Head office: Charly's Gare 1, Place de la Gare L-6985 HOSTERT, Phone : xx352 26 34 07 16
Secretariat: 7, rue Laach L-6945 NIEDERANVEN Tél / Fax : xx352 34 03 12
E-mail: history@niederanven.eu

The publications appeared until today

Andethanna 1700 years of history Of Niederanven ( 1989 ) Video cassette Lux, Fr, Ger no longer available

(1984) Niederanven I 20.00 €

(1990) Niederanven II 20.00 €

(1996) Niederanven III 20.00 €

(1998) Niederanven IV Photographic album 20.00 €

(2005) Niederanven V 20.00 €

ANDETHANNA

A walk through 1700 years of Niederanven's history

At the border of the Grünewald, on the Senningerberg side rich in sources, lays in a picturesque natural environment, the rapidly growing municipality of Niederanven, representing the villages of Niederanven, Oberanven, Hostert, Rameldange, Ernster, Senningen, Senningerberg, Waldhof and Staffelter. At the moment, Niederanven counts about 5700 inhabitants. The population shows 43 different nationalities with a foreigners' percentage of  about 46 %.

It is because of the numerous sources and of the protected site that Niederanven's region has ever been populated since the most put off times.

Prehistoric period.

Coming from the Champagne and from the Moselle, the humans of the stone age penetrated to this Luxemburg region rich in sandstone where ravines and caves offered them a secure protection.

On the northeast part of the Grünewald, at the border of the municipality of Niederanven,  near the main road which connects Luxemburg with Echternach, on lands called " Waelen ", was a clearing populated by men since thousands of years. More than 1000 weapons and different other tools were found there, objects that hunters, fishermen or herdsmen of the stone age had left behind them in their houses or their camps.

In the years 1990-91, excavations of an ancient cemetery field showing several tumuli, in the locality " Staekaul ", near the ground of Hostert's football pitch, allowed to find ceramic vases, bronze rings, ambre jewels and even a golden brooch. The archaeologists of the Luxembourg Museum date the found objects at the time of the Tène, between 400 and 500 years before Christ.

Niederanven in the Roman time.

The first written document with reference to Niederanven dates at the time of the roman  emperor Diocletian from 284 to 305 AD. A Roman card, entitled " Itinerarium Provinciarum Antonin " indicates - on the Roman road from Reims to Trier - a stage stopping place situated between Arlon and Trier, namely " Andethannale vicus Leugas XX ", which means village of Niederanven, 44 kilometres. So due to the handwritten documents, Andethanna is the most ancient name of a village of the Grand duchy of Luxemburg.

In December, 1919 Gallia Varicillus's gravestone was found in Hostert. The epitaph translated from Latin says: " Set up for Gallia Varicillo, (his) wife, by Marcus Secundus Sekundinus. Dedicated to the gods of the shadows. "

During the years 1661-1677 Alexandre Wiltheim drew up, as a part of his major archaeological work "Luciliburgensia Romana", a geographic card of Luxemburg at Roman time. "Andethanna" is situated there among Orolaunum ( Arlon) and Augusta Treverorum ( Trier). {Luciliburgensia Romana}

The ancient Roman road, collectively called " Kiem " in Luxembourgish, connected Reims with Trier. " Kiem " results from the Celtic " Kehm " which means road. This road  was situated near the current highway - coming from Luxemburg-City through Grünewald up to the neighborhood of the new water tower on Senningerberg. From there it went probably down near the current " Rue des Romains " to reach Niederanven. It continued then its road towards Mensdorf. Hostert was connected with this " main road " by a secondary Kiem. Nowadays it is presumed that the ancient Andethanna was situated in Hostert.

Only hundred of years later, in 386 AD, the name of  "Andethanna" appears again in handwritten documents: in " Vita St Martin ", Sulpicius SEVERUS describes one of the numerous journeys of the bishop of Tours to Trier. " The next day, he (for Martinus) quickly raised the camp. On his road of return, he sighed, his soul in pain, for having been, even for so short a  period, in such an unhealthy community. All this took place not far from the locality Andethanna, where a road crossed solitary neverending forests. Martinus sat down on the ground "... Suddenly an angel appeared to him and pronounced following words: " Resume your courage and  become strong again ". The locality where, according to the popular tradition, all this would have happened, is called nowadays " Um Hellegesteen " what means " at the stone of the Saint ". That is why the monument of Holy Martin, set up in 1930, is situated next to the "Chaussée St. Martin".

Resuscitated ruins.

After the destructions in 4-th and 5-th centuries by Germanic tribes and the Huns of king Attila, towards 450, from the 6-th century Francs began to populate this devastated country. Out of the ruins of the gallo-Roman villages raised  new villages with Germanic names. It was probably at this time when Senningen and Rameldange have been founded.

It is in 1176 when the place " Hofsteden " is mentioned for the first time. Hofstätte, Hofstelle or Hostert are typical names for places resulting from gallo-Roman ruins. Towards the year 1200, Ernster appears for the first time in a manuscript under the name of Erenze. The name Rameldange (or - ingen ) appears only much later. On the Anwen farm a sort of medieval peasant right was issued and there Rameldange is named for the first time in 1362.

" Hof Anwen " - Niederanven from the 12-th to the 18-th century.

" Hof Anwen ", consisting of Ober-and Niederanven, Hostert, Senningen, Rameldange and Ernster, is named in numerous handwritten documents of the 12-th century. One supposes that Franc kings were the first owners of the Hof Anwen.

" Hof Anwen " had its own jurisdiction. The old lime tree in Hostert, which was about a thousand years old and had to be brought down in 1974, probably has witnessed many (annual) fairs and numerous audiences of justice. " Hof Anwen " was appreciated a lot by its various owners as a place of summer residence and hunting.

Even today in the vaults of Hostert's chapel you can see the coats of arms of the ancient owners, namely the marquees of Bade. Since 1976, this most ancient building of Niederanven has been classified among the  "ancient memorials" of Luxembourg.

For a long time the parish of Hostert profoundly respected the memory of the hermit "Schetzel", who lived up to its death in a cave of the Grünewald. {Schetzel}

First indications on the population of the " Hof Anwen " are given in a statement of the homes of year 1473. There were then about 36 homes, what corresponded to about 250 inhabitants. At the dawn of the 17-th century, the plague and the " Thirty Years War " decimated most of the population which, in 1658, did count no more than 2 1/2 homes.

The most ancient religious building of Niederanven was the chapel Ste Lucie. It was situated near the feudal mill of Niederanven in the exit of the village towards Munsbach. When in 1851 Niederanven's new church was constructed the chapel Ste Lucie did no longer serve and decayed.

In 18-th century Niederanven knew a development which found its highlight in the middle of the 19-th century. In 1722 the service of the mail diligences was established, relating Brussels - Luxemburg which, in 1730 , was widened to Trier. From 1727 this network was paved. Niederanven became again what it had been at Roman time, namely a station of relay. One took tolls on bridges and roads. The head of the station, the sputters as well as the travellers contributed to an increased activity in the village.

The inn " A la Pomme d'Or " was the local of the beggars, other inns were called " Au Cheval Blanc " and " An der Lomp ". On the "Route de Trèves", the pharmacist Rademacher even offered  baths of cure. Near 1750 he advertised for   "Niederanven-Les-Eaux " and a wide tourist traffic began to develop.

The current municipality of Niederanven with its various villages  was created in 1795, during the French Revolution. On October 9, 1804 numerous inhabitants applauded Napoléon Ier visiting Niederanven.

In 18-th and 19-th century the exploitations of mills highly contributed to the development of Niederanven. Indeed, Niederanven was one of the municipalities of Luxemburg which counted the largest number of mills. 12 mills were run through two brooks. These mills ground wheat, pressed oil and paper, sawed trunks, crushed the capsules of clover semen, ground barks, worked on weaved materials or on leather. Along Senningen's brook you could find the paper mills Funk, Tabourain and  Lamort, the feudal mills of Senningen and Niederanven, the sawmill, and the oil mill. Along Hostert's brook, also said " Mühlenbach " there were Hostert's mill, mill Werner     (Oberanven), mill Kinnen, mill Zammesch and Oberanven's sawmill. The most ancient of mills is the feudal mill of Senningen, mentioned already in 1296 in handwritten documents.

In 1828 Jacques Lamort acquired the Senningen's paper factory and enlarges it. Under its management Senningen's paper factory knew a certain fame exceeding widely the Luxembourgish borders: it was because they were able to make a white paper of an extremely fine quality and also fine wallpapers. Specialised workers of the Lorraine were hired and a 2nd factory has been based in Manternach. It is with the release of the French-German war of 1870 that began the decline of the company, which closed the factory's doors in 1882. The manufacturer Ernest Dervaux of Paris bought the empty premises. He transformed the host house into a castle, made demolish the factory buildings to have made a magnificent park instead as you can see Senningen's castle still nowadays.

From 1840 the Luxembourg-Niederanven road was transformed. The alpine serpentine in Senningerberg was constructed. In 1847 69 ha of Grünewald were sold by auction to collect the financial capital necessary for the construction of the road. In 1865 the beautiful path of sweet chestnut trees was ready and no longer than in 1861 the inhabitants of Niederanven had pronounced against a connection with railroad line Luxemburg - Trier.

As fruits abounded in the numerous orchards of the municipality of Niederanven, the brandy distilleries prospered there together with a strong alcohol consumption. In this time, one counted only in Niederanven 27 saloons and more than 20 distilleries.

The place Senningerberg exists since 1842. When in 1882 Senningen's paper factory closed its doors for ever, the workers of the region as well as their families knew very hard times. It is in this time when the big quarries of Senningerberg were born. The most important quarry was in " Gromschaed " from where were delivered all stones necessary for the construction of the small railway relating Luxembourg with Echternach, the famous " Charly ".

When in 1904 this railway was established, a station with quay and ways of arrangement for the quarries was set up in Senningenberg, which soon became a place of excursion for city-dwellers and lived an incredible development. In 1914 there were already 36 houses.

The law of March 19, 1937 decided on the construction of an airport on Findel, right by the limits of the municipality of Niederanven. The permanent extension of this airport should use more and more lands of this municipality. During the last continuation of the takeoff runway in 1992, such quantities of lands had to be moved that the so-called " Fransousegronn " disappeared completely under the elevations of removed soil.

The coats of arms of the municipality perfectly illustrate its rich history. The top includes elements of the coats of arms of the family Wiltheim which lived in Senningen for the 16-th century. In the left bottom part, the old tree symbolizes on one hand the Grünewald on the southeast side with the various villages and on the other hand, reminds the old millennium lime tree in Hostert. The helmet and the butt make allusion to the Roman time but also to Saint Martin's passage through Andethanna in 386.

Niederanven, a rapidly expanding municipality.

After the Second world war, from about 1965, an intense construction activity contributed to the developed of Niederanven. Let us recall the following projects: Centre Culturel in Hostert (1972), water tower SEBES (1974), industrial park "Breedewues", school centre " am Sand " (1982), Sports centre " am Sand ", Shopping center " Les Arcades " (1983) and  the extension of the highway as well as the various lots.

In spite of all this evolution, Niederanven has never lost its picturesque environment. In 1988, Aarnescht, the  panoramic jewel of the municipality was classified zone of natural protection by aregulation of the Grand-Duke. This extraordinary site of natural protection is one of the most beautiful of protected sites in Luxemburg, because of the variety of its species, so rare and  perfect with an irreplaceable character.

It is to wish that the inhabitants of Niederanven do not only take advantage of the attractive natural environment or colourful gastronomic offer, but also and even more of the intense cultural life and leisure activities, proposed by more than 40 associations or clubs. In that way the mutual understanding between the Luxembourgish and foreign fellow countrymen will be favoured by an active participation in the life of the municipality.

© Geschichtsfrënn vun der Gemeng Nidderaanven

Links: Tourist information office of the Municipality of Niederanven
School " am Sand "