This very personal project began in 2018 as my bachelor thesis in Communication Design and has since evolved into a long-term passion project. It tells the story of our beloved family hotel "Hôtel des Nations" in Clervaux, Luxembourg. Opened in 1865 as a small café opposite the train station, the hotel remained in our family for 154 years. In 2019, my decision not to continue the tradition marked its closure, an ending that also became the starting point for this project: a way to preserve and honour what this place meant to my family, and to the region. The book is a visual archive, a personal story, and a historical document. It goes beyond the story of a hotel to reflect on family, hospitality, and the quiet disappearance of many small, family-run businesses as traditions fade, visions shift, and regulations make them harder to sustain. Above all, it is a tribute to the people who shaped this house and a way for its story to live on. In spring 2025, I took a four-month sabbatical to fully dedicate myself to research, writing, and design. The publication was designed in close collaboration with Studio Polenta in Luxembourg City. The first book presentation took place in November 2025 in Clervaux, more will follow in 2026.
