A total of 66 religious buildings participated, many of which are not usually accessible to the public. Visitors were invited to explore these sacred spaces and reflect on how the intertwined histories of nobility and clergy have shaped the country – a relationship still visible in many churches today. Guided tours were offered across various sites to help bring these stories to life.
The event is more than just an open-door day; it was launched with a clear intention. According to Laure Simon from the association ErwuesseBildung (EwB), who coordinates the project, churches represent far more than places of worship: they are centres of art, serenity, and history. Simon explains that many of them still carry visible traces of the local aristocracy, which inspired this year’s theme, “The Nobles in Our Churches”.
This year’s theme highlights the historic bond between noble families and the Church – a connection dating back to the founding of Luxembourg. Around the time Count Siegfried established his castle on the Bock promontory, a small church was built at the Fish Market, where Saint Michael’s Church now stands. Historian Michel Margue points out that this church, founded by Count Siegfried and consecrated by the Archbishop of Trier, symbolises the early alliance between secular and ecclesiastical power. A stained-glass window in the church still recalls this founding moment.
Margue further explains that the nobility and clergy had a mutually reinforcing relationship in those early days, each supporting the other’s authority. The Church relied on noble protection to spread Christianity, while nobles legitimised their power by sponsoring religious institutions. This partnership laid the groundwork for today’s parish structures and ecclesiastical hierarchies.
This layered history is particularly visible in the Luxembourg City Cathedral, where the princely gallery was exceptionally opened to the public for the occasion. Pastoral guide Mireille Sigal led tours of the ornate stained-glass windows there, describing them as a richly symbolic “picture book” of Luxembourg’s intertwined secular and religious histories.
From top to bottom, the windows depict articles of faith, followed by bishops, then princes, and finally key episodes from the country’s past. According to Sigal, these images not only illustrate how church and state functioned together in Luxembourg, but also place these dynamics within a wider European context.
In essence, the “Open Churches Weekend” cast a new light on a centuries-old relationship – one still preserved in stone and stained glass across the country.
