Sûre spot for a summer party TEXT: MARTIN PILKINGTON | PHOTOS: VILLE DE DIERKIRCH
Diekirch in northeast Luxembourg is making waves in the tourist world with water-sports facilities on the river Sûre, its charming old town, intriguing museums, and the locally brewed beer to be found in the many pubs there.
“There’s plenty to see and do here all year round,” says Sandie Lahure, the local authority’s communications manager, “but summer is the best time for all the open-air activities here – of which we have many.”
A place in history
mined the outcome of World War II. “Our acclaimed National Museum of Military History, which explains that desperate struggle in exhibits and models, is something the town is very proud of,” says Sandie, “and we have four other museums as well.”
Surrounded by four mountains, with the River Sûre running through it, and boasting a historic centre filled with tiny snickelways, ancient streets and a huge town square, Diekirch enjoys a setting at once dramatic and peaceful enough in itself to attract visitors.
In 2019, Diekirch is a place to have fun, enjoy the natural surroundings and the characterful town, try your hand at kayaking, and refresh yourself with a local lager. Some 75 years ago, however, the town was a critical pivot point in the Battle of the Bulge, a clash that deter-
One of them, the Diekirch History Museum purpose-built in the previous decade, tells the town’s own story, and offers some perhaps unexpected finds for the visitor, not least the Roman mosaics that demonstrate how ancient this
82 | Issue 67 | July 2019