Terre-Rouge was a large iron industry complex in the south of Luxembourg which formerly belonged to ARBED. In 2006 it became part of the Arcelor Mittal conglomerate. Work started on the “Brasseur” factory and the site became operational in 1872 while steel production began around 1880.  ARBED took over the site in 1937. The steel industry flourished in the region and Luxembourg became one of the largest steel in Europe until the 1970s, when there was a sudden decline in the European iron and steel industry and the blast furnaces were shut down.  The rest of the site continued operating until roughly 1997 when they laid off the remaining work force.

At the height of the operation the Terre-Rouge site consisted of the blast furnaces, a power station and the ore silos. However, the blast furnaces were dismantled and sold on, while the power station was dismantled only quite recently. Thus, at the moment only the iron ore silos remain in a pretty dereclict state.  Unfortunately,  as of 2020 the silos are also being demolished in order to make room for a new housing estate. In all likelihood, the Esch-Schifflange steel works will suffer a similar fate.

This was my first attempt at taking pictures of our industrial heritage and I am glad I went to visit before it all vanishes in front of my eyes.