Dutch State Visit to Luxembourg: Day Two

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima started their second day in Luxembourg today, Thursday May 24, with a visit to the Belval steel plant where blast furnaces were built in 1911. Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa were present as well.

Belval was the site of Luxemburg’s biggest ironworks until 1997 when the blast furnaces were shut down. In 2001 an international urban planning designed by the Dutch architects’ firm Jo Coenen & Co trasformed Belval from an industrial area into a modern urban district.

Koninklijk paar bezoekt Belval, een voormalig industriegebied dat is getransformeerd naar een moderne stadswijk waarin wonen, werken en wetenschap een plek hebben gekregen in het stedenbouwkundig ontwerp van de Nederlandse architect Jo Coenen. #NLLUX pic.twitter.com/UWbNx9XSBv

— Koninklijk Huis (@koninklijkhuis) May 24, 2018

Des hauts-fourneaux de l’époque sidérurgique à l’@uni_lu, le Couple grand-ducal fait visiter le site de #Belval au Couple royal néerlandais.
© Cour grand-ducale / Cyril Moreau / Bestimage
Plus d’infos sur https://t.co/qSuvZDX6cW#LUXNL pic.twitter.com/HQkrwppiSh

— Cour Grand-Ducale (@CourGrandDucale) May 24, 2018

Then they paid a visit to the “Cité des Sciences”, a campus of the University of Luxembourg that is located in Belval.  Later the Dutch Royal Couple and the Grand Ducal Couple went to the University of Luxembourg where they visited the “Luxembourg Learning Center” that will be open in September 2018.

At the University of Luxembourg they also attended a meeting titled “Space Resources Use: Luxembourg ‘s next big bet in Space”, focused on the Luxembourg government initiatives in the area of space mining.

Bijeenkomst over Luxemburgse overheidsinitiatieven op het gebied van #ruimtemijnbouw. Koninklijk Paar spreekt met Nederlandse en Luxemburgse studenten en professoren en woont presentaties bij. #NLLUX pic.twitter.com/d6tZkERDFh

— Koninklijk Huis (@koninklijkhuis) May 24, 2018

Afterwards the King and the Queen, along with the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess, moved to Vianden in the north of Luxembourg where they visited the Vianden Castle. They were welcomed by Xavier Bettel, the Prime Minister. During the visit they opened the exhibition “Relations: The Nassaus and Luxembourg”. The exhibition is dedicated to the two branches of the house of Nassau, the Orange-Nassau and the Luxembourg-Nassau and it shows objects from both the Royal Houses, among the others a copy of the document “Primo Divisio” from 1255, a deed of division from which emerged the two Nassau dynasties, Oranje-Nassau and Luxembourg-Nassau.

At lunchtime the Prime Minister hosted a lunch held at the Vianden Castle.

Le Couple grand-ducal et le Couple royal néerlandais sur les traces de leurs ancêtres: les Maisons Nassau-Orange et Luxembourg-Nassau se retrouvent au Château de Vianden.
Plus sur https://t.co/AnSq9dmPBW
© Cour grand-ducale/Cyril Moreau/Bestimage pic.twitter.com/gtg9GGIBLn

— Cour Grand-Ducale (@CourGrandDucale) May 24, 2018

In the afternoon the Dutch Royal Couple and the Grand Ducal Couple partecipated in a business forum entitled “Luxembourg and the Netherlands: Together on the way to a circular economy”. At the forum, focused on circular economy, Smart City and Smart Mobility, were also present representatives of Dutch and Luxembourg companies.

In the evening King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima offered a concert and reception to the Grand Ducal Family held at the Philharmonie Luxembourg concert hall.

L’économie circulaire entre le Luxembourg et les Pays-Bas au cœur des discussions à la Chambre de commerce cette après-midi.

Plus de photos sur https://t.co/AnSq9dmPBW

© Cour grand-ducale / Cyril Moreau / Bestimage pic.twitter.com/4as4MhF3tI

— Cour Grand-Ducale (@CourGrandDucale) May 24, 2018

Second day of Dutch State Visit to Luxembourg: concert and reception at Philharmonie, offered by the Dutch King and Queen, in honor of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, who were accompanied by the Hereditary Grand Ducal Couple. (© @CourGrandDucale / C Moreau / Bestimage) #NLLUX pic.twitter.com/Zen4yAsS4L

— ♔ RoyalArjan ♔ (@RoyalArjan) May 24, 2018

Filed under Luxembourg, The Netherlands.