The Slate Museum: learning and entertainment
Are you ready to travel back in time? So pay a visit to the Slate Museum in Haut-Martelange and immerse yourself in the realm of the Greater Region's 20th century slate industry. The museum gives you the opportunity to spend quality family time while learning about the country's industrial heritage. With the many activities available, both young and old will be able to learn in a playful manner (from the age of 4).
The museum offers an extensive range of activities you can enjoy on-site:
- guided tours for every taste;
- various creative workshops for young and old;
- a short journey on an industrial train;
- tasting a delicious typical dish of a slate worker;
- amusic festival, the Koll an Aktioun;
- a Christmas market;
- and many other activities.
During your tour, you'll be enchanted by the magic of the place.
Museum guided tours and workshops
For guided tours, you can choose from three options:
- an individual tour (visitors can explore the site themselves or via an application);
- a group guided tour ("200 years of slate industry", "The pathway of slate", "Underground" or "Haut-Martelange - protected treasure");
- a special tour or a thematic one (one for all the family, a horror tour for Halloween (with children), a tasting tour, etc.).
As part of the tour, you can discover the slate pathway: from its extraction to its conversion into a finished product and its transport. You can also explore the conditions of a slate worker of the time. But don't forget to wear closed shoes and a warm jacket, even in the summer, as it is chilly in the underground galleries!
You'll be able to let you creativity run wild during the various workshops offered in the Slate Museum.
You can choose among various options, for example:
You can participate in these workshops on your own, but group reservations are also available.
Slate was extracted on this industrial site from 1790 to 1986, with an average production of 12 million slates per year. In 1890, the slate quarries and village houses were acquired by a German family of entrepreneurs known as the Gebrüder Rother.
After being in operation for almost 200 years, the industrial site slowly converted into a Slate Museum. In 1992, a few aficionados of Luxembourg's industrial historyliving in the surrounding villagesfounded the not-for-profit organisation Les Amis de l'Ardoise (Slate Friends), which is fully made up of volunteers. Its mission is to preserve the memory of Luxembourg's slate heritage and to prevent the site from being forgotten. Armed with passion and committment, they converted the industrial site into a place where history comes to life.
Since 2019, this site has been managed by the not-for-profit organisation Musée de l'Ardoise, which was created by the Luxembourgish government, the commune of Rambrouch and the not-for-profit organisation Les Amis de l'Ardoise.
Events on an ongoing basis
Many other activities are organised on this exceptional almost 20-acre industrial site featuring 22 buildings.
Get on a train that was rebuilt on the former industrial path.
As part of En Dag an der Natur (a day in nature), you can explore the diverse flora of the slate quarry on a walk around the wastelands of the site with a biologist (in French). You can then enjoy a drink made with ingredients found in the pit.
Do you fancy a family cultural outing? On the museum's site, you can also recharge your batteries at the Koll an Aktioun music festival, where you'll find something for every taste. It is not only a music festival, but also a cultural and food festival. Concerts and shows are on the programme, as well as an exhibition, a creators market, workshops for children and cooking activities. The Koll an Aktioun often takes place on Pentecost weekend and its programme is suitable for young and old alike.
If you have some free time, why not clear your mind at the Slate Museum on its open door day? You can visit the site for free on that day. The Christmas Market is another large event that is held on-site every year, around November. A wide range of items can be found there: decorations, presents and unique artisan products.
Take this opportunity to explore the surrounding area and local culture! The North of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg features many industrial sites that bear witness to the industrial revolution which left its mark on the country's history. The Éislek region is very well-known for its breathtaking green nature, its cultural wealthand, and its remembrance tourism. It will be a pleasure to take a stroll amid the thick forests, deep valleys and windy plateaus.
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