Musée national de la résistance et des droits humains

About the museum

The museum opened in 1956. The town of Esch-sur-Alzette built it on the initiative of the local section of the League of Political Prisoners and Deportees; together with the memorial, it commemorates the victims of National Socialism and the workers who died in the mines and factories of the south. At first the League ran the house; from the early 1980s the town did. The permanent exhibition was renewed in 1987; since 2008 the museum has been professionally run by the town and the Ministry of Culture.

In 2017 the town and the government decided to renovate and expand the museum. In 2018 the newly founded Musée national de la Résistance foundation took over its management. After the conversion works, designed by the office of Jim Clemes (architecture) and Njoy (museography), the new building opened in 2022 as part of the Esch2022 European Capital of Culture programme. The newly designed permanent exhibition was inaugurated on March 1, 2024.

The trilingual permanent exhibition (French, German, English) covers the interwar period, life under dictatorship and repression, the population's reactions, National Socialist structures, the concentration camps and the Shoah, and the postwar period. It is supplemented by a section on human rights and civil resistance. A memorial room displays urns filled with earth from several concentration camps, and the sculpture “Le prisonnier politique” by Lucien Wercollier.

Highlights

• New permanent exhibition (since March 2024) on occupation, resistance and persecution
• Trilingual: French, German, English
• Memorial room with earth from concentration camps and a sculpture by Lucien Wercollier
• “Parcours de la mémoire” memorial trail with Stolpersteine in the city centre
• Section on human rights and civil resistance

Permanent exhibition

• Dauerausstellung zu Widerstand und Menschenrechten – Trilingual exhibition on the interwar period, occupation, persecution, camps, liberation and remembrance, as well as on human rights and civil resistance.

Founded

1956

Operated by

Fondation Musée national de la Résistance

Admission & discounts

Admission applies to the permanent exhibition and the temporary exhibitions. Free admission for holders of the Kulturpass, the ICOM card, the “Frënn vum Resistenzmusée” card and the Luxembourg Card. Primary school classes from the partner municipalities of Esch-sur-Alzette, Schifflange, Bettembourg, Rumelange and Mondorf-les-Bains have free admission.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

According to the museum, access for people with limited mobility and wheelchair users is ensured. A wheelchair is available at the ticket desk, as are mobile seats.

Kids & families

Only partly suitable for kids

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide

Children's booklet “Découvrons ensemble notre musée” with audio files in French, English and German (children's trail); workshops for young people from age 11.

Getting there & parking

The museum is in the heart of the city centre's pedestrian zone.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit