Serena Stuettgen\u2019s first impression of Luxembourg was that of a small European country\u2014nothing more. Yet today, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) alumna curates the Luxembourg American Cultural Society (LACS) Museum in Belgium, Wisconsin, where she bridges two worlds: the Grand Duchy\u2019s history and its diaspora in the U.S.<\/p>\n
Her role is more than archival; it\u2019s a living connection. Stuettgen helps descendants trace their Luxembourg lineage, preserves stories of 19th-century immigrants who fled to Wisconsin, and ensures the cultural ties between Luxembourg and America remain vibrant. Her work gained new urgency when Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett was nominated as the next U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg\u2014a testament to the enduring bond between the two regions.<\/p>\n
Stuettgen\u2019s path to LACS began with a passion for museums, honed during her studies at UWM. She earned a Master\u2019s in public history and museum studies, specialising in Holocaust and Jewish history, which she later applied to Luxembourg\u2019s complex past. \u2018I wrote an article for our magazine interviewing a gentleman whose Jewish family escaped Luxembourg after the Nazis took over,\u2019 she explains. \u2018It was about bringing my areas of study together with Luxembourg history.\u2019<\/p>\n
The museum\u2019s existence in Wisconsin isn\u2019t accidental. In the 1800s, Luxembourg\u2019s population hovered between 200,000 and 300,000. By the late 19th century, 70,000 Luxembourgers had immigrated to the U.S., primarily to Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois. Today, LACS stands as a monument to that exodus, housing artefacts, documents, and oral histories that tell the story of resilience and adaptation.<\/p>\n
Stuettgen\u2019s work extends beyond curation. She collaborates with Luxembourg\u2019s government, which has a strong presence in the museum\u2019s board. In 2009, Grand Duke Henri himself attended LACS\u2019s grand opening\u2014a rare honour that underscores the museum\u2019s significance. \u2018It\u2019s a broad enough topic talking about Luxembourg,\u2019 Stuettgen says, \u2018that I\u2019m able to focus on my areas of study as well as Luxembourg history.\u2019<\/p>\n
For those with Luxembourgish roots, the museum offers a tangible link to their heritage. For others, it\u2019s a window into a lesser-known chapter of American immigration. Stuettgen\u2019s journey\u2014from a curious student to a curator shaping cultural narratives\u2014highlights how history, when shared, becomes a bridge across continents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A curator holds a family heirloom tracing roots to Luxembourg\u2019s Wisconsin settlers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-united-kingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5526\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}