a protected species.

Celtic tomb

The history of Clemency goes back to the 1st century BC when the

Treveri The Treveri (Gaulish language, Gaulish: *''Treweroi'') were a Germanic peoples, Germanic or Celts, Celtic tribe of the Belgae group who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle (river), Moselle in modern day Germany from around 150 BCE, if not ea ...

, a

Celtic tribe This is a list of ancient Celtic peoples and tribes. Continental Celts Continental Celts were the Celtic peoples that inhabited mainland Europe and Anatolia (also known as Asia Minor). In the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, Celts inhabited a large ...

, inhabited the region around

Titelberg Titelberg () is the site of a large Celts, Celtic settlement or oppidum in the extreme south west of Luxembourg. In the 1st century BCE, this thriving community was probably the capital of the Treveri people. The site thus provides telling evide ...

, a large

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (: ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age Europe, Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celts, Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread acros ...

near Rodange. A Celtic funeral chamber measuring 4.30 m by 4.20 m, the largest Gallic tomb ever found, was discovered in 1987 at Clemency. From the offerings in the tomb, it was obviously the burial place of a Celtic nobleman. These included at least ten wine

amphora An amphora (; ; English ) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storage rooms and packages, tied together with rope and delivered by land ...

e, an Italic bronze basin, an oil lamp from

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

, an iron grill and some 30 Gallic pots. There was also a chimney from an iron

smelter Smelting is a process of applying heat and a chemical reducing agent to an ore to extract a desired base metal product. It is a form of extractive metallurgy that is used to obtain many metals such as iron, copper, silver, tin, lead and zin ...

in the chamber testifying to the deceased's association with iron production.

An ancient parish

Although today's high-steepled church was built in 1726, records indicate that the community and its parish are far older. Information from the

Pétange Pétange (; ; ) is a Communes of Luxembourg, commune and town in south-western Luxembourg. It is part of the Esch-sur-Alzette (canton), canton of Esch-sur-Alzette and is the fifth-most populous commune in Luxembourg, as well as the most populous ...

tourist office explains how one Karl Martell offered Clemency and Pétange to St. Maximin's Abbey, Trier, in 723. A document dated 1140 reports that Pétange belonged to the parish of Clemency. This apparently continued to be the case for several hundred years.

The old railway

In 1873, the Prince Henri railway was opened. It took passengers and goods from

to Steinfort via Clemency. After it was extended in 1880 to run as far as

Ettelbruck Ettelbruck ( , ) is a Communes of Luxembourg, commune with list of towns in Luxembourg, town status in central Luxembourg, with a population of inhabitants. History Until 1850, both Erpeldange and Schieren were part of the Ettelbruck commune a ...

, a total distance of 52 km, it became known as the Attert Line. The railway, which operated until 1967, mainly for transporting iron ore and coke for the mining operations in the region. Today the old line has been converted into a

cycle track A cycle track or cycleway (''British'') or bikeway (''mainly North American''), sometimes historically referred to as a sidepath, is a separate route for cycles and not motor vehicles. In some cases cycle tracks are also used by other users such ...

The castle

Clemency also has a small residential castle located close to the church in the centre of the town. Built in the 1660s, Clemency Castle had fallen into disrepair but in 2009 extensive renovation work was completed. As a result, the castle is now open to the public from time to time.

Clemency today

Clemency continues to be primarily an agricultural community although it has recently been expanding as a residential area in view of its proximity to the E25 motorway. A few small companies have also been established there. It is also a good centre for walking and cycling, particularly as it is on the P12 cycle track from Lamadelaine to

Colmar-Berg Colmar-Berg (, ) is a Communes of Luxembourg, commune and town in central Luxembourg, in the Mersch (canton), canton of Mersch. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Attert River, Attert and Alzette. Colmar-Berg is the site of the Grand D ...

.Piste cyclable de l'Attert
. Retrieved 26 November 2007.

Twinning

* : Gaflenz in Steyr-Land,

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Footnotes

{{Authority control Käerjeng Celtic archaeological sites Archaeological sites in Luxembourg Former communes of Luxembourg Towns in Luxembourg