François Weyrich, Mayor of Vianden; Credit: Municipality of Vianden

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg consists of twelve cantons made up of 100 municipalities. Each municipal council is elected directly by its residents in municipal elections held every six years. The municipality’s mayor is then appointed from among the elected members of the municipal council.

In this series, Chronicle.lu spoke to a selection of the country’s mayors to discuss the challenges within their municipality, their daily activities, how projects are prioritised and how they communicate with residents.

The eighth in this series features Mayor François Weyrich, who represents the municipality of Vianden.

Chronicle.lu: What is the size of your municipality, in population and number of nationalities?

François Weyrich: Vianden counts around 2,233 residents, making it one of the smaller communes in Luxembourg, though it is the seat of its own canton. Given Luxembourg's roughly 47% foreign-resident population nationally, Vianden's own community includes a meaningful mix of 61 nationalities — largely Portuguese, French, Belgian and German residents, alongside Luxembourgers.

Chronicle.lu: What are the main challenges currently facing the municipality and how is the administration working to address them?

François Weyrich: For Vianden specifically:

  • Housing: limited available land in a small, historic, castle-dominated commune;
  • Mobility: a compact historic centre not built for modern traffic and parking, plus balancing day-tripper and tour-bus flow with residents' quality of life;
  • Infrastructures: Pressure on infrastructure that will need to be renovated: the cultural centre, School, the sewage/drainage network, the drinking water mains, fibre-optic network, new Maison relais, etc;
  • Demographic balance: keeping a small population viable — schools, healthcare, vivre-ensemble.

A small commune equals a small budget.

Chronicle.lu: Please describe the daily activities undertaken by you, as mayor of the municipality of Vianden, and how you work in conjunction with the other members of your administration.

François Weyrich: The college of aldermen meets twice a week. There is close, day-to-day contact with the secretary and the technical department.

Chronicle.lu: Please describe the challenges of being mayor of Vianden and what makes your municipality unique in Luxembourg.

François Weyrich: The core challenge of leading a small commune is usually resource stretch — a limited administration and budget covering the same range of responsibilities as much larger communes, while also managing significant tourist footfall relative to the resident population.

Uniquely for Vianden, we have the medieval castle overlooking the town, Luxembourg's only chairlift, the Our valley setting on the German border, strong literary heritage (Victor Hugo lived here) and the fact that Vianden is a full canton unto itself despite its small size.

Chronicle.lu: As mayor, how do you select and prioritise which projects the municipality will undertake?

François Weyrich: Projects are prioritised by the necessary of the population and the budget available.

Chronicle.lu: What are the key projects, developments and upcoming events that will shape life in Vianden over the coming months and years?

François Weyrich: Key, upcoming events include new infrastructures in the streets, water maintenance, the Maison relais and parking on Grand-Rue. The main event will be the nut market in October.

Chronicle.lu: How does the municipality communicate with residents and encourage them to become involved in local life and decision-making? Do you use English in such communications?

François Weyrich: For communication we use our website, Facebook, Sms2citizen and the main language used is French. The Pacte communal du vivre-ensemble (municipal pact for living together) is for us a good initiative for bringing the residents of Vianden together. It allows us to organise Luxembourgish language courses and cafés, as well as activities such as public viewing for the World Cup, the walnut market, the Christmas market and summer concerts.