The commune of Walferdange, comprising the towns of Walferdange, Helmsange and Bereldange, borders Luxembourg City along the Alzette valley. Pleasant to live in, with a modern infrastructure and an atmosphere with a strong international flavour, here are ten reasons to live here.
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Location
With the town hall just ten minutes away and less than six kilometers from Luxembourg City’s boulevard Royal, Walferdange is ideally located near the Grand Duchy’s main workplaces, airport and freeway access, as well as the country’s main cinemas, concert halls and sports facilities.
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Environment
Situated in the Alzette valley, Walferdange is surrounded by forests, on one side by the Bambësch, on the other by the Gréngewald, which also includes the Trim-Parcours developed by the Commune. The heights of Helmsange, the “Sonnebierg”, are classified as a nature reserve. But even in the urban environment, large areas remain reserved for greenery, trees, green zones… The Alzette riverbed has benefited from major renaturalization work since the 1990s. As part of this work, a footpath has been laid out along the river.
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Transport
Although Walferdange is ideally situated on the road network, the car is not always the best way to get around. This is all the more true as the municipality is crossed by the rail network, served by numerous bus routes and linked to the national network of cycle paths. Walferdange station is on line 10 of the CFL network, linking Luxembourg station with Mersch, Ettelbruck, Troisvierges and, further afield, Liège. Bus routes stopping in Walferdange take you to the town center, to Kirchberg and its European school, to the Belle-Etoile shopping center and the European school in Mamer, to the Limpertsberg and Geesseknäppchen high schools and to Mersch and its high schools. Within the municipality, the Walfer Flexibus service is available to residents free of charge. Cycle paths link the elevators to Kirchberg and the town center to the south, and Mersch to the north.
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Community life
The people of Walferdange have always been committed to the common cause, and have set up a large number of associations to this end. The commune now boasts over 80 associations. In sport, many clubs bear the name “Résidence”, referring to the time when the commune hosted the Grand Duke’s summer residence in the 19th century. These include basketball, soccer, badminton and tennis. But enthusiasts of archery, karate, volleyball, yoseikan, mountain biking, walking, bowling, table soccer, running, rugby and even cricket will also find something to suit them in Walferdange. In addition to sports, other associations cater for photography enthusiasts, young parents, parents of schoolchildren, senior citizens, musicians and singing enthusiasts, stamp collectors and model railroaders. For their activities, the associations take advantage of the municipal infrastructure, primarily the sports halls and the Prince Henri Cultural Center. Télédistribution Walferdange, which operates the local cable network and Internet access service, also originated from the initiative of local residents and has been organized as a non-profit association since 1968.
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Pidal
The term “public swimming pool” hardly does justice to what the PIDAL wellness area is today. A joint initiative of the communes of Walferdange, Steinsel and Lorentzweiler, the Piscine Intercommunale De l’ALzette opened its doors on August 1, 1981, offering a 25-meter pool and a non-swimming pool. Three extensions later, since 2010 the complex has boasted a large indoor and outdoor sauna area, a fully-equipped fitness room, a wellness area offering massages and body treatments, a wide range of group classes and a restaurant. The 3,000 m2 facility attracts visitors from far beyond the three founding communities. Despite this, PIDAL has maintained its reputation as a pool where you can always swim in peace.
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Shopping
No, Walferdange doesn’t have a retail offer to rival Luxembourg’s Grand-Rue. But it was in Bereldange that the Grand Duchy’s very first American-style supermarket, Cactus, opened its doors in 1967. At the other end of the commune, Delhaize welcomes customers. A few hundred metres from the town limits, Aldi and Lidl opened their doors in Beggen. In Steinsel, Pall Center is home to an artisan butcher’s shop, Kirsch. Walferdange also boasts two bakeries, Brisbois and Jos&Jean-Marie. In addition, you’ll find a newsagent, a shoemaker, opticians, a bicycle store, wine cellars, an alterations shop, a dry cleaner, a perfumery, hairdressers and a travel agency.
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Medical care
In the late 1970s, Walferdange’s GPs joined forces to form the Centre médical de Walferdange, which today has six doctors. In addition, there are two independent general practitioners in the commune. They are joined by numerous specialists, from pediatrics to ophthalmology to dermatology, with practices in Walferdange. There are also several blood testing and analysis centers, as well as physiotherapists. And Walferdange is only ten minutes from the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, the Maternity Hospital, the Pediatric Hospital, the Kirchberg Hospital and even five minutes from the Eich Clinic.
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Television, Internet and telephony
While telecommunications have experienced enormous growth since the 1990s, a veritable Eldorado for certain operators, the Commune of Walferdange stands out for the fact that the small collective antenna, founded by committed residents in 1968, has been able to embrace all these innovations and remain at the cutting edge of technology. Télédistribution Walferdange ASBL has its origins in the desire of Luxembourgers, as early as the 1960s, to receive television channels from the three neighboring countries of Germany, France and Belgium. In a valley like Walferdange, the solution came from a cable network connected to a collective antenna located high up. As the government of the time rejected the idea of the state providing this service, local associations often took over. In Walferdange, TeleWalfer continues to this day to operate a cable network, which has since been upgraded to offer high-definition TV, broadband Internet access, streaming and interactive TV services. All on a not-for-profit basis, with excellent customer service and competitive rates.
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Schools, nurseries and playgrounds
Despite Walferdange’s strong population growth over the past forty years, the commune still retains a very village-like character for its primary school pupils. Thanks to the three school campuses in Walferdange, Helmsange and Bereldange, the little ones are often able to get to school on foot or by bike. And their classmates are usually only a few hundred meters away. It’s not until the fifth and sixth years of elementary school that all pupils in the commune come together at the Walferdange school, located behind the town hall. All three school campuses are equipped with “maisons-relais”, offering extracurricular activities before and after school hours. Walferdange is also home to a number of crèches for children under the age of four. And after school, don’t forget the large (near the sports hall) and smaller (in the neighborhoods) playgrounds.
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Living a princely life
If you take a closer look at Walferdange, you’ll notice that the first names “Amélie” and “Henri” are often used in the naming of public places. For an explanation, we need to go back to the 19th century, when the Congress of Vienna awarded Luxembourg, occupied in 1795 by French revolutionary troops, to the King of the Netherlands, William I of Orange-Nassau. In 1817, the latter ordered the construction of a royal stallion depot in Walferdange – the Château de Walferdange, built between 1824 and 1828. In 1841, his successor William II decided to make it the royal residence for the Grand Duke’s visits to Luxembourg. The buildings were enlarged, the interior lavishly decorated and the gardens enlarged. In 1950, William III appointed his brother Henri as Lieutenant-Representative for Luxembourg. Prince Henri settled in Walferdange, joined after their marriage by Amalia Maria de Saxe Weimar. The couple were much appreciated by the local population. Amalia (1830-1872) and Henri (1820-1879) lived in Walferdange until their deaths. The château was refurbished once again when Adolphe (1817-1905), the first Grand Duke of Luxembourg of the House of Nassau-Weilburg, decided in 1890 to make it his summer residence. He was the castle’s last royal occupant. The fact remains that living at Walferdange is also a bit like living a princely life.
