Echternach (, ; or locally ) is a commune with town status in the canton of Echternach, in eastern

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 ...

. Echternach lies near the border with

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and is the oldest town in Luxembourg.

History

The town grew around the Abbey of Echternach, which was founded in 698 by St Willibrord, an English monk from Ripon,

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

(in present-day

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

), who became the first bishop of

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

and worked to Christianize the

Frisia Frisia () is a Cross-border region, cross-border Cultural area, cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. Wider definitions of "Frisia" ...

ns. As bishop, he was the Echternach

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

until his death in 739. It is in his honour that the notable Dancing procession of Echternach takes place annually on Whit Tuesday. The river Sauer that flows past the town now forms the border between Luxembourg and Germany; in the later Roman Empire and under the Merovingians by contrast, the Sauer did not form a border or

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

in this area. The Roman villa at Echternach (traces of which were rediscovered in 1975) was reputed to be the largest north of the Alps. Echternach was later part of the

Electorate of Trier The Electorate of Trier ( or '; ) was an Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from the end of the 9th to the early 19th century. It was the temporal possession of the prince-archbishop of Trier (') wh ...

(present-day Germany) and was presented to Willibrord by Irmina (Irmine), daughter of Dagobert II, king of the Franks. Other parts of the Merovingians' Roman inheritance were presented to the Abbey by king of the Franks

Pepin the Short the Short (; ; ; – 24 September 768), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian dynasty, Carolingian to become king. Pepin was the son of the Frankish prince Charles Martel and his wife Rotrude of H ...

. Echternach continued to have royal patronage from the house of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

. Though the monks were displaced by the canons of the bishop of

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

between 859 and 971, and although Willibrord's buildings burned down in 1017, the Romanesque

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

, with its symmetrical towers, to this day houses Willibrord's tomb in its crypt. The abbey's library and scriptorium had a European reputation. As it flourished, the town of Echternach grew around the abbey's outer walls and was granted a city charter in 1236. The abbey was rebuilt in a handsome

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style in 1737. In 1794 the church was sacked and the abbey used as a porcelain factory. In 1797, in the wake of the French Revolution, the monks were dispersed and the abbey's contents and its famous library were auctioned off. Some of the library's early manuscripts, such as the famous Echternach Gospels, are now in the Bibliothèque Nationale in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In the 19th century, a porcelain factory was established in the abbey and the town declined, until the advent of the railroad brought renewed life and an influx of tourists. During the concluding months of World War II in Europe, on 16 December 1944, Echternach served as the southernmost point on the battlefront for the attempt of the German Wehrmacht forces attacking the Allies to retake

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, during the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

. The town was badly damaged in World War II but was thoroughly restored.

Culture

There are two main churches in Echternach. The larger is the Abbey's Basilica of St Willibrord, which survives from the original abbey and is a fair monument of Romano-Gothic architecture. The basilica is now surrounded by the eighteenth-century abbey (today a high school) and is located in the heart of the town's historical centre. The other is the parish church of St Peter and Paul, under whose altar lie the remains of St Willibrord. The nearby Prehistory Museum traces mankind's history over the past one million years.

Population

Gallery

Luxemburg Echternach BW 2016-08-06 17-30-05.jpg, Basilica (church of the former Benedictine abbey) Echternach, kapel aan de Rue de la Chapelle foto1 2014-06-08 21.19.jpg, Chapel: la chapelle Notre-Dame des Douleur EchternachRomanVilla.jpg, Roman villa Echternach justizkreuz.jpg, Justice cross Echternach mairie.jpg, Town hall Echternach tower east.jpg, Watchtower Echternach, voormalig douanekantoor foto3 2014-06-09 10.14.jpg, Former customs office Echternach rempart.jpg, Southern town wall

Notable people

Nobel Prize 2011-Press Conference KI-DSC 7584

* Johannes Holler (1614–1671) Roman Catholic prelate and Auxiliary Bishop of Trier 1663–1671 * Joseph-Alexandre Müller (1854–1931) Luxembourg composer. * Artur Sirk (1900 in Pruuna, Estonia – 1937 in Echternach), Estonian political and military figure. * Léon-Henri Roth (1922–1945), a resistance fighter. * Jules A. Hoffmann (1941) a French biologist, joint winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2011 * Jeannette Goergen-Philip (born 1947) Luxembourg archer, competed at the 1984 and

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

* Gaston Stronck (born 1957) Luxembourg diplomat * Georges Lentz (born 1965), Luxembourg composer, grew up in Echternach.

Politicians

* Caspar Mathias Spoo (1837–1914), Luxembourg industrialist and politician. * Robert Schaffner (1905–1979), Luxembourg politician, twice mayor of Echternach, 1945-1947 and 1970-1979 * Marie-Josée Frank (born 1952 in Echternach), Luxembourg politician * Marcel Sauber (born 1939), Luxembourg politician * Fernand Boden (born 1943), politician from Luxembourg, government minister 1979–2009

References

External links

*
Official Website of EchternachEverything about EchternachHarmonie Municipale EchternachLocal Radio Echternach 106,5 FM
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20140219102313/http://www.oldpostcardsluxembourg.com/towns_echternach.html Old postcards of Echternach {{Authority control Cities in Luxembourg Communes in Echternach (canton) Towns in Luxembourg Germany–Luxembourg border crossings Roman sites in Luxembourg