The following persons or organisations may apply to have a cultural asset listed:

• the owners of the cultural asset;
• foundations or non-profit organisations whose purpose is to safeguard heritage;
• communal authorities;
• private individuals;
• the Cultural Heritage Commission (Commission pour le patrimoine culturel - COPAC).

The items listed below are eligible for classification as national cultural heritage or inclusion on the list of cultural assets of heritage interest:

1. cultural assets created by a Luxembourg artist or artisan or with significant input from a Luxembourg artist or artisan;
2. cultural assets created in Luxembourg;
3. cultural assets originally created to be exhibited or installed in the public space or in a building in Luxembourg;
4. cultural assets that feature a Luxembourgish motif;
5. cultural assets that bear witness to important aspects of Luxembourg's history and art history;
6. cultural assets in the form of a collection assembled or used by a Luxembourgish natural or legal person;
7. cultural assets created or commissioned by a legal person established under public law in Luxembourg, or a State body which preceded it;
8. cultural assets created by a Luxembourgish manufacturer or private company that is over 50 years old;
9. cultural assets that have been in Luxembourg for over 100 years;
10. private archives in the sense of the law on archives;
11. coinage or any coin-like item unearthed during archaeological digs in Luxembourg;
12. coinage minted in the territory of the County, Duchy or Grand Duchy of Luxembourg before 1839;
13. coinage and banknotes issued by the Luxembourg authorities or by a private institution whose head office is, or was, in Luxembourg;
14. coinage which belonged to a collection or set assembled within Luxembourg;
15. medals made either by a Luxembourg artist, or to mark an event in Luxembourg, or awarded to a person of Luxembourg nationality or resident in Luxembourg;
16. medals that belonged to a collection or set assembled in Luxembourg;
17. official decorations from Luxembourg;
18. medals or decorations awarded to a Luxembourg personality, in the context of an official function, with the exception of those which still belong to a foreign State;
19. movables of archaeological heritage found in digs, or isolated discoveries in Luxembourg (including palaeontological, mineralogical, geological, scientific and natural items).

In order to be classified as national cultural heritage, movable cultural assets falling within the above categories must meet the following cumulative criteria:

• authenticity and integrity; the cultural asset has remained close to its original state, with little or no significant changes;
• exemplarity: it represents a style, technique, era or tradition particularly well;
• rarity: it is unique, produced in very small numbers, or few remain today;
• state of conservation: it is not damaged to the extent that its restoration would be too costly or too difficult.

A movable cultural property that does not meet all the criteria for classification may be included on the list of cultural properties of heritage interest if it:

• corresponds to one of the categories listed above;
• nevertheless presents heritage value; and
• meets the authenticity and integrity criterion and at least one of the other classification criteria.

Submission of the application for classification or listing

You must submit your application for classification or listing of movable assets in writing to the Ministry of Culture.

You must provide the following information:

• if you are a private individual: your full name, occupation, date and place of birth, and home address;
• if you are acting on behalf of a legal person: the company name, its legal form, the address of its registered office and its registration number in the Trade and Companies Register.

Your application must also contain the following information:

• the surname and first name of the cultural asset's owner;
• a detailed description of the cultural asset in question which allows the minister to identify and analyse it;
• a statement of reasons, showing that the cultural asset:
  • corresponds to the definition of cultural asset;
  • is worthy of classification or listing;
  • meets the criteria of authenticity, exemplarity, rarity and conservation.

Supporting documents

You must attach supporting documents relating to the cultural asset that is the subject of the application:

• photos of the cultural asset;
• any useful information (for example: scientific data or the historic, artistic and cultural context);
• any other item or document in support of the application.

Processing the application

Receipt of the application

If your application is:

• complete: an acknowledgement of receipt will be issued within one month of receiving your application;
• incomplete: the minister informs you that your application is incomplete and requests additional documents/information.

From the date of acknowledgement of receipt of the application for classification or listing, the asset may be examined by officers of the Minister for Culture on the basis of:

• the owner's prior written consent; or
• in the event of refusal by the owner, a judicial order from the president of the district court.

Notification of the intention to classify or list the asset

The minister will notify the owner, by registered letter, of their intention to list or classify the asset as a cultural heritage asset, so that they can present their own observations.

This notification contains:

• a list of the conditions for classification or listing; and
• information about the potential entitlement to the payment, upon request, of an indemnity to cover any losses arising as a result of the classification or listing.

If the owner does not agree with the classification or listing of the asset, they may request the reversal of the decision to list it, by way of:

• a non-contentious appeal to the Minister for Culture; or
• a judicial appeal to the administrative court.

The minister refers the matter to the COPAC for its opinion on the classification or listing intention.

Classification or listing of the asset

The listing of the asset will be formalised by way of a ministerial order issued the Minister for Culture within 12 months of the notification. Past that deadline, the listing procedure will lapse.

A copy of the order classifying or listing the asset as national cultural heritage will be sent by registered post. That letter describes in detail the state and conditions of conservation of the cultural asset being classified or listed. It is sent:

• to the owner and to the holder (when different from the owner); and
• to the person who submitted the application for protection.

The asset in question is then added to the list of cultural assets classified as national cultural heritage or to the list of cultural assets of heritage interest on an online platform.

These lists are:

• published in the Luxembourg Official Journal at least every 3 years;
• regularly updated.

The inventory of classified and listed cultural assets is carried out at least every 3 years.

Declassification or removal of the asset from the list

The classified or listed asset may, where applicable, be declassified or removed from the list at the request of the minister, the owners, the communes or the COPAC.

Declassification or removal from the list is carried out by order of the Minister for Culture, on the advice of COPAC.

The order is addressed to:

• the owner (and the keeper, if different from the owner); and
• where applicable, the person who submitted the application for protection.

Effects of classification or listing

Cultural assets which are listed as national cultural heritage:

• are deemed to be inalienable;
• cannot be permanently transferred outside of the national territory, except with a special exit permit.

If the asset needs to be altered, repaired or restored:

• you must submit a written request for authorisation to the Minister for Culture at least 3 months before the planned start of the operation;
• the minister may seek the COPAC's opinion before deciding on the matter.

The minister's decision must be communicated to the interested parties within 3 months of receiving the request for authorisation. Past that deadline, the request will be automatically granted.

The owner is required to preserve the asset and to inform the minister in writing, 2 months in advance, of any disposal, modification, alteration to its state of conservation, repair, restoration or removal from the territory of the cultural asset.

The owner of a classified or listed cultural asset may apply to the Ministry of Culture for subsidies for work and scientific analysis on the object.

Obligations

Substitution of defaulting owner

The owner or holder is obliged to present and provide authorisation for access to the classified or listed asset to agents appointed by the Minister of Culture.

When the state of conservation of the classified or listed asset is under threat, the minister may, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, serve the owner with a formal notice to implement the necessary conservation measures.

In addition to the reasons for the requirement, the notice will specify:

• the conservation measures which the owner is required to implement;
• how long the owner has to implement the measures; and
• whether or not the owner is entitled to subsidies from the State.

The minister may, with the express authorisation of the President of the district court, issue an emergency order for the implementation of the required conservation measures (including for listed cultural assets whose owners are domiciled abroad) when:

• the preservation or state of conservation of the asset listed as a national cultural heritage asset is under threat; or
• the owner is unwilling, or unable, to implement the necessary conservation measures immediately.

Where necessary, the minister may order the asset's temporary transfer to a site which provides the required conditions for its conservation and safety. That transfer may not exceed one year from the date of the transfer order, unless the owner agrees otherwise.

The owner:

• may recover possession of the asset if they can prove that its state of conservation is equivalent to that ordered by the judge;
• must reimburse the State for the portion of the cost of the conservation work for which they are liable.

Procedures

Links