The History of the Planning, Financing, and Construction of the National Miners' Monument
A priest and his idea
The idea to erect a monument in honour of miners who lost their lives in work-related accidents in Luxembourg can be traced back to Joseph Dupong. Dupong served as the parish priest of Kayl from 1932 until September 1957. In addition to his church work, he was also active as a chronicler and local historian. In 1938, he convinced the political representatives of the municipality, as well as the miners’ associations of the Kayl valley, to establish a committee in charge of creating a monument to honour the victims of mining accidents. This initiative is notable, among other reasons, because Luxembourg had very few monuments at the time. In an article published in his 1940 tear-off calendar, journalist and writer Batty Weber lists only seven individuals to whom a monument was dedicated in the Grand Duchy: William II (1792-1849), who was both King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1840 to 1849; Princess Amalia (1830-1872), the second wife of Prince Henry of the Netherlands; the German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832); the strongman Jean ‘Herkul’ Grün (1868-1912); and the Luxembourgish writers Michel Rodange (1827-1876), Michel Lentz (1833-1893), and Edmond de la Fontaine (1823-1891), better known to this day as ‘Dicks’.
The first attempt
The first ‘Committee for the Construction of a Miners’ Memorial’ consisted of nine people. Among them were the mayor and the municipal secretary of Kayl, as well as several miners and Jos Dupong himself.
The first task that fell to the committee was the conceptualisation of the memorial site. This was initially planned to consist of four main elements. First, there was to be a cross, between 15 and 20 metres high, with a statue of a miner. It was supposed to serve as the landmark of the memorial. Next, the group intended to build a chapel where an annual service would be held in honour of miners who had died in accidents. The chapel was to be decorated with frescoes depicting different scenes of a miner’s life and was also to contain the grave of a miner. As a third element, the committee developed the concept of a courtyard of honour, where the names of all miners who lost their lives in accidents would be displayed, though the exact method of display had yet to be determined. Finally, the memorial was to include a gallery that would function as a kind of museum, showcasing the samples of the geological layers of the Minette region and various mining tools.
The committee’s commitment to realise this vision is, among other things, demonstrated by the fact that several companies were commissioned to draw up plans and sketches of various parts of the planned site. One company was even hired to create a plaster model of the entire structure. Unfortunately, neither the plaster model nor the sketches and plans have survived the passage of time. Only a series of payment records remain, pointing to the work that was carried out.
Another task of the committee was to select a location for the memorial. The members quickly agreed that the monument should be built on the ‘Sperreweg’, between the ‘Brommeschberg’ and the ‘Rischlerkopp’. One reason for this was that the plot was directly opposite the ‘Léiffrächen’ grotto, a well-known pilgrimage site for miners and their families. Additionally, the fact that the first mine that had been granted the right to extract ore in the 19th century by the municipality of Kayl was once located on this exact spot, likely also influenced the committee’s decision. Of course, not everyone agreed with the committee’s choice. Batty Weber, for example, would have preferred if the committee had opted for a site in the Escher city park on the Galgenberg.
The choice of a site on the ‘Sperreweg’ also led to practical problems. In 1938, the selected area belonged to Arbed. The local council intervened and proposed a land exchange with the steel company. For Arbed, the surface area of the land to be exchanged was less important than the amount of ore underground that could potentially be mined. This is why such a trade was also referred to as ‘iron for iron.’ The municipality had to consolidate parts of various plots of land but was eventually able to make an offer to the company. On 30 April 1940, the municipal council agreed to the exchange contract. The luxembourgish Mining Administration also gave its approval and confirmed that the swapped plots would contain an equivalent amount of iron ore.
A lottery to fund the project
To finance the monument, the committee decided to organise a nationwide lottery. A lottery commission was appointed to oversee preparations. 30,000 tickets were printed and made available for purchase at 10 francs per ticket. However, it was also possible to buy quarter-tickets for 2.50 francs each. The tickets were sold by volunteers, which led to problems in some cases. There were several instances in which sellers augmented their ten per cent commissions by simply keeping the entire sales proceeds for themselves. In Esch-sur-Alzette, one vendor was found offering tickets at a thirty per cent discount—without the committee’s knowledge or consent. The committee took action against such fraudsters, in some cases even through legal means.
The drawing of the lots was initially scheduled for 4 December 1939, i.e. St Barbara’s Day. However, due to various difficulties the event was postponed to 1 April 1940. The top prize consisted of two awards of 10,000 francs each. By the end of the year, the commission had over 140,000 francs in its account; the lottery had been a success.
Unfortunately, the committee’s joy over the positive results of the lottery was short-lived. Just one month after the draw, German troops occupied Luxembourg. On 3 February 1941, the Stillhaltekommissar für Organisationen, Vereine und Verbände (trans.: Commissioner for the Suspension of Organisations, Associations, and Unions) ordered the committee’s dissolution and confiscated the lottery proceeds. The project for a memorial on the ‘Sperreweg’ came to a halt for the time being.
The second attempt
It was not until 1946 that a new ‘Committee for the Construction of a Miners’ Monument’ was established. Alongside Dupong, Emile Gelhausen was once again selected to become a member of the board. Gelhausen, a former mining clerk, likely played the second most important role in the realisation of the memorial’s construction, next to Dupong. During the Second World War, he had served as the committee’s treasurer. After the conflict had come to an end, it fell to him to apply to the Kriegsschädenamt (trans.: Office for War Damages) for restitution of the confiscated funds. He submitted his request on 26 January 1946. Yet more than six years would pass before the majority of the money was eventually returned.
The returned lottery proceeds were insufficient to cover the construction costs of the monument and so it was decided to organise a ‘public subscription’, i.e. a type of fundraising campaign. Numerous private individuals, companies, mine owners, municipalities, and even the state took part in the campaign. But not everyone was equally enthusiastic about the initiative. The municipal council of Dudelange, for example, rejected the request for a donation. Even so, the endeavour turned out to be a success. By April 1954, the board had over 1,000,000 francs in its accounts.
The architects Léon Loschetter and Pierre Reuter were commissioned to develop a new concept for the memorial site. Though the design they presented differed greatly from earlier plans, in essence it still consisted of four main elements: a two-part tower, approximately 42 metres in height; a symbolic miner’s grave, this time without a chapel; a courtyard containing a series of stone tablets bearing the names of the victims; and a flight of steps surrounded by several stone reliefs, leading up to the courtyard and the upper part of the tower.
From the laying of the foundation stone to the inauguration ceremony
On 26 July 1953, during the 200th anniversary celebration of the pilgrimage site and the coronation ceremony of the ‘Léiffrächen’ under the title ‘Notre-Dame des Mineurs’ (trans.: ‘Our Lady of the Miners’), the foundation stone of the monument was laid.
This stone, which is still visible on the monument today, stems from the Heid quarry in Rümelingen and is made of white sandstone. It contains a certificate documenting the start of construction work and bears a chronogram, the prominent letters of which give the year 1953. The stone was blessed by coadjutor bishop Léon Lommel.
Construction work on the monument was completed about four years after the laying of the foundation stone. The inauguration ceremony took place on 8 September 1957. Several thousand spectators attended the event. Among those present were also the members of the ‘Committee for the Construction of a Miners’ Monument’ led by Jos Dupong, the mayor of Kayl, Jos Mille, and Léon Lommel, who, by that time, had been appointed Bishop of Luxembourg.
A walk around the monument
To this day, the completed monument remains largely faithful to the architects’ original design. A staircase leads up to the courtyard and the upper part of the tower. At its base, the staircase is flanked by four sandstone reliefs, each about three metres high and one metre wide. Carved by the artist and sculptor Georges Klein, they depict miners at work.
The eastern end of the memorial features a viewing platform and the upper half of the tower. The latter consists of four Differdinger grey girders that taper towards the top, a belfry, and a spire with an attached cross, which measures two metres on its own. The company ‘Paul-Würth Werke’ was responsibly for the assembly of the tower. The bell that hangs in the belfry weighs around 300 kilograms and was cast in Aarau, in the Swiss canton of Aargau. It was donated by Emilie Lecuit, the wife of Luxembourgish industrialist Léon Berens, who also owned a mine in Rümelingen. During the inauguration ceremony, Bishop Lommel blessed the bell, and Berens was named its godfather. As Berens’ wife had passed away on 10 October 1956, Mrs Maria Bertacco was appointed the bell’s godmother instead. She was the widow of the last miner from Kayl to die in a mining accident. The bell bears a dedication in memory of Emilie Lecuit, as well as another chronogram and depictions of St. Barbara and the ‘Léiffrächen’.
Another interesting fact about the bell is that it cannot be rung. Originally, it was planned to ring the bell on special occasions, such as St Barbara’s Day, in order to gather people on the mountain for Mass. However, due to a minor change in the design of the tower, there have always been concerns that it would no longer be able to withstand the vibrations of a ringing bell. For this reason, the bell now hangs in the tower without a clapper.
The centrepiece of the memorial is the courtyard, where a series of stone tablets are arranged in a semi-circle. At the time of the memorial’s inauguration, there were twenty-four tablets in total. Over the years, two additional tablets have been added, both crafted from slate, like the originals.
When examining the tablets clockwise, the first depicts a worker loading a mine cart with rocks. The second provides details on production figures and the total number of miners employed in the Grand Duchy during various years between 1870 and 1978. Tablets three through ten commemorate miners who lost their lives in work-related accidents in the Grand Duchy. Wherever possible, each miner’s entry includes the following information: the full surname, the initial of the first name, the year of the accident, the age at the time of death, and the place of residence, including the corresponding canton. All inscriptions were carved by the company ‘Marberie Jacquemart’ from Luxembourg.
At the centre of the memorial stands the symbolic grave of a miner. Directly above it hangs a depiction of a miner about to strike out with his pickaxe. This is followed by ten additional stone tablets, listing the names of deceased miners in Luxembourg.
The last two of these stones differ slightly from the rest. They were added to the monument at a later date and include addenda to the original listing. With one exception, all the miners listed on the first of these two additional tablets died between 1957 and 1976.¹ This means that their deaths occurred after the contract for the production of the original twenty-four stone tablets had been awarded. The second additional tablet was added to the monument in 2001 and is noteworthy for a different reason. It lists miners who died before 1976, i.e. prior to the commissioning of the previous tablet. The names on this stone are exclusively those of miners whose deaths had previously gone unrecorded.
Der Auflistung verstorbener Bergmänner folgt eine Tafel auf der die Schließungsdaten einiger Minen vermerkt sind. Wie der nächste Gedenkstein gehört sie zu den vierundzwanzig Originaltafeln die 1957 in Auftrag gegeben wurden. Um zu gewährleisten, dass alle Steintafeln welche die Namen von Bergmännern trag
The list of deceased miners is followed by a tablet on which the closure dates of a few mines are recorded. Like the next stone, this tablet is one of the original twenty-four that were commissioned in 1957. In order to ensure that all tablets bearing the names of miners form a continuous row, these two stones were later repositioned. The final tablet depicts an abandoned mine cart in front of a mine entrance. When viewed in conjunction with the very first panel, the absence of the anonymous worker, previously shown loading the cart, is particularly striking. This absence serves as a poignant symbol of loss and a reminder of the invisibility of individual fates in history.
¹ The last person listed is J. Bourkel, who died in 1952, some years before the engraving of the stone tablets was commissioned.
The memorial becomes a national monument
Following the inauguration ceremony, the committee’s final act was the official handover of the memorial site to the municipality. Around twenty years later, in 1978, Kayl’s mayor, Jules Kauffmann, advocated for the site to receive national monument status. On 14 March 1978, the Minister for Cultural Affairs, Robert Krieps, declared that the monument could henceforth be called National Miners’ Monument. To commemorate this new status, a bronze plaque bearing the new designation was crafted by the foundry of ‘Usine Massard’ in Kayl.
In addition to the new title, the Ministry of Culture provided the municipality of Kayl with a grant totalling 100,000 francs, which was to be used for maintenance work on the monument. These funds were allocated to restoration work on the tower, the extension of the terraces, the refixing of the stone tablets on the supporting pillars, and the repair of some engravings. In 2021, the municipality once again carried out extensive restoration work on the monument.