Everything about Luxembourg City totally explained
The city of
Luxembourg (), also known as
Luxembourg City ( ), is a
commune with
city status, and the
capital of the
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is located at the
confluence of the
Alzette and
Pétrusse rivers in southern Luxembourg and contains the historic
Luxembourg Castle, established by the
Franks in the
Early Middle Ages, about which the area grew up.
As of 2007, the commune of Luxembourg City has a population of 83,820, which is almost three times the population of the second most populous commune. The city's metropolitan population, including that of surrounding communes of
Hesperange,
Sandweiler,
Strassen, and
Walferdange, is 103,973. Luxembourg City lies at the heart of
Western Europe, situated 188 km (117 miles) from
Brussels, 289 km (179 miles) from
Paris, 190 km (118 miles) from
Cologne.
Luxembourg City is one of the wealthiest cities in the world, having developed into a banking and administrative centre. Luxembourg is a seat of several institutions of the
European Union, including the
European Court of Justice, the
European Court of Auditors, and the
European Investment Bank.
History
In the
Roman era, a fortified tower guarded the crossing of two
Roman roads that met at the site of Luxembourg city. Through an exchange treaty with the abbey of
Saint Maximin in
Trier in 963,
Siegfried I of the
Ardennes, a close relative of
King Louis II of France and
Emperor Otto the Great, acquired the feudal lands of Luxembourg. Siegfried built his castle, named
Lucilinburhuc ("small castle"), on the Bock
Fiels ("rock"), mentioned for the first time in the aforementioned exchange treaty.
In 987
Egbert, Archbishop of Trier blessed five altars in the Church of the Redemption (today
St. Michael's Church). At a Roman road intersection near the church, a marketplace appeared around which the city developed.
The city, for reasons of its location and natural geography, has through history been a place of strategic military significance. The first fortifications were built as early as the 10th century. By the end of the 12th century, as the city expanded westward around the new
St. Nicholas Church (today the cathedral of
Notre Dame), new walls were built that included an area of 50,000 m².
In about 1340, under the reign of
John the Blind, new fortifications were built that stood until 1867.
In 1443, the
Burgundians under
Philip the Good conquered Luxembourg. Luxembourg became part of the Burgundian, and later
Spanish and
Austrian empires (See
Spanish Netherlands and
Spanish road) and under those Hapsburg administrations Luxembourg Castle was repeatedly strengthened so that by the 16th century, Luxembourg itself was one of the strongest fortifications in Europe. Subsequently, the Burgundians, the Spanish, the French, the Spanish again, the Austrians, the French again, and the
Prussians conquered Luxembourg.
In the 17th century, the first
casemates were built; initially,
Spain built 23 km of tunnels, starting in 1644. These were then enlarged under French rule by
Marshal Vauban, and augmented again under Austrian rule in the 1730s and 1740s.
During the
French Revolutionary Wars, the city was occupied by
France twice: once, briefly, in 1792–3, and, later, after a seven-month
siege. Luxembourg held out for so long under the French siege that French politician and military engineer
Lazare Carnot called Luxembourg "the best [fortress] in the world, except Gibraltar", giving rise to the city's nickname: the '
Gibraltar of the North'.
Nonetheless, the Austrian garrison eventually surrendered, and, as a consequence, Luxembourg was
annexed into the French Republic as part of the
département of
Forêts, with Luxembourg City as its
préfecture. Under the 1815
Treaty of Paris, which ended the
Napoleonic Wars, Luxembourg City was placed under
Prussian military control as a part of the
German Confederation, although sovereignty passed to the
House of Orange-Nassau, in
personal union with the
United Kingdom of the Netherlands.
After the
Luxembourg Crisis, the 1867
Treaty of London required Luxembourg to dismantle the fortifications in Luxembourg City. Their demolition took sixteen years, cost 1.5 m gold
francs, and required the destruction of over 24 km (15 miles) of underground defences and 40,000 m² (10 acres) of
casemates,
batteries,
barracks, etc. Furthermore, the Prussian
garrison was to be withdrawn.
When, in 1890,
Grand Duke William III died without any male heirs, the Grand Duchy passed out of Dutch hands, and into an independent line under
Grand Duke Adolphe. Thus, Luxembourg, which had hitherto been independent in theory only, became a truly
independent country, and Luxembourg City regained some of the importance that it had lost in 1867 by becoming the capital of a fully independent state.
Despite Luxembourg's best efforts to remain
neutral in the
First World War, it was
occupied by Germany on
2 August 1914. On
30 August,
Helmuth von Moltke moved his headquarters to Luxembourg City, closer to his armies in France in preparation for a swift victory. However, the victory never came, and Luxembourg would play host to the German high command for another four years. At the end of the occupation, Luxembourg City was the scene of an attempted
communist revolution; on
9 November 1918, communists declared a
socialist republic, but it lasted only a few hours.
In 1921, the
city limits were greatly expanded. The communes of
Eich,
Hamm,
Hollerich, and
Rollingergrund were annexed into Luxembourg City, making the city the largest commune in the country (a position that it would hold until 1978).
In 1940,
Germany occupied Luxembourg again. The
Nazis were not prepared to allow Luxembourgers self-government, and gradually integrated Luxembourg into the Third Reich until it annexed the Grand Duchy, on
30 August 1942. Luxembourg City was liberated on
10 September 1944.
After the war, Luxembourg ended its neutrality, and became a founding member of several inter-governmental and supra-governmental institutions. In 1952, the city became the headquarters of the High Authority of the
European Coal and Steel Community. In 1967, the High Authority was merged with the commissions of the other European institutions; although Luxembourg City would no longer be the seat of the ECSC, it would play host to some part-sessions of the
European Parliament until 1981. Luxembourg remains the seat of the European Parliament's secretariat, as well as the
European Court of Justice, the
European Court of Auditors, and the
European Investment Bank. Several departments of the
European Commission are also based in Luxembourg.
Geography
Topography
Luxembourg plateau, a large
Early Jurassic sandstone formation that forms the heart of the
Gutland, a low-lying and flat area that covers the southern two-thirds of the country.
The city centre occupies a picturesque site on a salient, perched high atop precipitous cliffs that drop into the narrow valleys of the
Alzette and
Pétrusse rivers, which find their confluence at Luxembourg City. The 70 m- (230 ft) deep gorges cut by the rivers are spanned by many bridges and
viaducts, including the
Adolphe Bridge, the
Grand Duchess Charlotte Bridge, and the
Passerelle. Although Luxembourg City isn't particularly large, its layout is complex, as the city is set on several levels, straddling hills and dropping into the two gorges.
The commune of Luxembourg City covers a total area of over 51 km², or 2% of the Grand Duchy's total area. This makes the city the
fourth-largest commune in Luxembourg, and by far the largest
urban area. Luxembourg City isn't particularly densely-populated, at under 1,500 people per km²; large areas of Luxembourg City are maintained as parks, forested areas, or sites of important heritage (particularly the
UNESCO sites), while there are also large tracts of farmland that lie within the city limits.
Quarters of Luxembourg City
Luxembourg City is subdivided into twenty-four
quarters, which cover the commune in its entirety. The quarters generally correspond to the major
neighbourhoods and
suburbs of Luxembourg City, although a few of the historic districts, such as
Bonnevoie, are divided between two quarters.
Climate
Luxembourg City has a
mild continental climate, marked by moderately high
precipitation.
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Mean daily maximum temperature (°C) | 3 |
4 |
10 |
14 |
18 |
21 |
23 |
22 |
19 |
13 |
7 |
4
|
| Mean daily minimum temperature (°C) | -1 |
-1 |
1 |
4 |
8 |
11 |
13 |
12 |
10 |
6 |
3 |
0
|
| Mean total rainfall (mm) | 61 |
65 |
42 |
47 |
64 |
64 |
60 |
84 |
72 |
53 |
67 |
81
|
| Mean number of rain days (0.25mm+) | 20 |
16 |
14 |
13 |
15 |
14 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
15 |
19 |
20
|
| Average sunshine (hours per day) | 1 |
2 |
5 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
1
|
Source: BBC Weather |
Government
Local government
Under the
Luxembourgian constitution, local government is centred on the city's
communal council. Consisting of twenty-seven members (fixed since 1964), each elected every six years on the second Sunday of October and taking office on
1 January of the next year, the council is the largest of all communal councils in Luxembourg. The city is nowadays considered a stronghold of the
Democratic Party (DP), which is the third-largest party nationally. Currently, the Democratic Party is the largest party on the council, with eleven councillors.
The city's administration is headed by the
mayor, who is the leader of the largest party on the communal council. As a result of the DP's control of the communal council, the mayor has been the DP's
Paul Helminger since
18 August 1999. Unlike other cities in Luxembourg, which are limited to four
échevins at most, Luxembourg is given special dispensation to have six
échevins on its
collège échevinal.
National government
Luxembourg City is the Seat for the Luxembourg Government. The Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg also lives there.
European institutions
Luxembourg City is the seat of several institutions of the
European Union, including the
European Court of Justice, the secretariat of the
European Parliament, the
European Court of Auditors and the
European Investment Bank. The majority of these institutions are located in the
Kirchberg quarter, in the northeast of the city.
Places of interest
Places of interest include the
neogothic Cathedral of Notre Dame, the fortifications, the
Grand Ducal Palace, the
Gëlle Fra war memorial, the casemates, the
Neumünster Abbey, the
Place d'Armes, the
Adolphe Bridge and the city hall. The city is the home of the
University of Luxembourg and
Radio Luxembourg.
The Second World War
Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial is located within the city limits of Luxembourg. This cemetery is the final resting place of 5,076 American military dead, including General
George S. Patton. There is also a memorial to 371 Americans whose remains were never recovered or identified.
Other places of interests include:
Twin towns
Camden, United Kingdom
Wythenshawe United Kingdom
Metz, France
Moscow, Russia
St. Petersburg, RussiaFurther Information
Get more info on 'Luxembourg City'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://luxembourg__city.totallyexplained.com">Luxembourg (city) Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
