Place Guillaume II

The entrance of Notre Dame Cathedral is almost adjacent to another landmark attraction of the city, Place Guillaume II. The grand square is dominated by the Hotel de Ville de Luxembourg (Luxembourg City Hall) on the southwest side.

The center of the local government and home of Mayor’s private offices stands in the place of an old Franciscan monastery that existed on the site since the 13th century and was deconstructed by the French in 1797. In 1830 much of its material went towards building the new city hall that was at the time housed in the current Grand Ducal Palace.

The two-storey neo-classical building was completed in 1838 with the two lions, a national symbol of the Grand Duchy, designed by Auguste Trémont and added to the building’s entrance in 1938. The square is also known as Knuedler from the Luxembourgish word for knot, referring to the knot in the belt worn by Franciscan friars. The eastern half of the square is dominated by the equestrian statue of William II, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1840 to 1849.

Today the vibrant square hosts a mass of retail fruit and vegetable stands, flower vendors, cheese and fishmongers and few remaining farmers who bring in their personal crops of potatoes, apples, homemade jams, goat cheese, etc. The square is also used as an open air music venue of the Rock um Knuedler rock concert each year since 1991. You might also find very useful especially if you are a first-timer in the city, a visit to the Luxembourg City Tourist Office (kind provider of the pictures above) located on the left side of the square, where you can find a ton of information, a rich collection of maps, magazines and traffic advice for free by a competent and helpful multi-language team.