Beautiful Luxemburg
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg offers such a diversity of landscapes: the verdant forests of the Ardennes, the sculpted features of the Mullerthal, the fertile meadows of the Centre, the rolling vineyards along the River Moselle and the rugged scenery of the Land of the Red Earth. Luxembourg, the capital of the Grand Duchy is proud of its rich, turbulent past and looks to the future optimistically. Luxembourg boasts a large array of historical and cultural sights. Its country side is second to none. The Mullerthal for example is of almost primeval beauty and justly known as “Luxembourg’s Little Switzerland”. Rushing streams babble their way through narrow gorges, past bizarre rock formations and through dense woodland, emerging occasionally in verdant pastures. The heart of the Grand Duchy is known as the "Centre". The rolling hills which extend from the Capital hold many surprises. Surrounded by farms and woodland, beautiful villages nestle in picturesque valleys, verdant slopes are topped with splendid castles.
Historical Background
The recorded history of Luxembourg begins with the construction of Luxembourg Castle in 963. Around this fort, a town gradually developed, which became the centre of a small, but important, state of great strategic value. The city has been through history a place of strategic military significance. 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 1437, the House of Luxembourg suffered a succession crisis, precipitated by the lack of a male heir to assume the throne. In the following centuries, Luxembourg's fortress was steadily enlarged and strengthened over the years by its successive occupants, the Bourbons, Habsburgs, Hohenzollerns, and the French, among others. 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. By the late eighteenth century, Luxembourg's fame as an impregnable fortress was such that it became known as the Gibraltar of the North, second to only Gibraltar itself. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, Luxembourg was disputed between Prussia and the Netherlands. The Congress of Vienna formed Luxembourg as a Grand Duchy in personal union with the Netherlands. Luxembourg also became a member of the German Confederation, with a Confederate fortress manned by Prussian troops. After the Luxembourg Crisis, the 1867 Treaty of London required Luxembourg to dismantle the fortifications in Luxembourg City. Their demolition took sixteen years, cost 1.5m gold francs, and required the destruction of over 24 km (15 miles) of underground defences and 40,000m² (10 acres) of casemates, batteries and barracks. Furthermore, the Prussian garrison was to be withdrawn.
Luxembourg was invaded and occupied by Germany during the First World War, but was allowed to maintain its independence and political mechanisms. It was again subject to German occupation in the Second World War, and was formally annexed into the Third Reich in 1942.
During World War II, Luxembourg abandoned its policy of neutrality, when it joined the Allies in fighting Germany. Its government, exiled to London set up a small group of volunteers, who participated in the Normandy invasion. It became a founding member of the United Nations in 1946, and of NATO in 1949. In 1957, Luxembourg became one of the six founding countries of the European Economic Community (later the European Union), and, in 1999, it joined the Euro currency area. In 2005, a referendum on the EU treaty establishing a constitution for Europe was held in Luxembourg.