Mamer - History

History

The Treveri, a Gallic or Celtic tribe, inhabited the region for several hundred years until they were conquered by Julius Caesar in 54 BC. A Celtic necropolis from the 1st century was discovered in the early 1970s on the Juckelsboesch plateau between Mamer and Kehlen. A beautiful dark blue glass bowl was among the offerings found in the tombs.

During the Gallo-Roman era which lasted until about 450, the Romans built and maintained a number of roads in the area including the Kiem (Latin caminus, road) linking Trier to Reims through what is now Mamer. Mambra was a Roman vicus centred around a villa with thermal baths, sited on the banks of the Mamer River at the eastern end of today's Mamer. The Roman settlement was burnt by Germanic invaders around 276.

The oldest historical reference to Mamer is to be found in a document which records how, on 8 April 960, Lutgardis, daughter of Wigeric, Count Palatine, made a gift of the hamlet of Mambra to Saint Maximin's Abbey in Trier for the benefit of the monks.

Nicolaus Mameranus was born in Mamer in 1500. A soldier and historian under Charles V, he succeeded in having the Emperor pay for the restoration of the village of Mamer after the Duke of Orléans' troops pillaged it in 1543. In 1555, he was appointed poet laureate.

The road linking Luxembourg City to Brussels, passing through Mamer, was built in 1790. In 1859, the railway to Brussels was opened, with a station in Mamer.

The inhabitants of Mamer suffered under the First and Second World Wars, although the town itself escaped bombing. The Voie de la Liberté commemorating the victorious route of the Allies after the D-Day landings passes through Mamer which was liberated on 10 September 1944.

Since 1945, Mamer has prospered year-by-year as a result of its location close to Luxembourg City and its excellent road and rail connections. In 2003, the Lycée Technique Josy Barthel was opened, as was the Mamer Lycée railway station, which serves it.