History

Origin of Mondorf-les-Bains ?

The origin of the name Mondorf goes back to the Carolingian dynasty, i.e. the Frankish kings. Charlemagne had a niece called “Muomina”, who donated all her possessions to the abbey of Echternach. Among these properties was the small village, which thus took the name “Muomendorph”.

In addition, Charlemagne married Hildegard of Thionville. Forced to travel frequently between Thionville and his small capital of Aachen, he had a residence (“Pfalz”) built in Mondorf, which served as his base.

As a border village between France and Luxembourg, the toponymy of Mondorf varied over time: Muomundorf (960), Mamendorf (1030), Muomendorph (1069), Momendorf (1147), Muomendorph (1161), Moyndorff (1440), Momendorf vel Mommendorff (1444), Mundorf (1572), Mendorf (17th century), Mondorf (1681), Mundorff (1790), Mondorff (1801).

Where does the name come from?

The first inhabitants of Mondorf were the Celts. The Roman presence began in 65 BC. The Chapel of Saint-Sauveur, known as the Chapel of the Castel, dates from this period. It was built on Celtic fortifications and was intended to protect the Metz-Trèves road. Its access path is lined with steles representing the seven Sorrows of the Virgin.

Located at the crossroads between Germany and France, Mondorf was repeatedly pillaged, burned and rebuilt. Thus, the church of St. Michael from 1065 was rebuilt four times, the last time in 1764.

An interesting podcast from the French National Archives on the origins of thermalism in Mondorf-les-Bains
In memory of the Floralies

Mondorf-les-Bains (Lux) and Mondorff (Fr)

August 28, 1878: The seaside resort is authorized by royal decree to take the name of : Mondorf-les-Bains

The Treaty of Versailles in 1769 established the current border, splitting the parish of Mondorff in two. The Luxembourg part of the village kept this name until 1872, when the first post office of the seaside village was created. Following the delivery of a postmark, which by misinterpretation had only one final “f”, the Luxembourg part of the twin town adopted the new name of Mondorf, with the addition: – les-Bains.

Birth as a spa town

The Dutch domination in the 19th century and the constraints were to change the destiny of the village, until then an agricultural and wine-producing village. In season of the Dutch monopoly and the exorbitant taxes on salt, salt was sought in Luxembourg. Now, there was a small stream in Mondorf whose water was slightly salty.

1841 - Drilling begins

Karl Gotthelf Kind starts drilling the first thermal spring (for rock salt) on the initiative of the notary Ledure.

1846 - Curative use

After 5 years of effort, the drilling rig broke at a depth of 730 metres (a European record at the time) and the work was abandoned. The drilling did not find any rock salt, but at 460m, a mineralized spring was discovered. The notary Ledure proposed to use it for curative purposes.

20 June 1847

Inauguration of the first spa.

1852

1st request for the establishment of a gaming casino by the Blanc brothers and opening of the Hôtel du Grand Chef.

28 May 1855

William III, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1849 to 1890, stayed at the Hôtel Grand-Chef de Mondorf-les-Bains with his brother Henri, the Prince of Orange-Nassau and vice-admiral of the Dutch fleet. William III was the son of William II of the Netherlands and Anna Pavlovna of Russia and therefore the nephew of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia.

August 1855

Edmond de la Fontaine (alias Dicks), son of Governor Gaspard Théodore Ignace de la Fontaine and one of the greatest poets in the Luxembourg language, stayed in Mondorf-les-Bains at the Hotel Grand-Chef where he wrote and composed “D’Mumm Sěs oder De Gêscht”.

1864

Mondorf had already in this year 8 hotels: Hotel de l’Etablissement au Parc Thermal, Hotel de l’Europe, Hotel du Grand Chef, Hotel du Commerce, Hotel de France, Hotel du Nord, Hotel des Bains and Hotel de Luxembourg.

November 15, 1864

The Mondorf spring and the outbuildings are sold to a group of investors who create the “Société Anonyme des Bains de Mondorf”.

August 27, 1868

Birth of John Grün in Mondorf-les-Bains (later known as the strongest man in the world)

August 26, 1871

Victor Hugo having been successively expelled from France, Belgium and the island of Jersey, finds refuge in Guernsey and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, where he follows a spa treatment from August 26, 1871 in Mondorf and completes the collection “L’Année terrible”. He stays at the Hotel de Paris in Altwies until September 24th 1871.

August 28, 1874

Auguste Liesch was born in Mondorf-les-Bains. He was a magistrate and politician (member of the government and the Council of State), but it was his literary creation “Maus Kätti” that made him famous and which still makes him one of the most popular writers in the Luxembourg language today

August 28, 1878

The seaside resort is authorised by royal decree to take the name of : Mondorf-les-Bains.

1882

Inauguration of the railway line from Luxembourg to Remich through the commune of Mondorf (“Jangeli”)

3 November 1882

Birth in Mondorf-les-Bains of Frantz Clément, famous Luxembourg author, journalist and publisher. He was editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper Tageblatt and a great critic of the Nazi regime. Arrested by the Gestapo in July 1941, he was deported to the concentration camps of Hinzert and Dachau. Having been declared unfit for work, he was transferred to the Hartheim/Linz killing centre in Austria on 6 May 1942. He was gassed and cremated there the same day.

April 21, 1886

Vote of a bill which concerns the takeover of the thermal establishment by the State.

1896

Grand Duke Adolf and his brother Nicholas stay in Mondorf-les-Bains with, among others, the Prime Minister of the time, Paul Eyschen.

1900

Creation by the industrialist Charles Bettendorf of a bottling station for Mondorf thermal water to be sent to individuals in Luxembourg and abroad.

1901

The same Charles Bettendorf started to build 5 houses in the “Art Nouveau” style in the Avenue des Bains.

1903

Inauguration of the railway line linking Mondorf to Thionville. This line was called “Jängelchen”.

1907

Construction of the synagogue. Consecrated on September 26, 1908 in the presence of Rabbi Fuchs, it is the symbol of the first generation of Jews settled in Mondorf-les-Bains.

05-12 June 1910

Aviation Week with the Aero Club of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in Mondorf-les-Bains. Newspapers at the time estimated that more than 100,000 people (equivalent to almost half of the country’s population) came to Mondorf during that week.

November 03, 1912

Death of John Grün.

1913

Drilling of a second spring: the Marie-Adelaïde spring at a depth of 464 meters.

1920

Inauguration of the first John Grün monument.

February 14, 1923

Grand Duchess Charlotte visits the thermal park.

1926

Opening of the Palace Hotel and the new hydrotherapy facility, now known as “Al Thermen”.

1937

The pianist Arthur Rubinstein and the composer Maurice Ravel are visiting Mondorf-les-Bains at the Hotel Grand-Chef. Ravel stayed there for almost a whole year.

Between 1939 and 1945

Occupation of Mondorf-les-Bains by the Germans.

May-November 1945

The Palace Hotel is turned into a remand prison for Nazi leaders before they are transported to Nuremberg.

1948

Purchase by the State of the Palace Hotel, sequestered after the war, to house the Mondorf-State administration, as well as the medical institute and the dance and reading rooms.

1952-53

Jean Monnet, then President of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), stays for 8 months in Mondorf-les-Bains. First at the Grand-Chef Hotel and then at 36, avenue des Bains, during the months when the hotel is closed. He received the Heads of State of France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Luxembourg and thus laid the foundations for the functioning of the newly created ECSC in Mondorf-les-Bains.

1963

Inauguration of the new pavilion over the Kind spring.

1970

Visit of Yugoslav President Tito, who stays at the Hotel Grand-Chef.

1979

Drilling of the Michel Lucius spring at a depth of 750 meters.

16 April 1983

The CASINO 2OOO opens its doors.

1 May 1988

Official inauguration of the new thermal and health centre.

2002

Shimon Peres stays at the Grand-Chef Hotel.

April 24, 2015

Visit of cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, the first man to go into space on March 18, 1965, at the Fligermuseum.

22 June 2015

  • Visit of the Grand Ducal couple on the eve of the national holiday in Mondorf-les-Bains, in the pouring rain.
  • Inauguration of the Maison Relais.

May 13, 2016

Opening of the Clara Reinert Garden at the entrance to Mondorf-les-Bains (from Altwies).

Clara Reinert (1888-1968) was a midwife who maintained a “small maternity ward” in her house on rue du Moulin.

April 13, 2019

Visit of the Russian cosmonaut Gennadi Padalka at the Fligermusée (cosmonaut who spent 878 days in space – divided into 5 missions)