The site of today’s Capellen would have been part of the Reims-Arlon-Trier Roman road, which would have joined the oppidum at “Tëtelbierg”. The first written mention of “Auf der Kappe” in the Koerich parish registers dates back to 1718, when it was a tiny village with five households.
The houses were located to the north of the Roman road, and later along the main Luxembourg-Brussels road. The settlement to the south of the Roman road was named Capellen, after the ancient chapel that would have stood near the “Kiem”. In 1722, a regular horse-drawn carriage service was introduced between Luxembourg and Brussels, passing through Capellen.
Following administrative reform by the French, the locality, which until then had belonged to Kehlen, was attached to Mamer. In 1841, when the territory was divided into cantons, Capellen became the administrative centre of the canton. This decision was taken by the committee of notables to put an end to a dispute between Mamer and Koerich, who were both vying for this honour.
In 1852, a chapel was built, which later became the parish church.
Almost a century later, in 1951, a barracks was built in Capellen to house the military vehicles of the Luxembourg army. Following the abolition of compulsory military service in 1967, this facility would one year later become the buildings occupied by NAMSA (Nato Maintenance Supply Agency), renamed NSPA (NATO Support and Procurement Agency) in 2012.
