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Walferdange

Coordinates: 49°39′46″N 6°08′00″E / 49.6628°N 6.1333°E / 49.6628; 6.1333
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Walferdange
Walfer (Luxembourgish)
Commune
View from Sonnebierg
View from Sonnebierg
Coat of arms of Walferdange
Coat of arms
Map of Luxembourg with Walferdange highlighted in orange, and the canton in dark red
Map of Luxembourg with Walferdange highlighted in orange, and the canton in dark red
Coordinates: 49°39′46″N 6°08′00″E / 49.6628°N 6.1333°E / 49.6628; 6.1333
Country Luxembourg
CantonLuxembourg
Government
[1]
 • MayorFrançois Sauber (CSV)
Area
 • Total7.06 km2 (2.73 sq mi)
 • Rank100th of 100
Highest elevation
405 m (1,329 ft)
 • Rank46th of 100
Lowest elevation
228 m (748 ft)
 • Rank41st of 100
Population
 (2023)[2]
 • Total8,730
 • Rank16th of 100
 • Density1,200/km2 (3,200/sq mi)
  • Rank6th of 100
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
LAU 2LU0000310
Websitewalfer.lu

Walferdange (Luxembourgish: Walfer [ˈvɑlfɐ] ⓘ; German: Walferdingen) is a commune and small town in central Luxembourg.

Geography

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The commune of Walferdange is located north of Luxembourg City in the valley of the Alzette. It is part of the canton Luxembourg.

The town of Walferdange lies in the center of the commune, other towns within the commune include Helmsange and Bereldange.

History

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The commune of Walferdange was formed on 1 January 1851, when it was detached from the commune of Steinsel. The law forming Walferdange was passed on 25 November 1850.[3]

Although the commune first came into existence in 1851, there is evidence of prehistoric settlement as well as remains of a very large Roman villa. The Raschpëtzer Qanat, an underground aqueduct near Helmsange was built in the 1st century AD during the Roman occupation. It is said to be the longest qanat north of the Alps.[4]

Walferdange church was built between 1845 and 1852; the main features of its classical facade are two large statues of Père Kolbe and Thérèse de Lisieux, added at a later date. Before official unification of the commune, and even before this church was built, it was religion that pulled the villages of Heisdorf, Helmsange, Bereldange and Walferdange together.

Recognition of Walferdange as an important town came in 1850, when Prince Henry, brother of Grand Duke William III, chose Walferdange as his seat of residence. After the independence of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in 1867, the Walferdange Castle was assigned to Grand Duke Adolphe according to the constitution. As an engaged winemaker, he enthusiastically served his guests wine from his own production. The palace was later vacated by the Grand Ducal family.

Population

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[5]

Places of interest

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Sights include the Roman villa and the underground aqueduct Raschpëtzer Qanat, as well as the Walferdange Castle. Until 2015 the residential palace housed the Faculty of Languages and Literature, Humanities, Art and Behavioral Sciences of the University of Luxembourg.

Sports

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Walferdange is home for many sport clubs, including BBC Résidence (basketball), RSR Walfer (volleyball), De Renert (rugby union), FC Résidence Walfer (football), Tennis Club Résidence Walfer (tennis) and Optimists Cricket Club (cricket).

Cricket

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The Pierre Werner Cricket Ground, also known as the Walferdange Cricket Ground, is situated in Helmsange next to the Alzette river. The cricket ground is the premier cricket venue in Luxembourg, being the home ground of the country's top club, the Optimists Cricket Club (OCC). It is named after the Pierre Werner, former Prime Minister of Luxembourg (1959–74, 1979–84). Werner had fallen in love with cricket when living in London in 1930, and went on to become the Honorary President of the OCC, which had been established when he was Prime Minister. Werner opened the OCC's new ground in 1992.[6]

Pidal

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PIDAL which means in French Piscine intercommunale de l’Alzette,[7] is a swimming pool including a spa area, a sauna, a fitness room and a restaurant.[8]

The facility is managed by the communes of Lorentzweiler, Steinsel and Walferdange.

Culture

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The Harmonie Grand-Ducale Marie-Adélaïde (Walfer Musek), named after Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, has been founded in 1912.

Population

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According to the website of the municipality,[9] Walferdange has about 8 030 inhabitants at the beginning of 2016. More than 51% are foreigners of about 90 different nationalities.

Official statistics 1821 - 2015

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Population by canton and municipality 1821 - 2015 filtered for Walferdange[10]
Specification 1821 1851 1871 1880 1890 1900 1910 1922 1930 1935 1947 1960 1970 1981 1990 2000 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg 134082 194719 204028 210507 211481 236125 259027 261643 299872 296913 290992 314889 339841 364597 379300 435479 502066 512353 524853 537039 549680 562958
Walferdange 594 854 1020 885 892 941 1015 1121 1500 1726 2132 3008 4279 5300 5853 6459 7291 7240 7404 7563 7715 7819

Transport

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Walferdange is served by Walferdange railway station on CFL Line 10, by the N7 national road, and several buslines, including the city of Luxembourg buslines (AVL) 11 and 10.

The commune also has its own mini-bus service known as "Walfy-Flexibus".

Twin towns — sister cities

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See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Luxembourg

Walferdange is twinned with:[11]

References

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  1. ^ "WALFERDANGE - Syvicol". www.syvicol.lu. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Table view". statistiques.public.lu. Statec. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  3. ^ (in French and German) "Mémorial A, 1850, No. 108" (PDF). Service central de législation. Retrieved 2006-07-18.
  4. ^ Roman aqueducts: Walferdange. Retrieved 2 December 2007.
  5. ^ "Population par canton et commune". statistiques.public.lu. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Pierre Werner". Optimists Cricket Club. 2002. Archived from the original on October 15, 2004. Retrieved 2006-09-22.
  7. ^ "Meaning of PIDAL".
  8. ^ "Proposed services".
  9. ^ "La commune - Commune de Walferdange" (in French). Administration communale de Walferdange. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
  10. ^ Source:Statec; Publication date: 08/04/2015; Periodicity: yearly.
  11. ^ "Communes jumelées". walfer.lu (in French). Walferdange. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
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