Betzdorf Castle

Coordinates: 49°41′39″N 06°19′49″E / 49.69417°N 6.33028°E / 49.69417; 6.33028 Betzdorf Castle (Luxembourgish: Betzder Schlass, French: Château de Betzdorf, German: Betzdorf Schloss/Schloss Betzdorf) is a former castle in the commune of Betzdorf, in eastern Luxembourg. It is the headquarters of SES S.A., the world's largest satellite operator in terms of revenue and the largest component of Luxembourg Stock Exchange's main LuxX Index. It is located north-west of Betzdorf village, to the north of the CFL Line 30 railway line. Since its acquisition by SES, the company has built a large commercial and industrial centre around the castle.

It should not be confused with Berg Castle, located in nearby Berg, which serves as the communal headquarters for Betzdorf.

History

The castle was the home of Hereditary Grand Duke Jean from his marriage to Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium, on 9 April 1953, until 16 November 1964,^[1] when he succeeded to the Grand Duchy upon Grand Duchess Charlotte's resignation. All of Jean and Joséphine-Charlotte's children were born at Betzdorf Castle:

• Princess Marie-Astrid (born 17 February 1954)
• Grand Duke Henri (born 16 April 1955)
• Prince Jean and Princess Margaretha (twins born 15 May 1957)
• Prince Guillaume (born 1 May 1963)

After the vacation by new Grand Duke's family, the castle became a nursing home, which it remained until 1982. In July of that year, the castle served as a base camp for 3,000 Scouts celebrating the 75th anniversary of the movement's foundation.^[1] Afterwards, it was left empty until SES bought the castle in 1986 and began extensive development work to make it their headquarters.^[1]

See also

• List of castles in Luxembourg

Footnotes

1. ^ ^{a b c} (German) "Lokalchronik von Dorf und Pfarrei Betzdorf". Parverband Widdebierg. http://parverband.betzdorf.lu/chronik_betzdorf.html. Retrieved 2008-05-15.