HomePhotos NewsSchengen – The château to diplomacy, all within

Schengen – The château to diplomacy, all within

SUMMARY

A half hour bus ride to the outskirts of the Luxembourg City will take you to a place called Casino. From there one has to change the bus and within twenty minutes one reaches the château within which is located the wine-producing hamlet of Schengen, which is part of the Royal Luxembourg. Well, you may continue your bus journey and move on to France or Germany, thanks to its strategic location. Philosopher Karl Marx was born on the right bank in a village called Trier along the Mosel river in 1818 exactly 200 years ago. River Moselle divides Schengen into two, while on the west bank is Germany, France is situated on its eastern bank. This is that kind of a place about which the world has heard, but very few have seen and may be that is why the place retains its pristine and quaint beauty. Schengen is Europe’s quintessential fairy-tale village with lush green vineyards lined across the banks of a lazy river housing a bakery, a grocery, a Chinese restaurant and a 14th-century chateau – plus a discreet, modern-looking museum. Although a sleepy town, with very less homo-sapiens roaming around, it is still considered the place where Europe banished its borders. Near the historic place where the landmark ‘Schengen Agreement’ was signed, flags of all nations flutter gracefully as if it is beckoning the world to maintain peace and order. Just next to it there is a plaque where ‘Peace’ is written in Devanagari script, as it wants to show the world the geopolitical paradox. The Schengen Agreement is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed in 1985 by five of the ten member-states of the then European Economic Community. It proposed measures intended to gradually abolish border checks at the signatories' common borders, including reduced speed vehicle checks which allowed vehicles to cross borders without stopping, allowing residents in border areas freedom to cross borders away from fixed checkpoints and the harmonisation of visa policies. In 1990, the Agreement was supplemented by the Schengen Convention which proposed the complete abolition of systematic internal border controls and a common visa policy. The Schengen Area operates very much like a single state for international travel purposes with external border controls for travellers entering and exiting the area, and common visas, but with no internal border controls. It currently consists of 26 European countries covering a population of over 400 million people and an area of 4,312,099 square km. Shops are less and few in Schengen so it is not really a shopper’s paradise but it surely is a dreamland for the wine connoisseurs and beer lovers. Lost and spoiled for choice as I had to choose a wine for myself amongst zillion varieties, I sought the barman’s help at a chateaux bistro. He was anything but a help as he wanted me to have both wine as well as beer, no wonder one feels the true confluence of France and Germany here. Just a stone’s throw away is the grotesque Schengen Castle. The historic castle was sold to the Regus Group for a whopping 11 million Euros in February last year, owing to the financial crisis that still has Europe in its firm grip. French writer Victor Hugo once visited the place and was charmed by its beauty. The castle has survived both the World War, although parts of it had to be reconstructed. The Schengen village is metaphor for United States of Europe although in reality it is in deep melancholy.

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By Shome Basu  July 23, 2018, 5:31:15 PM IST (Updated)

A closeup of a home with a pet cat you hardly see people
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A closeup of a home with a pet cat you hardly see people

World Peace written in Devnagiri script in Schenagan
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World Peace written in Devnagiri script in Schenagan

An office goer to Germany waits for her bus which is supposed to come from Luxembourg
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An office goer to Germany waits for her bus which is supposed to come from Luxembourg

Chateau in Schenagan
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Chateau in Schenagan

Parts of the chateau where the European Union border free agreement was signed
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Parts of the chateau where the European Union border free agreement was signed

Parts of the dismantaled Berlin wall in display with thanking last USSR president Michel Gorvachev
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Parts of the dismantaled Berlin wall in display with thanking last USSR president Michel Gorvachev

Schenagan a town or a village just like a Fairy Tale
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Schenagan a town or a village just like a Fairy Tale

Schenegan a small village has the cemetary along with the church
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Schenegan a small village has the cemetary along with the church

The border with seperates Luxembourg Germany and France at Schengen. A motorroad, it was heavily damaged during the WW2
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The border with seperates Luxembourg Germany and France at Schengen. A motorroad, it was heavily damaged during the WW2

The city scape with lined homes and a road though which vehicles ply to Germany and France
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The city scape with lined homes and a road though which vehicles ply to Germany and France

the Mosel river divides Luxembourg with France on the Left bank and Germany on the right bank. Karl Marx was born in a nearby village along the border with Germany
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the Mosel river divides Luxembourg with France on the Left bank and Germany on the right bank. Karl Marx was born in a nearby village along the border with Germany

the village scape
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the village scape

With a connected bridge, Mosel river divides Luxembourg with France on the Left bank and Germany on the right bank. Karl Marx was born in a nearby village along the border with Germany
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With a connected bridge, Mosel river divides Luxembourg with France on the Left bank and Germany on the right bank. Karl Marx was born in a nearby village along the border with Germany

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