The artisan is Albert Lültzeler.
The statue is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, protector of the village of Esch-sur-Sûre. It is a replica of the “Crowned Virgin”, of which the original may be found on the esplanade in front of the basilica at Lourdes.
Legend tells us that a woman from Esch-sur-Sûre, suffering from terminal cancer, was cured at Lourdes. With the intention of doing a good deed as way of showing her thanks, she contacted the priest of Esch-sur-Sûre, Dominik Trausch, who gave her the idea of erecting a statue dedicated to the Virgin Mary. With the financial support of the entire village, the project was completed.
This explains why there is the inscription «extruxere – aux/iliatrici – suae – cives – esch ad suram», namely that “the inhabitants of Esch-sur-Sûre erected it for their protector.”
The statue is 3.10 metres high and was modelled in copper by the sculptor Wilhelm Peters and realised by Albert Lültzeler. At the time, the firm ‘Peltzer’of Stolberg (near Aix-la-Chapelle), for which Albert Lültzeler worked, modelled the forms in plaster. The zinc casts were then cooled and with the help of a drop hammer the different parts were hammered into copper. After having cut the edges to shape, the different parts were assembled by welding.
A crown was added during the 1920s which was later replaced by an illuminated crown. This however disappeared after the Second World War, a period when other damage was caused to the statue.
At the beginning, the statue was erected on a plinth of 12 columns, but this base was replaced in 1933 by one in stone which is still in place today and which was recently renovated in 2009. Since the Day of the Dead festival in 1939, access to the statue is via a passage bordered by chestnut trees. On the day of assumption, the Statue of Mary is a high place of pilgrimage; several old photographs testify to its importance.
The village of Esch-sur-Sûre held a special ‘Kermesse’ festival on 12 September 1910 for the inauguration of the Statue of Mary which, on its imposing plinth, looks down on the village, not far from the castle watchtower. The choirs of Esch-sur-Sûre and neighbouring communes bring together more than 100 singers for the Eschsur-Sûre Musical Philharmonic for the inaugural regional office.