Centenary of “Gëlle Fra” (golden lady) memorial 1923 - 2023

In August 1914, following the invasion of Luxembourg by German troops, approximately 3,000 young Luxembourgers voluntarily signed up to the allied military forces. The majority of them lost their lives or were wounded during the course of the First World War (1914-1918).

In December 1918, a committee was founded with the aim of erecting a national monument to remember the Luxembourg war heroes who fell in the French battlefields. In addition to private donations, a series of stamps was sold in order to raise the necessary funds. When selecting the site, various suggestions throughout the country and in the capital city were rejected one by one until only the “Place de la Constitution”, formerly known as Bastion Beck, remained.

The construction work which started at the end of December 1921 was not without its technical difficulties.

The former fortifications beneath the monument required extensive work on the foundations which had not originally been foreseen. The unanticipated associated costs were paid for by the City of Luxembourg. To avoid additional costs, the planned water feature was cancelled and instead a flowerbed was laid out. On 30 November 1922, during a ceremony, documents and objects were buried in the foundations.

At the end of September 1922, when the base was finished, the obelisk was constructed. In December, the angel of peace was placed on the obelisk and in May 1923, the two oxidised bronze soldiers were installed on the base of the monument.

The day before the inauguration, there were patriotic concerts in all villages and towns of Luxembourg. The actual inauguration festivities started on the morning of 27 May, with a ceremony at the Notre-Dame cemetery in front of the monument to the unknown soldier. In the afternoon, a number of musical, singing, gymnastics groups and the fire brigade made their way through the city to the “Place de la Constitution”. Wreaths were laid, gun salutes made, the band of the 1st Infantry Regiment gave a concert in the “Place d’Armes” bandstand, and fireworks were lit in the Pétrusse valley.

From 1923 until 1940, the angel of peace standing on the obelisk formed the focal point of patriotic celebrations and official state ceremonies, and thus the artwork became a national monument, symbolising the freedom and independence of the country.

Shortly after Luxembourg had been freed by the allies, between November 1944 and August 1945 the base of the monument was rebuilt, partially using the original stones, and the messages engraved by France and Belgium reattached.

The two bronze sculptures were only rediscovered in 1950, in a pile of cobblestones in a community warehouse, and reinstated at the monument.

In May 1955, the component parts of the “Gëlle Fra” were presented during the « Semaine de la Résistance » (Resistance Week). After that, the parts of the artwork disappeared and only reappeared 26 years later.

In January 1980, two officials of the city of Luxembourg found the “Gëlle Fra” beneath the stands of the city football stadium. It was not until 22 June 1981, on the day before the national bank holiday, that the newspaper “Tageblatt” published an article about the find. A few days later, the mayor of the time finally presented the “Gëlle Fra”, that had been lost for 26 years beneath the city stadium, to the press.

Reconstruction on behalf of the government started in December 1984, and therefore the “Gëlle Fra” was reinstated in May 1985 to her original place on the obelisk at the “Place de la Constitution”. On the national bank holiday in 1985, the “Gëlle Fra”, now back to its original splendour, was inaugurated. Since then, the monument pays tribute to the Luxembourg soldiers who fell during the two world wars. A few years later, a plaque was added to commemorate the Luxembourgers who died in the Korean War.

To date, the “Gëlle Fra” is a sign of French - Luxembourgish friendship and in particular a symbol of the resistance of the Luxembourg people against their national-socialist occupiers.

During the 2010 World Expo the 1.5-ton “Gëlle Fra” was hoisted down from her obelisk and transported to Shanghai, to adorn the entrance to the rusty red Luxembourg Pavilion there for 6 months.

Before the trip to China, the “Gëlle Fra” was sent to a French art foundry to receive aesthetic repairs and new gilding. A negative cast was also prepared there so that a copy could be made if the original were lost. In November of the same year, the “Gëlle Fra” retraced its steps back to Luxembourg.