cité des sciences

The remains of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg’s last two blast furnaces dating back to 1965 and 1970 respectively, are being preserved at Belval with additional adjacent facilities. This structure represents Belval’s industrial heritage. Blast furnaces A and B of the former Esch-Belval plant depict the passing of an age, documenting the liquid phase of steel production and represent the most significant landmarks at the Belval site.

Blast furnace B was the last operational blast furnace of Luxembourg, which was shut down in July 1997 following the switch to electric furnaces as of 1993. A proposal from the Sites and Monuments Board led to the inclusion of the two Belval blast furnaces on the Additional list of National Sites and Monuments as of 18 July 2000.

The conservation project for the Belval blast furnaces is being developed within the new urban area framework. The blast furnace area will be integrated as a public place and will not remain an island in the middle of the “Cité des Sciences” (City of Science). The two blast furnaces will become the hub of the Cité des Sciences, not only at urban level but also at a conceptual, cultural and semantic level.

Demolition work as well as the stabilisation and conservation of the blast furnaces was authorised by the Laws of 17 November 2003 and 3 August 2010.