Luxembourgish writer whose career was kickstarted by winning the Prix Laurence 

“Et war esou ëm d’Päischten, ‘t stoung alles an der Bléi, an d’Villercher di songen hir Lidder spéit a fréi.”, are the first lines of the “Renert”, published by Michel Rodange in 1872. The “Renert” is an important element in the new episode of our podcast, but we didn’t want to wait until Whitsun to talk to our guest in Bettemburg. 

The “Renert” was one of the topics in our third stop in 2023, but the podcast focuses on our guest’s novel ” Das Gangrän”, current trends in literature, bricks that used to be produced in Bettemburg, as well as children’s books, nature and legends. 

Our guest: Maxime Weber 

Born in Useldange, Maxime Weber is certainly no “Minettsdapp” and yet his literary career started in the municipality on the Alzette river. After reaching the final round of the first edition of the young literary prize “Prix Laurence” in 2015, Maxime won the award a year later.

© Julie Collini

Following this, Maxime began writing his debut novel “Das Gangrän”, which was published in 2021. We naturally talked about the novel, featuring astonishing parallels to the pandemic that has preoccupied us in recent years. We also talked to Maxime, who studied in Munich and Berlin, about his city of choice, Berlin, and about current trends in literature, especially in new editions of older works. 

Finally, “speculative fiction” and “science fiction” were also part of our conversation. One interesting fact that was discussed is certainly that a Luxembourger can be considered to be the “father of science fiction”. 

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Our Minett Location of the month: Parc Merveilleux 

 The municipality of Bettembourg 

Bettembourg is not only an important railway town, it also has a rich industrial past, most traces of which have unfortunately disappeared in the meantime. On the other hand, the municipality with its 12,000 inhabitants, which in addition to Bettembourg also consists of the villages of Fennange, Abweiler, Huncherange and Noertzange, is today closely linked to the logistics sector. Thanks to an intermodal rail terminal, goods can be transported in a sustainable way from Bettembourg throughout Europe.  

One of the country’s most important tourist attractions – the Bettembourg Fairytale and Animal Park – also belongs to this municipality. It’s a place which every Luxembourger is likely to have visited at least once as a child, and now also is the start or end point of the 90-kilometre Minett Trail. 

The Kabaischen of the month: Parc Merveilleux 

The tower of the former entrance to the Bettembourg park is now home to a “Kabaischen” of the PRO-SUD municipality. Designed by the architect Julie Dupont, the old ticket office has been transformed into a cosy lodge with an unusual climbing frame under the roof of the tower, exciting for both kids and adults.

© Minett UNESCO Biosphere

As in every “Kabaischen”, a local artist collaborated with the architects todesign the accommodation. In this case, artist Jhemp Bastin decorated the inside and outside with works of art focused on the theme of the “Renert”, a local fairytale involving a fox.  

Our quiz: 

The Lycée de garçons de Luxembourg – LGL (1909) – in Luxembourg City was built with clay bricks produced in Bettembourg. How many bricks were used to build the school?   

• 1,500,000 bricks 
• 500,000 bricks 
• 50,0000 bricks 

 

The “Bongert Altenhoven” is located right behind the Bettembourg Fairytale and Animal Park. Why is this orchard unique in Luxembourg?  

• It has been documented since the time of the ancient Romans  
• With over 1200 fruit trees, it is considered the largest orchard in Luxembourg  
• Its fruit is fed exclusively to the animals of the Parc Merveilleux 

 

Links to the topics we talked about in  this episode:

• Municipality of Bettembourg   
• Prix Laurence: Luxembourgish literary prize held in Bettembourg which is awarded annually to young and talented writers 
• Chaudron fêlé: Text with which Maxime Weber won the “Prix Laurence” in 2016  
• Das Gangrän – Novel: Debut novel by Maxime Weber 
• Gangrene: Medical details about this disease 
• Lëtzebuerger Buchpräis: Local prize awarded by the Book Publishers of Luxembourg, which is presented as part of the Book Days in Walferdange. In 2022, Maxime Weber’s debut novel was on the shortlist 
• Chrysalis Award: Award of the European Science Fiction Society presented to Maxime Weber in 2022 for his novel “Das Gangrän” 
• Institut Grand-Ducal: regularly awards a literary prize to promote Luxembourgish literature. In 2022, the prize went to Maxime Weber 
• Lëtzebuerger Autorelexikon: Online platform listing all the authors of Luxembourg 
• Antoine Pohu: Luxembourgish writer who, like Maxime Weber, won the “Prix Laurence”. 
• Cosimo D. Souglia: Luxembourgish writer who writes short stories, poems and plays 
• Parc Merveilleux Bettembourg: An animal and fairytale park that opened in 1956. It is one of Luxembourg’s most popular tourist attractions. 
• De Ris geet op d’Rees: Comic about the giant of Bettembourg Park published in 2022 as part of the “Literatour” festival of the municipality of Bettembourg. 
• Kabaischen “Parc Merveilleux”: Location where we recorded this episode of the podcast 
• Renert oder “De Fuuss a Frack a Maansgréisst”: Fable by the Luxembourg writer Michel Rodange, published in 1872. 
• Briqueterie de Bettembourg Jacquinot & Cie: Between 1898 and the end of the 1960s, the brick factory founded by Charles Jacquinot existed in Bettembourg 
• Jacquinots Park : A community park in Bettemburg, named after the founder of the brick factory 
• LGL – Lycée de garçons de Luxembourg: Secondary school in Luxembourg City built with bricks from Bettembourg 
• Celula: Former dairy in Bettembourg. The premises were turned into flats, a restaurant and offices in the 1990s. 
• Kulturfabrik: Former slaughterhouse in Esch-Alzette, now turned into a cultural centre 
• Schungfabrik: Former shoe factory in Tetiage, which now houses the cultural centre of the municipality of Kayl. 
• Deutsche Umwelthilfe: German environmental, nature and consumer protection association where Maxime Weber works 
• David Graeber – Bullshit Jobs: Book about the existence of meaningless jobs in the western world with analysis of the impact of these jobs on society. 
• Berlin: Capital of Germany 
• Panima: Short story by Maxime Weber in which objects gain consciousness. The story is in English and was published by BlackFountainPress 
• Maskénada: Luxembourg artist collective, known for interdisciplinary and productions in a wide variety of settings. 
• Roude Fuedem duerch de roude Buedem: Esch2022 project of Maskénada in 6 municipalities of Minett UNESCO Biosphere 
• The Lasauvage legend: Legend about the wild woman from the valley of the Crosnière 
• Deutsche Umwelthilfe Podcast: Podcast series on climate and environmental issues 
• Shoegaze: Subgenre of Indie Rock   
• Memes for the Portugese: Musical project by Maxime Weber 
• Death was a mistake: Another musical project by Maxime Weber 
• Useldenger Hiesel: Forest of hazelnut trees near Useldange 
• Treptower Park: Parc in Berlin 
• Plänterwald: Large amusement park during GDR times in the eastern part of Berlin 
• Rewilding: Concept to bring more biodiversity back into urban spaces 
• Bongert Altenhoven: Orchard near Bettembourg, with over 1200 trees, the largest orchard in Luxembourg 
• Fondation Hëllef fir d’Natur: Foundation that has been working for the protection and preservation of biodiversity in Luxembourg for 40 years 
• Kenns du de Minett: Geoquiz in the form of a board game about the Minett area, developed in 2022 by Magicmultimedia, the Minett UNESCO Biosphere and Esch2022. 
• Héichiewen: The blast furnaces of the Esch-Belval steelworks 
• Himmel auf Erden: Collection of science fiction short stories from Luxembourg 
• Speculative fiction: Genre of fiction that deals with supernatural, futuristic or other elements from the real world and beyond 
• Hugo Gernsback: Luxembourgish-American publisher and writer who is considered the father of science fiction 
• Hugo Awards: Award for science fiction, which has been presented annually since 1955. 
• Tune into the future: Documentary film about the pop culture phenomenon “Science Fiction”. 

 

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