The Grand Ducal Palace

The Grand Ducal Palace

Since the time of the Grand Duke Adolphe in 1890, the Grand Ducal Palace has been the Duke's official residence.

The building was first the City Hall of Luxembourg from 1572 to 1795, the seat of the prefecture of the Département des Forêts in 1795, and then the headquarters of the Luxembourg Government in 1817. After 1817, the Palace became the residence of the Governor, the representative of the Dutch King-Grand Duke in Luxembourg. As such, it was used by Prince Henry, Lieutenant Representative of Luxembourg.

Under the reign of Grand Duke Adolphe, the palace was reserved exclusively for the Grand Duke and his family and was comprehensively renovated with a new wing in the courtyard (the Bade wing). This wing contains family rooms and guest accommodation. The wing was built by the Belgian architect Gédéon Bordiau, with the assistance of Luxembourg State architect Charles Arendt.

During the German occupation of Luxembourg in World War II, the Grand Ducal Palace was used by the Germans as a concert hall and a tavern, called the Schlossschenke. A full internal and external renovation from 1992-1996 restored the building to its former splendor.

The older part between the two towers is in the Renaissance style of (1572) and the middle part is in the Baroque style, known as Balance (1741-43), modified to the Renaissance style in 1891.

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