Notre Dame Cemetery at Limpertsberg

For our November sketchcrawl we met at the Limpertsberg to discover the Notre Dame Cemetery, which really is like an open-air museum of funerary architecture and sculpture. In the beginning of November the melancholic sculptures are decorated with masses of flower colors.

The Notre Dame Cemetery dates from 1775 and was laid out outside the former city walls on Limpertsberg. The Limpertsberg plateau was then a barren plain, but in the second half of the 19th century the area became known for its spectacular rose gardens.

During those years Luxembourg gained a reputation as a prestigious rose growing centre and at the beginning of the 20th century Luxembourg was known the world over as the Land of Roses.

The flowers we saw at the cemetery were mostly chrysanthemums, symbol for enduring life and rebirth, but in the carvings of the beautiful tombstones, roses play a prominent role.

We sketched bravely for an hour and a half. Before the cold snowy wind started to hit us hard, there were some timid rays of sun and Valérie made good use of this slowly waning November light to make these beautiful photos.

photos by Valérie Mabileau

And here our traditional 'family photos'!