Contern

Contern is a commune and town in southern Luxembourg. It is located east of Luxembourg City. As of 2025 the commune has a population of 4,513 whereas the town itself, which lies in the south-west of the commune, has a population of 2,123.
The main towns are Contern, Moutfort and Oetrange and there are two small villages, Medingen and Milbech. Additionally the commune contains the lieux-dits of Bricherhaff, Brichermillen, Kréintgeshaff, Kackerterhaff, Éitermillen, Marxeknupp and Pleitrange. The commune also contains the industrial zones of Chaux de Contern, and Rosswenkel, as well as the activity zone of Weiergewan.
The town dates back to around the 9th century and was initially economically focused on farming. Having gone through various changes in governance over the centuries, the commune as it exists today was formed around the 19th century. In recent years Contern has industrialised; however, it mainly functions as a commuter town into Luxembourg City, as do most of the other settlements in the commune. As a result, Contern boasts the 10th highest median average salary out of all 100 communes in Luxembourg as of 2025.

History

Early history

The Romans settled Luxembourg in the 1st century BC, it has been speculated whether or not the settlement of Contern was founded by them or even previously. This has not however been established despite the presence of remnants of Roman infrastructure within the boundaries of today's commune. They include a crossing over the Trudlerbaach, part of the Roman road linking Luxembourg and Dalheim, with remnants of the road passing through the farmstead of Faerschthaff. In the commune, there are also remains of an ancient Roman aqueduct, a temple and a few Roman villas. Signs of Celtic habitation are significantly less clear. The name Contern first appeared in a charter from 879 AD, although its first official listing was by Pope Honorius II in 1128. In spite of this it is almost certain Contern dates back to the Celtic Era. In the 14th century it was recorded in writing as Guntrein. Contern in the 13th century was considerably influenced by Christianity and chivalry. At this time Contern became a parish which led to the construction of its church.
Contern was officially incorporated as a parish in 1621. In 1684, neighbouring Oetrange also became a parish followed by Moutfort in 1707. At the time, the parish of Contern had no lieux-dits although Oetrange was home to the settlement of Kackerterhaff. Moutfort included the settlements of Medingen and Milbech as well as Moulin de Milbech and the farmstead of Pleitrange. By 1796 Contern was incorporated as an Arrondissement of Luxembourg District, which encapsulated several localities:

Locality	Locality	Locality	Parish
Brücherhof	Brücherhof	Bricherhaff	-
Brüchermühle		Brichermillen	-
Contern	Contern	Conter or Konter	Contern
Contern-Barriére			-
Conterweyer			-
Kackerterhof		Kackerterhaff	Oetrange
Kroentgeshof or Croentgeshof	Kroentgeshof or Kröntgeshof	Kréintgeshaff	-
Marxeknupp		Marxeknupp	-
Medingen	Medingen	Méideng or Méidéng	Moutfort
Moutfort	Mutfort	Mutfert	Moutfort
Mühlbach	Mühlbach	Millbech or Milbech	Moutfort
Mühlbach-Moulin or Moulin de Millbech		Millbechermillen or Milbechermillen	Moutfort
Oetrange	Oetringen	Éiter	Oetrange
Oetrange-Moulin		Éitermillen	-
Pleitrange	Pleitringen	Pläitreng	Moutfort

Contern remained an arrondissement until 1912. At some point in the early 19th Century, communes were introduced to Luxembourg which saw the foundation of the Commune. Precise details are unknown but the earliest census applicable to Contern with its current boundaries is from 1821 and the oldest officially archived reference to Contern as a commune dates back to 1816, which is the first occurrence of it being officially listed as a commune. The oldest mention of Contern in a newspaper dates back to 1842
ex
By 1890 most of the former arrondissements of Contern were incorporated as lieux-dits and census subdivisions.

Rank	Settlement	Parish	Population
1	Contern	Contern	356
2	Moutfort	Moutfort	328
3	Oetrange	Oetrange	253
4	Medingen	Moutfort	200
5	Muhlbach	Moutfort	28
6	Kroentgeshof	Contern	24
7	Barrièrehauser	Moutfort	16
8	Nehmuhl	Moutfort	13
9	Conterwieber	Contern	11
10	Oetrange Moulin	Oetrange	8
10	Brücherhof	Contern	8
12	Pleitrange	Moutfort	7
13	Brüchermuhl	Contern	6
14	Kackert	Oetrange	4

From 1945 onwards, Contern's municipal structure was made up of Contern, Oetrange, Moutfort and Medingen. The parish of Oetrange was absorbed into the parish of Moutfort in 1946. Shortly thereafter in 1948, the parishes of Contern and Moutfort were effectively dissolved.

21st century

On November 8, 2000, Contern's municipal council passed a bill approving the sale of land in the Weiergewann and Scheid cadastral districts as well as modifying the building regulations in Weiergewann and formulated the plan regarding taxation and forestry use for the 2001 fiscal budget. The budget was later rectified on November 30 and also around that time Contern joined the Luxembourgish Climate Alliance and Contern.lu was set up.
In December 2015, Sandweiler-Contern station was re-sited, moving the station within the boundaries of Contern.
In November 2023, the DuPont chemical plant located partially within Contern threatened to lay off a large portion of its staff.
In 2024, a small parking lot in the town centre beside the church cemetery was converted into a small pedestrianised square. In May, it was controversially announced that the square would be named "Place Luc Frieden" in the honour of the sitting prime minister of Luxembourg who has resided in the commune for 30 years. The CSV mayor of Contern, Marion Zovillé-Braquet, stated that the naming was by no means politics, while the commune’s DP councillors criticised that naming a square after a sitting prime minister was a "practice common in dictatorships" and that street names should generally be a "posthumous honour". The LSAP backed up the mayor amid the controversy, having already voted in favour of the name in the council meeting.

Archaeology

Although no prominent archaeological sites or artifacts date back to Celtic times, much remains from the Romans including some housing ruins and remnants of an aqueduct. Additionally a mosaic of the Roman god Epona was discovered in Contern. The most prominent item from the Romans however the Gallo-Roman villa which stood on the current site of the town. Its remains can be seen to this day.

Etymology

Following World War II, the Luxembourgers had strong distaste for their former German overseers. This was why almost every place in the country was renamed from its original Luxembourgish name of German origin, to that of French origin without changing too much. Contern's name would have stayed Conter if it weren't for the French pronunciation of "er" being far too strong. An "n" was therefore added. It could have been possible to have followed what places like Hesperange did, but in the end it stuck to the name Contern. In the modern era, to encourage more Luxembougish in the commune, many documents and signs use "Conter" instead of Contern.''''

Geography

The Commune of Contern is located within the Canton of Luxembourg itself within Luxembourg District.

Boundaries

Contern is bordered by the communes of Sandweiler and Schuttrange to the north, Lenningen and Bous-Waldbredimus to the east, Dalheim to the south, Weiler-la-Tour to the southwest and Hesperange to the west. In general, the borders of Contern are not defined by any major roads of rivers but there are exceptions. Between Eitermillen and the border with Sandweiler, the Kackeshbaach marks the border between Contern and Schuttrange. Between Syren and Brichemillen, the River Syre marks the border with Weiler-La-Tour and east of the Contern-Sandweiler industrial zone, the Réimeschbaach marks the border with Hesperange.

Topography

Contern covers an area of 20.55 square kilometres, making it, as of 2022, the 54th largest commune in Luxembourg out of 102. It had a population of 4374, the 44th highest out of 102 communes as of 2023 giving it a population density of 210 people per square kilometre, 43rd highest in Luxembourg. The population has since risen to 4,513 inhabitants.
Contern lies within the Guttland region of Luxembourg and covers part of both the Luxembourg Plateau and Moselle Valley sub-regions. The contrast between the two sub regions gives Contern a varying topography, from the rolling hills in the south and west to the sharp sandstone cliffs to the east around Medingen and the north around Kréintgeshaff and Éiterbierg.
Contern is largely centred around the River Syre, which nearly perfectly bisects the commune, and to a lesser extent, its tributaries. The Syre flows north-east from Syren in the commune of Weiler-la-Tour continuing up to the border with Schuttrange halfway between Oetrange and Schrassig. Whilst flowing through the commune, it directly bisects both Moutfort and Oetrange and the lieux-dits of Bricherhaff and Brichermillen. There is one tributary of the Syre which directly hosts a settlement, the Kackeschbaach with Eitermillen. The remaining settlements are located atop hills including Contern itself.
The Highest point in Contern is Éiterbierg at an Elevation of 356 metres. While the lowest point is on the northern border with Schuttrange in the river Syre at an elevation of 237 metres.