Grand opening of the Luxembourg Freeport

Freeport? Have you ever heard of this term? Generally a freeport is a special territory with less strict customs regulations in comparison with other areas. But people indeed don’t know what term «freeport» encompasses nowadays. In order to understand just imagine: you are a billionare that has recently purchased a piece of an art by Claude Monet that cost 20 million euros.

Where would you keep it? Hang it on a hook in a living room or put it in a basement? Neither of these two options. You use a «freeport» - a high-security and customs-free space for preserving and keeping precious art.

Freeports are universal warehouses for art works. The history of freeports dates back to the nineteenth century when the first customs friendly storage spaces for art were opened in Europe. Today there are several major freeports, the most well-known are in Hong-Kong and Geneva. Only in Europe the approximate number of small freeports varies from 200 to 250.

On 17 September 2014 the newest freeport was opened in Luxembourg. This freeport is a unique platform that is welcome for multiple reasons. First, the geographical location of Luxembourg in the centre of Europe is attractive for potential customers. The Luxembourg freeport itself is situated in the airport that in turn will facilitate the transportation of valuables. Second, the Luxembourg's standing in the international arena due to its stable political climate provides undeniable safety for the storage of valuable goods. Third, construction and development of the freeport is highly supported by the Luxembourg authorities. This is evident through a favourable tax climate as no customs duties apply on imported goods to the freeport.

The freeport is a storage facility for all valuables such as unique jewellery, antiques, wine and other luxury items. But of course, the peculiarity of the Luxembourg freeport is that it is primarily used for fine art storage and trading. It provides special conditions for preserving art on four floors of a total surface of 20,000 square metres. In Luxembourg freeport air and humidity are controlled. It affords sustainable security and extreme confidentiality. Moreover, while in storage, works of art can be presented in sophisticated show rooms. The public, therefore, will be able to view and appreciate the works in storage to the extent that their owners lend them to museums or galleries.

What kind of feelings do you have entering to the Luxembourg freeport? It is the mighty construction that strikes you. You feel that it is one of the safest places in the whole world and its scope amazes you. This is the latest construction in a line of this kind of facilities. Who knows what will be the total value of the objects that will be kept in this contemporary treasury? Only under preliminary estimation about 10 % of all worlds’ art works will be preserved here. Yes, this is a huge art «freezer», but the most closed, respectful and exclusive freezer in the world.

So, welcome to the Luxembourg freeport - the world’s newest and most trustworthy freeport!

Ekaterina Melnik.