Behind the scenes in Europe …

Explore the early days of the European Community in Luxembourg through a new photo exhibition at the Schuman House

On 9 May 2026, as part of the celebrations of Europe Day, a new photo exhibition will officially open at the Schuman house, the place where the young Robert Schuman spent his childhood and adolescence.

This year, the spotlight turns to the events behind the scenes. Building on last year’s 75th-anniversary commemoration of the Schuman Declaration—which revisited 9 May 1950 through the lens of contemporary cartoons—the exhibition at the Schuman House now invites visitors to explore the early days of the European Community in Luxembourg.

While the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was signed in Paris on 18 April 1951, one critical question remained unresolved after months of negotiations: where would the Community’s institutions be based?

According to Jean Monnet’s memoirs, Luxembourg’s selection as the seat of the ECSC institutions was largely due to a proposal by Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister, Joseph Bech. During a late-night meeting of the negotiating parties on 24 July 1952, Bech suggested that work should start in Luxembourg until a final solution has been found.

With time pressing, existing buildings were quickly repurposed to accommodate the High Authority, the Special Council of Ministers, and the Court of Justice. The challenge was immense: suitable premises had to be identified and prepared within weeks. The days and weeks that followed were filled with intense activity as the groundwork for the Community’s institutions was laid in record time.

The idea for this photo exhibition emerged from a simple yet compelling question: How did a city of just 66,000 inhabitants prepare to welcome the new European institutions and their staff—and how did those institutions and their employees adapt to their unfamiliar surroundings? For Luxembourg, this was uncharted territory, while for the newly arrived staff and their families, it marked the beginning of a transformative chapter in their lives.

This photo exhibition is designed to offer a glimpse behind the scenes. Organized thematically, it not only depicts those directly involved in their working environments but also captures the perspectives of observers witnessing these historic events.

The photographs feature a delegation inspecting potential buildings, as well as workers preparing the future offices of the High Authority in the repurposed railway administration headquarters. Images of staff at telex machines and a translator in a simultaneous interpretation booth provide insight into daily working life. The significant media interest in the work of the European institutions is evident from the numerous microphones positioned before political figures, a journalist covering the first casting of pig iron under the ECSC at the Belval steelworks, and footage from the RTL television studio.

Pictures of European officials dancing at Berg Castle—then a hotel—remind us that their lives extended beyond the workplace. Finally, the laying of the foundation stone for the European School on the Glacis underscores how European institutions were taking root in Luxembourg.

The exhibition will open on 9 May 2026, as part of the Open Day at Schuman House.

• When: 11.00 AM – 4.00 PM
• Where: 4, rue Jules Wilhelm, L-2728 Luxembourg

Group visits on other days can be requested at: maison-schuman@uni.lu Want to know more about the history of Europe Day? Check out the podcast “75 ans Déclaration Robert Schuman.”