“It was really bad. My shoes are still wet from last night,” said Laura on Tuesday morning. The Kugener restaurant employee has her hands full, as the final clean-up work is still underway on the terrace. “In all the stress, the rubbish bins outside were forgotten. They’re now full of water,” she explained.

The heavy rain on Monday evening has left its mark: Several parasols on the restaurant’s terrace collapsed under the weight of the water. “It happened so quickly. It was terrible,” said Laura. “The umbrella supports collapsed and fell on people. But thank goodness nobody was hurt.”

While rain was forecast, the intensity of the downpour still came as a surprise.

• Laura was working on the terrace of the Kugener restaurant on Monday evening. On Tuesday, her shoes were still soaked © Photo credit: Elena Arens

• Several umbrellas were destroyed on the terrace of the Kugener restaurant © Photo credit: Elena Arens

“There was also some minor flooding in the restaurant itself. When the rain came, all the guests fled inside. It was overcrowded,” she said. “We had a power cut outside. We couldn’t do anything. Dishwasher, fridge – nothing worked.”

Power was temporarily cut off

Jérôme, the owner of the Kessel restaurant, tells a similar story. “I’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said. “I don’t think it’s happened very often in the history of the Fouer. Even showmen who have been involved for a very long time say that.”

“The manhole covers flew up left and right. The power was out everywhere – even on the rides,” Jérôme said of the events on Monday evening. “The whole thing lasted 15 to 20 minutes, then everything worked again. But everyone showed understanding.”

The Kessel restaurant did not suffer any major damage. According to the owner, only a few curtains on the terrace were torn down.

Jérôme runs the Kessel restaurant © Photo credit: Elena Arens

Fouer closed early

The first rain set in around 19:30 in Luxembourg City. “The square was packed,” said Charel Hary, the president of the showmen’s association that puts on the Schueberfouer, the morning after the storm.

After the first downpour, the showmen were still trying to clean up and get everything ready again. But when another storm hit the Fouer at around 22:00, hope to continue was lost.

At around 23:00., the City of Luxembourg finally issued an order to close the Fouer. “When the rain got so heavy, we also took people off the rides unscheduled. You can’t let someone whirl around in the pouring rain for five or six minutes.”

Fortunately, nobody was injured. The damage to the stalls was also limited. “Maybe one or two umbrellas were broken,” said Hary. He is not aware of any major damage so far.

At Corndogs House in the Allée Scheffer, the water was 20cm high at times on Tuesday. “I had to pull out the manhole covers,” said operator Ramon. “One was blocked. Only after we ripped it out did the water drain away again. Then everything was fine,” he said, showing photos and videos from Monday evening on his smartphone.

In just a few minutes, the water was a good 20cm high, said Ramon © Photo credit: Elena Arens

One picture shows a Corona beer bottle that is submerged up to the neck. “That’s how high the water was here,” said Ramon. “The worst thing was that people just kept eating. That was crazy,” he said. “But my stall was sturdy, I’ve built something stable.” He has no damage to report.

But things look different just a few metres away. On Tuesday morning, there was no sign of the stand selling glaçons canadiens candy. The tent could not withstand the rain and wind. “One of my employees helped to hold the tent in place. He was completely soaked afterwards and I had to get him new clothes,” said Ramon from the Corndogs stand.

It remained unclear on Tuesday morning whether his Fouer neighbour would be able to continue at this year’s Schueberfouer.

The damage to Friture Joslet was less extensive. Only the roof of a small private area behind the kitchen was destroyed and torn off by the storm, according to an employee. However, the actual dining area of the restaurant was spared.

Part of the roof at the back of Friture Joslet was removed. The dining area was not affected © Photo credit: Elena Arens

Customers help with damage limitation

At Confiserie Coné, operator Jérôme was particularly worried about the façade of his stand, which is full of light bulbs. “If any water gets on it, we immediately have a power cut,” he explained. “But we were prepared yesterday and switched off the lights on the façade in advance so that there was no major power cut.”

Jérôme from Confiserie Coné thanks his customers for their willingness to help © Photo credit: Elena Arens

The wind was a different story. “The storm was cruel. It came so suddenly, we couldn’t react that quickly,” Jérôme continued. “But I have to say: our customers reacted really well. They all lent a hand. Everything that was blown away by the wind was brought back to us. I can only thank them from the bottom of my heart, otherwise the damage would have been much worse.”

Jérôme closed his stand at 23:00 – just like all the other showmen at the Fouer. For him, the fact that the showmen closed so early is an indication of the seriousness of the situation. “That was unusual,” he said.

Also read:

The Schueberfouer’s impact on the surrounding area

(This article was originally published by the Luxemburger Wort. Translated using AI and edited by Cordula Schnuer)