National Museum of History and Art in Luxembourg City

The National Museum of History and Art , abbreviated to MNHA, is a museum located in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. It is dedicated to displaying artworks and artefacts from all epochs of Luxembourg history. The museum is situated in Fishmarket, the historic heart of the city, in the Ville Haute quarter.

History

The first proposal for such a museum was made during the French occupation of the Revolutionary Wars, when Luxembourg was annexed into the département of Forêts. However, the museum was never opened, despite the expropriation of a number of artefacts from the church.

With the affirmation of Luxembourg's independence under the 1839 Treaty of London came a greater interest by native Luxembourgers in promoting the history of their country. In 1845, historians and archaeologists formed the 'Society for the Study and Preservation of Historic Monuments in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg' (French: Société pour la recherche et la conservation des monuments historiques dans le Grand-Duché de Luxembourg), regularly known as the 'Archaeological Society' (French: Société archéologique). The society took over the responsibility of maintaining a collection of historic antiquities from Luxembourg City's Athenaeum.

In 1868, the Society received a boost from the establishment of the Royal-Grand Ducal Institute (French: Institut royal grand-ducal), amongst the responsibilities of which was the conservation of archaeological collections.

The museum has been expanded with a new building designed by Christian Bauer et Associés, opened in 2002.