History

Prehistory

The Roeser Valley was already populated in the Stone Age, as numerous archaeological finds demonstrate. Stone tools such as hammers, axes and flint weapons prove that this region was inhabited by a number of peoples four thousand years BC.

During the Bronze Age, around 1200 B.C., archaeological remains near Peppange testify to a more cultivated way of life.

The Iron Age saw denser settlement, and the valley was inhabited by Treverian tribes. At the same time, commercial activity developed, as evidenced by finds of coins dating from this period.

The Romans

Around 53 BC, Julius Caesar arrived in our region, bringing with him Roman civilization. This marked the end of the Celtic civilization, until then dominant in the Alzette valley, and the beginning of a much more cultivated and refined civilization: that of the Gallo-Romans. Traces of at least five villas of considerable size reveal that our region was on the outskirts of the great Roman road linking Rome to the Germanic provinces.

The Middle Ages

This Gallo-Roman civilization survived into the High Middle Ages. However, the great barbarian invasions in the 5th and 6th centuries brought with them the Franks, who were free warlike peasants without the slightest culture of life. Under their domination, trade collapsed, but agriculture improved significantly. The village system was introduced to the Alzette valley at the same time as Christianization, spread by Irish monks on mission. Merovingian tombs near Bivange date from this period, as does the construction of the first church in Roeser.

In the 7th century, the name "Roeser" appears for the first time, whose etymological origin is "Ros" or "Ross", which can mean "rose" or "marsh" or "pond".

In the 13th century, the lords of Rosière owned almost the entire valley, and the extinction of this family led to the feudal fragmentation of its holdings. Several noble families competed and eventually shared dominion over the villages of the Roeser valley, or "Roeserbann" as it came to be known. In 1479, the Rodenmacher family succeeded in asserting themselves and holding on to power until 1795, when French revolutionary troops arrived.

From the 16th to the 18th century

The 16th and 17th centuries were marked by major epidemics and devastating wars. The black death took its toll several times in a row from 1518 onwards, and wars, especially the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), greatly reduced the weakened and starving population. The devastation wrought by troops burning and looting everything in their path was followed by famine, and by the middle of the 17th century, the Roeser valley had lost more than 50% of its population, as fire counts from those years show. The peace established in 1648 by the Treaty of Westphalia was only temporary for our region. The wars of conquest waged by Louis XIV of France did not allow the population to breathe, and in 1684, the French marshal Créqui drove the inhabitants out of the villages, sending them to Thionville and Longwy for four months. Bivange was completely burnt down, and the other villages looted and partially destroyed.

The reign of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, Duchess of Luxembourg, finally brought the much-desired peace from 1740 onwards. Agriculture began to flourish again, and the first land register for Roeser was drawn up in 1768, enabling a complete census of possessions for tax purposes.

In 1798, the Roeser valley was conquered by the revolutionary troops of the First French Republic. This marked the end of the Ancien Régime and the feudal system in our country. François Blouet, from an old "Roeserbann" family, became the first mayor of Roeser. The region now had a unitary political system. The church suffered greatly under the new regime: priests were persecuted, church property was confiscated and put up for auction, and worship was forbidden.

The 19th century

The end of the 19th century brought major innovations for the Alzette valley: the construction of the Wilhelm-Luxemburg railway and the relocation of the railway station from Fentange, which was difficult for people from the Roeserbann to reach, to Berchem-Biwingen in 1876. The construction of this new station was conditional on the construction of a connecting track between Berchem-Bivange and Roeser-Crauthem. Until then, the only road linking the two parts of the commune was in poor condition, often flooded and outside the villages, so that there was little contact between the villages on either bank of the Alzette that made up the commune of Roeser. With the new link road, the villages are moving closer together, and contacts are slowly being established between their inhabitants. The construction of the railroad also provided rapid access to the country's capital or steel center, located to the south of Roeserbann. As a result, a working-class population slowly mixed with the previously dominant farming population.

In 1879, Edward Steichen was born in Bivange. He emigrated with his family to the United States, where he learned the craft of photography and went on to become one of the most famous artists in the field. His photographs are world-famous, and the most important figures in political and cultural life considered it an honor to be photographed by Steichen. Edward Steichen never forgot his home village, visiting it in 1965 during a trip to Europe. Died in 1973, this famous son of the Roeserbann is honored by a commemorative plaque, inaugurated in 1983, and a street in Bivange named after him.

Around the same time, the Benedictine nuns founded a monastery in Peppange. The monastery is famous for its frescoes painted by students from the Maria Laach monastery in Germany. Shortly after its foundation, the monastery had to be enlarged to accommodate a very large number of novices, according to plans by the well-known Luxembourg architect and painter Sosthène Weis.

The 20th century

The two world wars (1914-1918 and 1939-1945) took a heavy toll on the population of the commune of Roeser, who had to leave their villages because of their location in the glacis of the Maginot Line. German persecution, the forced drafting of young Luxembourg recruits and deportation claimed many victims, who are commemorated each year in a monument to their sacrifices for the fatherland.

After the liberation of Roeser in 1945 by the Americans, peace settled in for the long term, giving the commune the opportunity to spread out and blossom.

Communal building

Redevelopment of the communal building

Over the years, the former town hall at 40, Grand-Rue in Roeser no longer corresponded to the organization of a modern public administration. The general condition of the building had deteriorated considerably, and a general overhaul was essential.

Once the school swimming pool, located in the right wing of the old town hall, had been decommissioned, a new space opened up, enabling the offices and premises of the town hall to be redistributed and extended, with the aim of improving the reception of citizens and rationalizing municipal services.

At its meetings of November 3, 1999 and May 29, 2000, the municipal council decided to convert or rebuild part of the town hall in accordance with plans drawn up by the Luxembourg architects Schemel & Wirtz.

The block comprising the former school swimming pool and village hall was demolished and completely rebuilt, with the village hall moved from the 1st floor to the mezzanine floor. The new administrative offices were located on the second floor. The middle section, which once housed offices and a meeting room, is now used as a reception area and various rooms and offices for local councilors. The left wing was enlarged by the addition of a second floor, and is now used as a meeting room and wedding hall.

Work began in spring 2001, and after 3 and a half years the municipal administration moved into its new premises in early November 2004.

Between October 2018 and March 2019, work was carried out on a new "Biergerzenter". The aim of this project was to improve the reception of citizens and the operation of the registry and population offices. The two main entrances were removed, and the new single central entrance clarifies the main access for visitors. In the entrance hall, a new reception counter with a waiting area for visitors was installed, and the main facade was rebuilt.