Terre Rouge, named after the red color of the iron-bearing soil, was one of the major players in the iron ore industry in Luxembourg and even in Europe. The history of the site begins around 1870 with the construction of the 'Usine Brasseur'. The 'Société Anonyme des Hauts-fourneaux Luxembourgeois' built the first two blast furnaces there at that time. At least 10 different mining companies extracted iron ore at this site; this took place initially above ground, and later from underground galleries.

In 1937, the company was absorbed by ARBED (Aciéries Réunies de Burbach-Eich-Dudelange). Later still, the company was taken over by the ArcelorMittal group. In the 1950s, it was discovered that the gases released during the smelting of iron in steel production could be used to generate electricity. The Centrale Thermique was therefore built in 1951 to exploit this revolutionary technology.

In the 1970s, Luxembourg saw the steel industry shrink and blast furnaces throughout the region begin to close. A day after the last blast furnace was shut down in 1977, the entire plant was closed as well. The blast furnaces have since been demolished. Today, only the iron ore silos and the empty power plant building remain, abandoned and in severe disrepair.