The group was founded in 1952 on the occasion of an historical procession in Mersch. Since that time the Luxembourgish folklore was kept alive by a young dynamic group. The membership is constantly growing.
Nowadays the choreographical program of the group would last several hours. The dances shown range from the middle ages to the 19th century.
Most of the dances are from the 18th and 19th century.
The costumes and dresses are from the 18th century and were researched by archivist Alain Atten. The one-piece coat, which is worn by our musicians, is a copy of the officers uniform of the "Brotherhood of Young People" worn in the rural area, as well as commoners.
The group performs and preserves the old tradition of the "Vallée des Sept Châteaux".

The work of C.I.O.F.F. on an international base, gave our dancers the possibility to visit the greatest festivals of the world in more than 40 countrys, as representatives of the oldest form of our cultural life. More than 35 nations (+8000 participators) also gave guest performances in Mersch.

In 1997, the Youth Section of the C.I.O.F.F. Luxembourg is founded.

LUXEMBOURG HEART OF EUROPE

Luxembourg is a real holiday country, with an agreeable climate, a beautiful scenery and a lot of beautiful castles, palaces and churches which have been restored in a typical style and with a lot of care. Many well marked walking paths cover the whole country like a network.
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is an independent sovereign state, a constitutional monarchy which is hereditary in the house of Nassau. The present ruler, the Grand Duke Henri, succeeded to the throne in October 2000. He is married with Marie-Thérèse. The population is about 460.000. One third of the country, which has 2.587 square kilometers or about 1.000 square miles, is covered with forests. Geographically the Grand Duchy is divided into 2 sections: in the North the uplands of the Ardennes, a hilly and scenically beautiful region, in the South the Good Land, mainly rolling farmlands and woods bordered on the East by the lovely grape-growing Valley of the Moselle. The former mining district is concentrated in the extreme South of the country.

The population is bilingual, or even trilingual, Luxembourgish is the everyday language. French and German are spoken by everyone and many people speak English.

MERSCH HEART OF LUXEMBURG

Seat of the group. The village Mersch is the principal of a community of 7000 habitants. A crossroad of tourist routes in the center of the country, just at the entrance of the Valley of the Seven Castles. Many wooded walks through beautiful scenery, with points of interest such as the springs of Hunnebour, prehistoric caves of the Mamer and Dreibouren. Remains of a Roman villa. Castle of early feudal times, St.Michaels Tower with carillon, church, Centenary Column. Mersch is a recreationcenter of the first class with a public parc, swimming-pool and many well marked walking paths.

The feudal castles of Pettingen, Mersch, Schönfels, Ansembourg, Hollenfels, Simmern and Koerich , are the castles of the "Valley of the Seven Castles"

The membership to C.I.O.F.F. Letzebuerg ( Conseil International d’Organisation de Festivals Folkloriques et d’Arts Traditionnels ) gave the group the possibility to visit the greatest festivals of the world in more than 50 countries as the representatives of the oldest form of our cultural life.

By organizing festivals in Luxemburg, more than 35 nations gave guest performances in Mersch.

The committee:

President:          Tamy Feller

Tresory:            Vincent Laguerre

Secretary:         Susanne Kramer

Members:         Micheline Bley

                         Pascal Cartus