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Kehlen

Commune in Capellen, Luxembourg

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Kehlen (German pronunciation: [ˈkeːlən]; Luxembourgish: Kielen [ˈki̯ələn] ) is a commune and town in western Luxembourg. It is part of the canton of Capellen. As of 2023, the commune had a population of 6,391.

As of 2025, the town of Kehlen, which lies in the centre of the commune, has a population of 2,509. Other towns within the commune include Dondelange, Keispelt, Meispelt, Nospelt and Olm.

01History

The history of Kehlen goes back at least to Gallo-Roman period. Celtic tombs have been excavated in nearby Nospelt and a necropolis from the 1st century was discovered in the early 1970s on the Juckelsboesch plateau between Mamer and Kehlen. A beautiful dark blue glass bowl was among the offerings found there.

A monument to the four gods depicting Juno, Minerva, Mercury and Hercules, possibly once the base of a Jupiter Column, was discovered on the heights of Schoenberg at the point where two Roman roads once crossed. The original is now in the National Museum of History and Art but a replica can be seen beside the entrance to the Schoenberg cemetery.

Schoenberg is one of the oldest parishes in Luxembourg. It came under the authority of the St. Maximin's Abbey, Trier, as far back as 1637. The cemetery is classified as a national monument as many of the gravestones are from the beginning of the 16th century.

Until fairly recently, Kehlen was a farming community with a few cottage industries. Today, owing to its proximity to Luxembourg City (about 25 minutes by car outside the city), most of its inhabitants now work in the service sector.

The name Kehlen is said to originate from Callidovilla meaning the villa of Callidus.

Pedestal to the four gods, Kehlen
Pedestal to the four gods, Kehlen

02Population

Historical population
YearPop.±%
18211,528,     
18512,376+55.5%
19002,096−11.8%
19101,972−5.9%
19221,881−4.6%
19351,681−10.6%
YearPop.±%
19471,562−7.1%
19601,629+4.3%
19701,674+2.8%
19812,727+62.9%
19903,970+45.6%
20004,883+23.0%
YearPop.±%
20054,733−3.1%
20104,931+4.2%
20155,375+9.0%
20206,232+15.9%
20216,138−1.5%
Source:
Source data

03Twin towns

Kehlen is twinned with:

Watch videos about KehlenExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Kehlen, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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