Schengen is a small wine-producing village and commune in far south-eastern Luxembourg, near the tripoint where the borders of Germany, France, and Luxembourg meet. Other villages within the commune include Remerschen and Wintrange. As of 2005, the village has a population of 1527 with an area of 10.63 km² (4.1 sq mi).
The village became famous on 14 June 1985, when the Schengen Agreement was signed. To use this name recognition, the council of the commune of Remerschen decided on 18 January 2006 to rename the commune to Schengen. The Chamber of Deputies voted on 13 July 2006 a law allowing the change of name, which was published on 30 August 2006. The law took effect three days later, and the name of the commune of Remerschen was changed to Schengen as of 3 September 2006. Schengen Castle dates from 1390 but was almost completely rebuilt in the 19th century. It is now a hotel and conference centre.
The European Museum was opened on the 13 June 2010, 25 years after the signung of the Schengen Treaty, in the building “Centre Européen”. The permanent trilingual permanent exhibition on the history and significance of the Schengen Agreements, on 200 square meters of exhibition space, shows visitors that the elimination of the control of persons at the internal borders put into practice one of the four foundational European freedoms set down in the 1957 Treaty of Rome.
The signing of the Agreement in 1985 exhibited here is documented with historic photos and video and sound footage as well as statements by those involved at the time. The cornerstone of the European Museum Schengen is an interactive animated map with concise information on the history of the borders of the individual Schengen states as well as other European states that have not yet joined the Schengen Area.
