The building in Luxembourg City was once home to the Athénée school and later became the national library Photo: Edouard Olszewski

The building in Luxembourg City was once home to the Athénée school and later became the national library Photo: Edouard Olszewski

The former national library in Luxembourg City will become home to court offices, justice and culture minister Sam Tanson has said, but a part of the building will be open to the public.

Luxembourg’s national library (BnL) vacated the premises next to the Notre Dame cathedral in the capital for its new site in Kirchberg in 2019. Formerly a school, talks were underway for the building to be turned into a national art gallery.

But this project won’t see the light of day, Tanson and public works minister François Bausch (both déi Gréng) said in answer to a .

Judicial administration and three chambers of the Luxembourg district court will move into the premises, the ministers said, as their current offices are running out of space. But the building will remain partially open to the public. “There are plans to develop areas dedicated to gastronomy and cultural purposes, in particular by integrating two interior courtyards,” they said.

A proposal for the site is being prepared and should be presented at the start of 2022, they said.

A group working on the project is also reviewing a request by the education ministry to set up a permanent exhibition on the Luxembourg language as part of the building revamp.

The national gallery, dedicated to artists from Luxembourg, could meanwhile be located in Dudelange. A feasibility study is being carried out as part of the refurbishment of the Neischmelz, a former steel site.

The national audiovisual centre (CNA), an exhibition space and archive dedicated to photography and video art, is also located in Dudelange.

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