Local administration

The communal council, with offices at Mamer Castle, consists of 13 members: 6 from the Christian Social People's Party (currently Luxembourg's leading party), 3 Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party, 2 Democratic Party, and 2 The Greens. The mayor, Gilles Roth (CSV), in his second term since October 2005,^[5] is a lawyer and counsellor at the Ministry of Finance. Since April 2006, he has been chairman of the CSV's communal councils committee. A native of Mamer, he is married with one child.

Coat of arms

The communal coat of arms (top right-hand box) consists of a temple on a blue background with four golden columns which is headed by a blue wheel between two hooks.^[6] The colours are based on the arms of the Mersch-Rodemacks who were once lords of Mamer. The temple depicts Mamer's long history and its recently discovered Roman vestiges. The wheel stems from the arms of the Mameranus family while the two hooks are reminiscent of the crest of the Mamer family.

Public transport

The commune boasts three railway stations: Mamer, Mamer Lycée, and Capellen. All three are located on Line 50, which connects Luxembourg City to the west of the country. From Mamer, there are regular train services to Luxembourg City (to the east) and Kleinbettingen and Arlon (to the west).

In addition to a frequent bus service to Luxembourg and Kirchberg (European Institutions and financial centre), long-distance routes connect Mamer to Arlon, Clemency, Septfontaines, Keispelt, Steinfort, Redange and Eischen. Mamer also has a variety of school-bus routes serving both the Luxembourg schools and the European School.

Facilities and services

In recent years, Mamer has seen the development of a wide range of services including an Ambulance and Fire Station, primary and secondary schools, a post office, a pharmacy, banks, garages, restaurants and an inn. Shopping facilities in the vicinity are excellent (large supermarkets within a couple of minutes' drive) while Mamer itself has a number of smaller shops offering day-to-day produce. Doctors, dentists, opticians and vets can be found in Mamer and its surroundings. There is an open market on the first and third Friday of the month from 4 to 7 p.m. Mamer also has a large park on either side of the river, a sports centre, a football stadium and several children's playing grounds.

Apart from services in different languages at the parish church, Luxembourg's Islamic Cultural Centre, together with its mosque, offers a variety of educational and religious services.

Leisure and sports

Mamer has an active brass band, a stamp-collectors' club and a photo club. Its football club, FC Mamer 32, with teams for both men and women, has been increasingly successful in recent years. There are also facilities for cyclists in the area including a signposted route and, once a year, a traffic-free day for cyclists between Mamer and Mersch. There are also a number of village fetes and festivals, usually centred on the square outside the church. Even in the winter, there is a Christmas market in mid-December and the traditional burgbrennen evening celebrating the end of winter with an enormous bonfire.

Standard of living

Luxembourg is at or near the top of world rankings for GDP per capita and for quality of life.^[9] As a result, living standards are high throughout the country, especially in residential areas around Luxembourg City, including Mamer itself. Private houses, many fully detached, usually have sizeable gardens, garages and cellars. There are also a few apartment buildings and houses for rent. Costs of accommodation are high as a result of increasing demand but are offset by low municipal taxes and Luxembourg's low sales tax, particularly on fuel. Cable television is provided throughout the commune and includes stations broadcasting in languages other than the local French, German and Luxembourgish. A very wide range of TV programmes can be accessed via satellite including English-language BBC and SKY channel. Broadband or cable-based internet access is widely available. There are excellent facilities for garbage collection and recycling.

Climate

Like Luxembourg City, Mamer (altitude 310 m) has a temperate climate with warm summers (average day temperature around 24 C, on occasion as high as 35 C) and chilly winters (daytime average 5 C but sometimes as low as -15 C at night). Rainfall is moderate, but on average it rains less than 10 days per month. The prevailing wind is south-westerly. Unlike many communities in Luxembourg, Mamer does not suffer from flooding but is occasionally hit by gales, hail storms and freezing rain. There is often a little snow in the winter but it does not usually cause inconvenience as salting and snow-clearing facilities are well coordinated.

The summer evenings in Mamer are particularly pleasant, often with temperatures of around 25 C until 11 pm. Very occasionally there are short periods of drought but the vegetation seldom loses its rich green for very long.

Daylight extends from about 5 am to 10:30 pm in June and from 8 am to 4:30 pm in December.

Wildlife

A wide variety of wild animals and birds have been observed in the area. The ones you might see when rambling around the countryside are wild boar, deer, foxes, hares and rabbits. The birds in your garden will include sparrows, swallows, starlings, crows, rooks, magpies, pigeons, finches and robins and you may be lucky enough to see flocks of migrating wild geese flying by. In the forest, you will hear - and sometimes see - owls and woodpeckers. Some species have suffered from hunting in recent years but there are now considerable efforts to protect flora and fauna. An area of the commune's forest is now a nature reserve.

Places of interest

• Roman baths, discovered on the north bank of the River Mamer in 1973.
• Mamer Castle , 1830, which was recently fully restored and now serves as the town hall or Administration Communale.
• Church of John the Baptist (1723) with a history dating back to the 10th century.
• Mamer River Valley with paths for walkers, riders and cyclists through its hilly wooded surroundings.
• Lycée Technique Josy Barthel , a secondary school which opened in 2003.