| Clervaux
is a medieval market town, sunk into a narrow and tortuous valley, surrounded
by rugged hills covered with woods. In addition to its natural advantages
and distinctive appearance, the hotels
there are comfortable and the restaurants welcoming. For the Sports enthousiast,
there is a splendid 18-hole golf course, several
tennis courts and walks on forests tracks and paths, as well as fishing
and horse-riding. |
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| The imposing
feudal castle which dates back to the 12th century - through its sheer size
- still appears to protect the town. It is the age-old witness to the prestige
and power of the knights and counts whose estates stretched far across country
from St. Vith to Vianden and Prüm. |
- From
the pages of History
- Through
the impetus given by the powerful Brandenbourg house, many extensions
to the town were built at the start of the 15th Century. In order to
protect the southern side, Frédéric de Brandenbourg had
the enormous Burgundy Tower constructed, which also contained a prison.
A little later, larger accommodation quarters, a network of cellars,
and -in the first court of the castle- the Tower of the Witches - intended
to guarantee the defense of the castle - were built. Today this tower
houses the tourist reception desk.
- In 1634,
Claude de Lannoy allowed himself the luxury of replacing the rudimentary
accommodation quarters and stables on the northern side with spacious
reception rooms, among which the Knight's Hall. These rooms are currently
home to the Family of Man by Edward Steichen.
- In 1671,
accommodation quarters were prepared for a keeper. The Restaurant-Café
Vieux-Château has now taken their place. New stables were
built in 1721. Today, these house the cultural centre of the town of
Clervaux.
- In 1927
the castle became private property. The rooms, lounges and towers were
transformed into a hotel. Belgian, Dutch and English tourists stayed
there, where in times past, Counts, Princes and Princesses resided.
But sadly, the Ardennes offensive (aka Battle of the Bulge) reduced
it to ruins during the second World War.. The Luxembourg State then
acquired the ruin and restored it back to its former glory.
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venerable witness to a prestigious past, Clervaux castle now houses the
offices of the local government, the reception of the "Syndicat d'Initiative"
(local Tourist Office), a marvellous collection of models of Luxembourg's
old fortified castles, a small war museum exhibiting weapons and souvenirs
from the 1944-1945 Ardennes offensive (Battle of the Bulge), and the remarkable
collection of documentary art photography, the "Family
of Man" by Edward Steichen (cf below). |
| Near the Benedictine
Abbey, a historic monument in the form of a cross can be admired. It is
a 12.5 metre high stone construction which was erected in 1899 to commemorate
the heroic fighters at the time of the French invasion from 1795 to 1798.
Two bronze bas-reliefs show scenes from the Oesling peasant's revolt against
the French troops. Below a simple phrase, but one which is filled with pride
and heroism, reads: "We don't know how to lie" |
"The
greatest photographic exhibition of all times"
created by Edward J Steichen in 1955
for the Museum of Modern Art in New York brought to the Château de
Clervaux. |
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In
1951, in the midst of the Cold War, the American photographer of
Luxembourg descent, Edward J Steichen, began preparations for his
great plan of an exhibition to make man conscious of himself through
the universal language of photography. The idea - inviting professional
and amateur photographers, famous authors, and those as yet unknown
to the general public, to send in their works met with great enthousiasm.
Steichen received more than 2 million pictures from all over the
world. At first he retained 10000 photographs, then whittled these
down to 503 pictures by 273 photographers from 68 countries. Together
they compose the "Family of Man" in an impressive setting
of 37 themes, based on love and faith in man, depicting birth, work,
family, education, children, war and peace, ...
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The
exhibition was a tremendous success, drawing more than nine million
visitors in the 1950's and 1960's. In 1964, at the end of the collection's
journey around the world, the American government gave it as present
to the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. It had been Edward Steichen's
wish that "the most important work of his life" should
be permanently housed in Luxembourg.
Following
the expert's report by Anne Cartier-Bresson of the Ateliers de
Restauration des Photographies in Paris, the decision was made
to restore the photographs which had been damaged during their long
journey around the world. The task was entrusted to Silvia Berselli
and her team, who restored the complete collection in 2000 man-hours.
Because of its uniqueness, the task roused the interest of many
experts abroad.
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natural consequence of all these efforts was the ambitious idea to
bring back the photographs to the Château de Clervaux, ensuring
the necessary conditions for the long-term protection of the photographs
and preserving as much as possible the original setting and characteristic
presentation. |
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The
project began to take shape when a scale model was presented by the
"Centre National de l'Audio-Visuel" (CNA). Public interest
in the "Family of Man" grew in Luxembourg. Due to Jean Dieuzaide
and his staff of the Château d'Eau gallery, an exhibition of
the restored collection in the Réfectoire des Jacobins in Toulouse
in January 1993, was a tremendous success. More than 30000 visitors
from all over France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Italy and Japan
flocked to the exhibition, leading to a genuine renaissance for "The
Family of Man". The French press commented favourably on the
project. The legend of the exhibiton had survived four decades. |
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The
exhibitions at the end of 1993 and beginning of 1994 in Tokyo and
Hiroshima were equally important. Thousands of visitors, above all
young people, re-discovered or saw for the first time the picture
of man in the 1950's, as Edward Steichen and his team for the MoMA
had imagined him.
The
"Service des Sites et Monuments nationaux" supervised
all construction work regarding the new museum in the Château
de Clervaux in 1993 and 1994. The museum opened on June 3 1994.
"Family of Man" has found a permanent home in a modern
museum within a contemporary didactic framework providing the visitor
with the necessary information to understand the multi-dimensionality
of Edward Steichen's legendary creation.
The
fact that the collection could now begin its second life, as Jean-Claude
Lemagny has expressed it so well in his contribution to our book
on the exhibition (The Family of Man, témoignages et Documents),
is mainly due to the financial support of the Luxembourg Government.
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But
without the enthousiastic encouragement of many friends in Luxembourg
and abroad, who joined us in our efforts to bring back the "Family
of Man" to Clervaux, this project would never have acquired
the necessary dimension to highlight this universal appeal for human
dignity.
© Jean Back
Chargé de Direction
Centre National de l'Audiovisuel
used
by kind permission
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Addendum:
In September 2003, the "Family of Man" exhibition was nominated
for inscription on UNESCO's
"Memory of the World" register with the following justification:
Luxembourg - Family of Man. The photographic exhibition
mounted by the photographer Edward J. Steichen in 1955 for the New York
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) was donated by the Government of the USA to
the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is preserved in the Clervaux Museum. The
exhibition consists of 503 photographs taken by 273 photographers, both
professional and amateur, famous and unknown, from 68 countries. It has
been described as the “greatest photographic enterprise ever undertaken”.
A huge undertaking, with unique cultural and artistic dimensions, it had
a considerable influence on other exhibition organizers, stirred public
interest in photography and proved exceptional in its ability to communicate
a humanist message that was both courageous and provocative. The Family
of Man exhibition has become a legend in the history of photography. It
went far beyond the traditional view of what an exhibition should be and
it can be regarded as the memory of an entire era, that of the Cold War
and McCarthyism, in which the hopes and aspirations of millions of men and
women throughout the world were focused on peace. |
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The
exhibition is open from March 1 - December 31 on Tuesdays to Sundays from
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and is also open Mondays on Public holidays. Naturally,
it is fully accessible also for wheelchairs.
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Entrance
charges are as follows:
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Adults:
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4.50
€ |
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Students
and Children over 10 years of age:
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2.50
€ |
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Groups
(from 12 pax)
and seniors:
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3.00
€ |
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Kids
under the age of 10
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free
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Contact
at the Museum: Tel: (+352) 92 96 57 / Fax: (+352) 92 96 58:
More
information about Clervaux is available at: www.tourisme-clervaux.lu.
Don't
miss the "Family of Man"
homepage (www.thefamilyofman.lu)
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