History of Mondorf-les-Bains

ificant decline since 1871. Only after the State took over the facilities on 21 April 1886 were its fortunes improved. Minister of State Paul Eyschen was particularly successful in reviving interest, encouraging visitors to come from Belgium. In the early 20th century, the State invested heavily in the resort adding a pavilion for the original source, a banqueting hall and a reading room as well as the Orangerie and the country’s first indoor swimming pool. The park was also enlarged. A railway to Thionville was opened in 1903 and, in 1913, the Marie-Adelaïde Source, named after the grand duchess was added after drilling to a depth of 464 metres.

After a quiet period during the First World War, a new spa centre designed by architect Paul Wigreux was opened in 1926. In the 1930s, the hotels were occupied not by visitors interested in the waters but by emigres from Nazi Germany including the pianist Arthur Rubinstein. During the Second World War, well-to-do Nazis enjoyed relaxing at "Staatsbad-Mondorf", far away from the bombing and fighting. After the war, Mondorf hosted 59 members of the Nazi elite as they awaited trial at Nuremberg while the allies made the necessary preparations at the Palace Hotel, code-named Camp Ashcan.