Cloth museum

The former textile mill on the edge of the village of Esch-sur-Sûre in northern Luxembourg is both a museum of the woollen cloth industry in the vicinity and a visitor centre for the Upper Sûre Nature Park. Weaving for distant markets began in the Sûre Valley in the sixteenth century. In 1807 Martin Schoetter-Greisch (1789-1860) set up a fulling mill in Esch-sur-Sûre, to which he added spinning machines in 1817. The building was entirely reconstructed as an integrated woollen mill in 1866. After many changes in ownership the factory closed in 1975 but the machinery remained in situ. The mill was purchased by the municipality in 1990, and opened as a museum in 1992. The main building is of three storeys with an attic storey above, and extends along nine bays. Within it the museum displays all the machinery associated with the preparation, spinning, weaving and finishing of woollen cloth, including spinning mules and power looms. Many of the machines dating from the second half of the nineteenth century were made by H Duesberg-Bosson of Verviers in Belgium. The museum is the starting point for trails through the nature park, and is used for many cultural events.