User Reviews
Differdange Castle was built in 1577 although an earlier fortified castle of Differdange dates from around 1310. The first lord of the castle was Wilhelm, brother of the Lord of Soleuvre, who is mentioned in documents from 1310 when he owned a fortified castle. However, the lords of Differdange lasted only until the death of Wilhelm's grandson around the year 1400. When Soleuvre Castle burnt down in 1552, the owner Anna von Insenburg decided not to repair it but to build a Renaissance-style residential castle in Differdange serving both Soleuvre and Differdange. At the beginning of the 20th century, the castle came into the hands of the local steel industry, now Arcelor Mittal who used it as a hotel and a restaurant for its staff.
Differdange Castle is probably the earliest example in Luxembourg of a château built entirely in the Renaissance style. It was originally intended both as a residence and a fortification with a moat and draw-bridge (now both removed) as well as loop-holes. It is constructed fully in accordance with the principles of Renaissance architecture, especially the use of the square both for the courtyard and the outer walls of the three buildings which surround it. The rectangular cross-framed windows are typlical of the period. The octagonal towers which are slightly higher than the central building provide balance between the horizontal and vertical dimensions.
Since 1997, the castle has been let to Miami University for use as its Miami University Dolibois European Center.
References:The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.
The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.
The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.