The two world wars and the economic crises that followed dealt a severe blow to the rose-growing sector in Luxembourg. After 1945, despite attempts to revive the industry by introducing new foreign varieties, only one nursery remained in the capital. Since then, it is estimated that only six new Luxembourgish rose varieties have been created. As early as the 1930s, roses became increasingly scarce in the Luxembourg landscape. To address a production surplus, the government supported the professional gardeners’ association by purchasing excess stock to create new rose gardens, notably in front of the Arbed building (now Place des Martyrs), at Place Winston Churchill, and in the former botanical garden of the Municipal Park. Although these rose gardens have since disappeared, the passion for roses has endured in Luxembourg’s public spaces.
Today, roses can be admired in several emblematic locations throughout the capital:
the Plateau du Saint-Esprit (Rousegaart Op de Rondellen),
the Parc de Merl,
and the Roseraie Amalia, which houses a unique collection of roses exclusively dedicated to emblematic female figures and symbols of Luxembourg.
Among these varieties are the roses ‘Anne Beffort’, ‘Avec Amour’, ‘Laure Soupert’, ‘Clothilde Soupert’, and ‘Jeanny Soupert’ (honoring their social engagement and their role in the family business), as well as ‘Princesse Sibilla de Luxembourg®’, ‘Alexandra® Princesse de Luxembourg’, ‘Anise Koltz Poète’, the legendary ‘Mélusine’, and more recently, the rose ‘Lady in Gold’.
The Roseraie Amalia and its associated exhibition, developed in partnership with the City of Luxembourg, LUGA, Patrimoine Roses Luxembourg asbl, and Lëtzebuerger Rousefrënn asbl, invite you into the world of roses and inspiring Luxembourgish women, whose actions continue to enrich and inspire our community.
