Minett Mash-Up (28) – Raoul Petit X Musée Ferrum

Vélocité – La Vallée des champion.nne.s

To round off the 2024 Summer of Cycling, which once again includes tours of the Minett UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, we dedicate the latest episode of our podcast to the bicycle.

We stop off at the Musée Ferrum, which is actually part of the Schungfabrik in Tétange, and talk to our guest about the bicycle as an everyday means of transport. For many years the bicycle was a popular means of transport in the south of Luxembourg to get from A to B, but in recent decades the bicycle has lost its appeal in everyday life.

Why has the bicycle lost its appeal? What can be done to give it more space in Luxembourg’s daily traffic? We put these questions to our guest Raoul Petit.

Our guest: Raoul Petit

Raoul Petit, originally from the Kayl Valley and now living in Dudelange, is president of the Vëlo Diddeleng association. For the past five years, this association has been working to improve the cycling infrastructure in this municipality.

The family man doesn’t just talk about cycling as a means of transport, he uses it every day. Since the Petit family swapped one of their two cars for a cargo bike, the teacher not only takes his children to school by bike every day, but also cycles to work in Bettembourg.

His daily experiences of cycling to work are the subject of the latest episode of the Minett Mash-Up. Vëlo Diddeleng and its efforts to improve the cycling infrastructure in Dudelange are another topic this month, and of course we also talk about the exhibition “Vélocité – La vallée des Champion.nne.s”, which can be seen at the Musée Ferrum in Tétange until the end of September.

© Musée Ferrum / Minett UNESCO Biosphere / CNCI

Our “Minett-Location” of the month: Musée Ferrum in Tétange

The Musée Ferrum was officially inaugurated on 14 October 2022. The building houses an art gallery for temporary exhibitions, the Kirscht room, a multifunctional room for educational workshops and a museum room dedicated to local history. The museum is divided into several sections:

The chronological history of the commune of Kayl from the Stone Age to the present day.
The industrial history of the 19th and 20th centuries. The small and medium-sized enterprises that developed around the steel industry and were of great importance for the economic development of Kayl and Tetingen are presented here.
The Schungfabrik, an important company in which the Hubert family manufactured shoes for miners.
The history of mining in the commune and the labour movement associated with it.

Another theme of the museum is the transport of ore. Closely linked to the history of the industry, the transport of ore from the braking stations to the loading points marked the daily life of the inhabitants of the municipality. This part of the exhibition is rounded off by a walk where you can experience the transport of ore in nature. The Minettswee was opened in the first half of 2020.
The Kirscht Hall is an exhibition room where temporary exhibitions are held. At the moment there is an exhibition on the history of cycling and the everyday use of bicycles in the Kayl Valley.

© Musée Ferrum – Black Magic Tea

Our quiz:

When was the non-profit organisation “Vëlo Diddeleng” founded?

2024
2019*
2010

What is the definition of a bycycle street?

a road where only bicycles can travel.
a road where bicycles have absolute right of way and cannot be overtaken by cars.
a road with a large amount of painted bicycles on the ground and bicycles parked on either side of the road.

Links to the topics of this episode:

Vëlo Diddeleng – Association for the promotion of cycling in Dudelange
City of Dudelange – One of the 11 municipalities of the Minett Biosphere
Vëlosweeër zu Lëtzebuerg – Map with all official cycle paths in Luxembourg
Musée Ferrum – Part of the Schungfabrik in Tétange
Vélocité – La vallée des champion.nne.s – Current exhibition about the bicycle and cycling at the Musée Ferrum
Elsy Jacobs – First (and so far only) female cycling world champion from Luxembourg
Haus vum Vëlo – facility in Belval where you can (have) your bike serviced
GoGo Vëlo – Pro-Vélo initiative to promote cycling in everyday life
Pro-Vélo – non-profit organisation for the promotion of safe cycling in Luxembourg
PNM2035 – ational mobility plan to be implemented by 2035
Mam Vëlo op d’Schaff – Sculpture by the artist Armand Strainchamps in Dudelange
Christine Majerus – Luxembourgish cyclist who has been cycling professionally for years
Gravel-Bike – sporty bike that combines the characteristics of a racing bike and a road bike with wider tyres
Haard – core zone of the Minett Biosphere, where you can enjoy mountain biking
Lallengerbierg-Brucherbierg – another core zone of the biosphere reserve with challenging mountain bike trails
Bycycle streets – roads with unrestricted right of way for cyclists