Descendants of Luxembourgers in the US are preparing to mark Buergbrennen on Sunday at the annual bonfire to mark the end of the winter and the start of spring.
The Luxembourg American Cultural Society (LACS), based in the town of Belgium in the US state of Wisconsin, is set to host its Buergbrennen event on 8 March near Lake Michigan.
“The town was founded around 1840 by people from Luxembourg,” said Caitlin Armstrong, curator at LACS. “They came from the part of the country that had been annexed by Belgium in 1839, so they had Belgian passports.” However, they identified strongly with Luxembourg.
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“The reasons for leaving varied,” Armstrong explained, but the most common reason, however, was the limited availability of farming land. “So when the U.S. began offering land purchases, the prospect of more land and new opportunities was almost irresistible for some people,” she said.
That’s how, in Belgium, Wisconsin, most of the settlers were farmers – still the largest industry, as Armstrong noted with a smile. “We’re very rural. The town has about 2,500 residents.”
How Buergbrennen came to Wisconsin
The idea of bringing the Luxembourgish tradition to the United States came to the staff of LACS in 2019, explained Mileana Burmesch, a member and the society’s marketing engagement coordinator.
“We were thinking about what events we could offer and came across the Buergbrennen. Winters can be harsh, so burning winter away is a great idea,” she said, laughing.
Also read:How Luxembourg ushers in spring with Buergbrennen
The Covid-19 pandemic initially thwarted the plans, but they were revived in 2023. Then, in 2024, the first Buergbrennen took place: “With the help of our community, a huge fire was built. It’s wonderful to see how people come together,” said Burmesch. The castle is lit each year by the most recently married couple of the previous year.
In 2025, Buergbrennen took place for the second time in Belgium, US © Photo credit: Luxembourg American Cultural Society
Belgium celebrates its origins
Armstrong believes that the inhabitants of the region surrounding Belgium are particularly proud of their heritage. The LACS is therefore committed to maintaining ties with Luxembourg – and receives support from the Grand Duchy’s Ministry of Culture, Ministry of the Economy, and Visit Luxembourg.
The LACS building, including its research center, library and collection, has been in operation since 2009, but the connection to Luxembourg has been cultivated for much longer.
This August will mark the 40th anniversary of the three-day “Luxembourg Fest” in the area. And the festival has no less a patron than Luxembourg’s Grand Duke, as the curator proudly explained.
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“In 2009, the then Grand Duke Henri visited with Guillaume and his siblings for the dedication ceremony. Guillaume returned in 2016, accompanied by Stéphanie,” said Armstrong, and Guillaume has also retained his patronage since becoming the Grand Duke last year.
“Those visits were before my time,” Armstrong said, laughing, “but the thought that we had such high-profile visitors is fantastic.” She explained that the town is often overlooked compared to the larger cities south of Belgium. However, the Luxembourg Fest clearly puts this rural town on the radar of many people, as “it attracts people from all over the US, France, and of course, Luxembourg,” Armstrong added.
Incidentally, part of the Luxembourg Fest is a cultural conference, which also features a speaker from Luxembourg every year. This year, Nathalie Jacoby, the director of the national literature centre, Centre national de littérature (CNL), is scheduled to give a presentation.
Armstrong herself doesn’t know of any blood ties to Luxembourg, but Burmesch does: “That must have been my great-great-grandfather,” she said. “We did some research. His name was Michael, and he settled on farmland that is still owned by the family today.” A little Luxembourgish is even still spoken in the town.
Incidentally, the towns of Luxembourg and Belgium are also close to each other: the town of Luxembourg is just 130 kilometres north of Belgium. “But mainly people of Belgian origin live there,” explained Armstrong – probably from the Province de Luxembourg. “There is a legend that the two place names were swapped by mistake. But that’s not true,” she added with a laugh.
(This article was originally published by the Luxemburger Wort. Machine translated, with editing and adaptation by John Monaghan.)