Luxembourg - Expo Brussels 1958
As soon as you entered the Luxembourg pavilion, you were struck by the solid and luminous character of the building, which was almost exclusively made of steel and glass.
It was a symbol of the extraordinary growth of this country of three hundred thousand inhabitants.
The metal frame and iron in its most diverse applications. It was a symbol of the importance of the steel industry in the economic structure of the country. The transparency of the large glass surfaces made you understand how much this country is open to all the winds of the spirit and to all the currents of exchange.
From room to room, this double aspect was explained to you: a non-figurative sheet metal monument and two panels surrounding it represented the metallurgical industries and the multitude of manufacturing industries whose development was not prevented by the steel industry. As for the economic activities symbolised by the glass, they were oriented towards the outside world; they were tourism and viticulture...
In a relaxing room, you could contemplate the harmonious and varied landscapes of Luxembourg, including hills covered with vineyards... These were the ones that you evoked while savouring the best vintages of the land.
There was a third aspect of Luxembourg's prestige that you had to admire: the city of Luxembourg, an international intellectual centre.
The institutions of the European Coal and Steel Community, the ECCAS school and Radio-Télé-Luxembourg could not be absent from a pavilion devoted to the astonishing presence of a small country in the world today.
© Guide Officiel Exposition Universelle de Bruxelles 1958 - Desclée & Co