- about Luxembourg

Luxembourg is a very small country, there are only around 450.000 inhabitants, and the country covers an area of only 2 586 km². It is situated between Germany , France and Belgium , that is why some people think Luxembourg is just a part of one of those three countries. In the past, Luxembourg was in fact occupied by foreign powers for periods of long time. It was the private property of the King of Austria before it became independent, but still the Germans occupied its fortress, and the Belgians had most of its land. The problem was, that both wanted the whole country, but their canons weren’t powerful enough, to shoot over the long distance which separated the two opponents. To solve the problem, Belgium gave a part of the land, and the rest became totally independent. The reason why Luxembourg was so much in demand, is its strategic location, and its powerful fortress. A huge part of the fortress still stands today, and a lot of tourists come to see it every year.

Almost every Luxembourger owns his own home, and at least one car. It is a very rich country, because the European parliament and a lot of national and international banks are situated here. That’s the reason why a lot of foreigners want to live and work here. Only 58 % of the Luxembourgish population are Luxembourgers. Moreover, a lot of German, French and Belgian people, come here to work every day, so there is a lot of traffic on the roads. People from all over the world come here, and so there are many different cultures. Every year in July, Luxembourg city organises a big carnival, where a lot of nations and cultures are represented.

Since Luxembourg is so small, a lot of people know each-other, some of them are a bit self-contained, and sceptical towards people they don’t know. But of course, this isn’t true for everybody, so don’t be afraid.

Nightlife doesn’t offer a huge amount of possibilities to go out. There are two streets, with some pubs, which are full nearly every week-end. Then you have four or five clubs, all located in or near around the centre of the city. But they are very expensive. A lot of Luxembourgers are complaining that there should be more possibilities to go out. But the older population doesn’t share this opinion.

By Tom Gaubig, EURplace26 participant, 2004

I was born in a small country – at least I thought so until I visited Luxembourg . However, the fact that you are small does not necessarily means that you cannot achieve great goals. Actually, a tiny grand duchy wedged in between Germany , Belgium , and France is the best example.

The capital of this half-million country is called – guess what! – Luxembourg . Its name is derived from medieval Lucilinburhuc, fortified settlement from 10th century. Its remains can be found at the top of Bock rock close to the city centre. During one thousand years, Luxembourg prospered and underwent boisterous and turbulent history. Once an unseizable fortress, now one of the capitals and financial centres of the European Union, but still unmistakable in its character and originality. Let us not be discouraged by the fact that Luxembourg belongs to some of the most expensive cities on the continent and let me present you with five main reasons for visiting this ravishing city situated on the fortified rocks above the silent green valleys.

Multicultural Esprit

It is the first thing to meet with. When I got off my long-distance Prague-Luxembourg-London coach and took a look around, I had to check my ticket immediately. It occurred to me that maybe instead of Luxembourg I asked for Lisbon . Portuguese cafés, Portuguese shops, Portuguese supermarket, and the storefronts full of Benfica, Sporting and Boavista football t-shirts… But only the next day I was told that Luxembourg , due to its immigration policy, has been an open country since 1970’s, especially for Portuguese, who lend a congenial Mediterranean air to some parts of the city.

Luxembourg itself is the country of three languages - local Lëtzebuergesch (which I got fascinated by), German, and French, which is the official language of administration. Not to mention that almost everyone I had the pleasure to speak with was very fluent in English. A big surprise for me was that until recently there was no university in Luxembourg . After all, the most popular of Luxembourgers, Charles IV. (yet to be mentioned), established one in Prague as early as 1348. However, Luxembourg government intends to discourage the locals from becoming “couch potatoes”, so anyone with desire to study at university had to go abroad, either to France or Germany . Cultures of both beforementioned countries you can feel throughout the city, however, the spirit of something typically “Luxembourgish” is present, too. You cannot but simply love an old motto of local open-hearted people: “Mir wölle bleiwe wat mir sin“ – We Want To Stay Who We Are…

A Fortress City

Every Czech schoolkid knows the Luxembourg dynasty – a noble king John The Blind, the last true knight of the Middle Ages, or his son, Emperor Charles IV., not to mention his sons, Emperors Wenceslas II. and Sigismund. They were not only the dukes of Luxembourg , but kings of Bohemia as well. At their times our two countries were united into one, and the reign of Charles IV. was indeed a heyday of the medieval Czech Lands. And to my big surprise, this historical bond is important for Luxembourgers, too, for they are very proud of their ancient kings. Having already seen the tomb of Charles IV. at the Prague Castle , I found the last resting-place of his father in the Luxembourg ’s Notre Dame cathedral...

However, after the fall of the Luxembourg dynasty, the city stood under many foreign sovereigns: Burgundy , Spain , France , Austria , and the Netherlands . Every new ruler tried to secure his line by rebuilding, improving, or upgrading the city fortress. This is the reason why during the stroll down the city you cannot overlook the remains of mighty walls, casemates, bastions, and other fortification structures. The fortress reached such an eminence that it was called “ Gibraltar of the North”. However, it appeared that the city fortress does not guarantee the safety for its citizens, on the contrary, it was drawing the attention of neighbouring powers more and more, for everyone wanted to get it into their possesion. Therefore in the year 1839, with the Treaty of London, the independent Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg was born and the fortress had to be dismantled. Nowadays you can take a peaceful walk through the greenery alongside the massive brick walls and admire the view from the remaining keeps. Or much better – through the loop-holes of the old casemates...

Enjoy The Museums

Which bring us to the next point. City museums and their exhibitions are one of the best I’ve ever seen. The winding tunnels of the Bock casemates hide not only the former gunpowder storage rooms and replicas of the old cannons but also an audiovisual tour through the history of the city. Yet it’s nothing compared to the Historical Museum of the City of Luxembourg (Musée d'Histoire de la Ville de Luxembourg). This museum is hewn out of the rock, with beautiful modern interior made up of combination of steel, glass, wood and stone. A glassed lift takes you down into its underground section, where you start exploring the history of the region from its most distant past up to the present days. You can spend four hours without a single yawn here. Equally remarkable is the National Museum of history and Art, with its white cube-shaped building, which captures your attention almost immediately.

It’s no use wasting superlatives: Musée National d'Histoire et d'Art is simply fantastic! The area of today’s Luxembourg was inhabited by Celtic and Teutonic tribes, Franks, and Romans – and each cililization left here many samples of their cultures. In all the museums the EURO<26 card pulls the price to approximately 1.50 Euro, admission for the above mentioned two is 3.50 Euro after reduction. Worth every cent – believe me! For those more playful ones I’d recommend the interactive National Museum of Natural History (Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle).

When you get tired by visiting the museums and sightseeing, you can take a break down in the Pétrusse valley. It is entirely different world – the bustle of the city suddenly disappears and the green oasis filled with gurgling of a small river calms you down. You can walk through the park to the confluence of Pétrusse and Alzette, then continue along the fortress wall into the Grund district, then go under the old Austrian viaduct connecting city centre with the Bock rock and stroll further into the Pfaffenthal valley bridged by a big red bridge named after the adored Grand-Duchesse Charlotte ...

Take A Trip

Glancing at the cars rushing across the bridge towards the German border or heading west into the inland, maybe an idea occurs: why not take a short trip out of the city? Why not when every region is within the range of one-hour bus ride? If you find yourself not familiar with the timetables, ask the bus driver – all that I met spoke English, they were very kind and helpful, and sometimes even slowed their vehicle down to give me notice about some landmark. Very soon you will realize – they like tourists here.

You must not omit Clervaux and Echternach, once spiritual centres of the Occidental civilization. Especially historical exhibition in the Echternach Benedictine abbey of St. Wilibrord takes breath away. Illuminated manuscripts created by Irish monks belong to the peak of medieval art and the museum gives you the opportunity to explore the process of its creation. Fascinating.

Definitely worth visiting is also Vianden, a tiny town constantly crowded by tourists who are coming to see its dominant point – a masterfully rebuilt medieval castle. Military fans will surely like the National Resistance Museum in Diekirch, as well as George S. Patton Memorial Museum in Ettelbrück.

Eat, Drink and Entertain Yourself…

There is no need to pretend an uplift towards something such a profane thing as food: here in Luxembourg you can choose from a large choice of cuisines. Except of traditional Luxembourgish meals (sausages, cabbage, lot of vegetables, cream, white wine, strudel…) you can put a yummy in your tummy in various Portuguese restaurants, Bosnian snack-bars, Turkish fast-foods or Russian bars.

Not to be bored in the evening, you can use your EURO<26 card for visiting Utopolis cinema centre where the moving pictures are available for nothing less then 1 Euro. And if you want to get more detailed info on the current discounts and possibilities for the young people in Luxembourg , the youth information centre is located right over the road train and coach station, in the ground-floor of the shopping mall Kons. Just walk between the boutiques full of Portuguese football t-shirts to have a chat with the smiling staff of the Conférence Générale de la Jeunesse Luxembourgeoise...

Resumé? Luxembourg is welcoming and friendly city. It is small yet unbelievably vivid, full of greenery and overfilled with sights and monuments. Maybe it will remind you (as it happened to me) of Paris and Prague – fin-de-siècle façades on the broad boulevards alternate with cranky streets and half-timbered houses on the bank of Alzette river. Waving its beutiful white-blue striped flag with red double-tailed lion rampant, Luxembourg has a lot to be proud of, yet it is modest. And it cossets its visitors.