The Chamber of Deputies’ Culture Committee saw spirited debate on Wednesday regarding the preservation of two remaining chimneys from the former Arbed steelworks, located on the edge of the Belval site at the border with Sanem.
Members of the Christian Social People’s Party (CSV), the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP), and the Pirate Party voiced support for restoring the industrial relics, but Minister for Culture Eric Thill made it clear he does not see a path to national protection for the structures.
According to Minister Thill, the chimneys no longer meet the criteria for national heritage classification. He argued that their authenticity was compromised when the towers were reduced from 150 metres to just 40 metres in height in 2012, a move made for safety reasons.
Minister Thill stopped short of explicitly endorsing demolition, stressing that the Ministry of Culture is not the owner of the site; responsibility rests with Agora and the Fonds Belval.
Although an agreement had previously been reached to preserve the towers, the public urban development agency Agora is no longer willing to fund their maintenance, and the municipality of Sanem has declined to accept the chimneys as a gift. This likely means that demolition may be inevitable.
The Minister emphasised that his role is to apply the law and that, under the 2022 legislation, the criteria for national protection are not fulfilled in this case.
However, this does not automatically mean the chimneys must be demolished.
Thill also reiterated that the Ministry of Culture does not own the land on which the chimneys stand, as ownership lies with Agora and the Fonds Belval.
The decision was met with disappointment from the CSV and LSAP members, particularly southern deputies Georges Engel, Nathalie Morgenthaler, and Georges Mischo, who have advocated for the protection of the region’s industrial heritage.
Marc Goergen of the Pirate Party, who submitted the motion to preserve the chimneys, strongly criticised Minister Thill’s position, suggesting that the government was effectively allowing demolition by refusing to grant heritage status.
Goergen argued that the 2012 reduction in height was a political decision and called for alternative solutions, such as transferring the chimneys to the Fonds Belval, which he said had sufficient resources to maintain them, or to another entity committed to their preservation.
The future of the Arbed chimneys remains uncertain. As national industrial heritage, they cannot be classified for protection under current law.
The Pirate Party’s motion will now be debated in the full Chamber of Deputies, following hearings with Agora representatives in the Chamber’s Committee for Public Works.
