Entry tickets for the PETRUSSE casemates

The origins of the Pétrusse Casemates date back to the time when the Spanish modernised the medieval fortifications and built large bastions such as that of the Beck, whose platform is currently occupied by the Place de la Constitution. In 1673, the Spanish raised the “Ravelin du Pâté" (a half-moon shaped defensive structure) to reinforce the Beck bastion. This fortification is one of the few largely preserved fortifications in Luxembourg City. The fortress builder Vauban gave the Pétrusse fortifications their present form. In 1728-29, the Austrians built the “Ecluse Bourbon” and the “grand staircase”. In 1746 the casemates, known as the “Batterie de la Pétrusse”, were built. After the 1867 Treaty of London ordered the fortress to be dismantled, the embrasures were bricked up and most of the entrances were closed. After the demolition, about 17 km of the casemates remained.