Berg Castle

the Luxembourgish castle

Berg Castle (, ; ; Schloss Berg) is the principal residence of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. It is situated in the town of Colmar Berg, in central Luxembourg, near the confluence of the Alzette and the Attert, two of Luxembourg's most important rivers.

The estate at Colmar Berg first came into the possession of the Grand Dukes of Luxembourg in 1845. The Belgian Revolution had divided Luxembourg from the Netherlands, and also into two, undermining Dutch control of the fortress of Luxembourg City. Grand Duke William II sought to establish a suitable Grand Ducal residence in Luxembourg, hoping that a division of his time between The Hague and Luxembourg would placate the local, overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, population. To this end, the Grand Duke bought Berg Castle from the Pasquier estate. In 1848, it was recognised as the exclusive home of the Grand Duke by the newly promulgated constitution. In 1890, the Royal house of the Netherlands and the Grand Ducal house of Luxembourg diverged, and the new Grand Duke, Adolphe, purchased Berg Castle the following year, in order to maintain the Grand Ducal estate at Colmar Berg. In 1906, William IV had the old castle demolished and a new one constructed in its place, designed by the Munich based architect Max Ostenrieder and the local Pierre Funck Eydt. Work on the new castle began in 1907, and was completed on 9 September 1911, after which it became the primary residence of the Grand Ducal family. The two properties changed hands for 40m francs, of which 20m francs were denoted for the castle; this was viewed by the government as an undervaluation (as was the price of the Grünewald), as they had assessed the castle as being worth 22m francs. The current Grand Duke, Henri, was born at Betzdorf Castle, in eastern Luxembourg.