Early history and the rise of the House of Luxembourg
The area, which was inhabited as early as the Paleolithic (15,000-year-old bone find in Oetringen) and the Mesolithic (discovery of an approximately 7,000-year-old grave near Reuland in the Blumental) belonged to around the 7th and 3rd centuries BC. To the Hunsrück-Eifel culture (excavation of the settlement Aleburg, northwest of Beaufort) and was settled by Celts (oppidum of the Treveri on the Titelberg, southeast of Rodange).
In the 1st century BC It came under Roman rule and later belonged to the Frankish Empire (Austrasia); In 843 it came to the kingdom of Lothar I and was incorporated into the Duchy of (Upper) Lorraine in 959. 963 of belonging to the house Lorraine Moselle district-Graf acquired Siegfried († 997/998), the Lucilinburhuc, after which his successors since 1083 (first in 1060) and Count of Luxembourg (until the 19th century “Lützelburg,” only then the Frenchified name form; Luxemburger) designated. Through the second marriage (1214) of the heir daughter Ermesinde (* 1186, † 1247) the county came to the later Duke Walram II. of Limburg, to which the Margraviate of Arlon was subordinate. In the succession dispute over Limburg (1283–88, also called the Limburg War of Succession), which was decided by the Battle of Worringen (1288), the counts had to confine themselves to Luxembourg and Arlon.
From the plaything of the great powers to an independent state
With the election of the Luxembourgish Heinrich VII as Roman King (1308) and Emperor (1312), Luxembourg’s position was upgraded. In 1310 Heinrich ceded the county to his son Johann the Blind, who in 1311 acquired the Kingdom of Bohemia through marriage. John’s son, Emperor Charles IV, raised the county of Luxembourg to a duchy in 1354, which in 1364 acquired the county of Chiny. Pledged by King Wenceslaus in 1388, the land was bought in 1441/43 by Philip the Good of Burgundy.
Through Maria, the heirloom of Charles the Bold, who married the later Emperor Maximilian I in 1477, Luxembourg passed to the House of Habsburg, and in 1555 to its Spanish line, although it remained legally part of the Burgundian Circle with the Holy Roman Empire. In 1659, due to the Peace of the Pyrenees from Diedenhofen to Montmédy, southern Luxembourg fell to France. 1684–97 all of Luxembourg was under French rule due to the reunions of Louis XIV. In 1697 it came back to Spain.
After the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-13 / 14) it was under Austrian administration (part of the Austrian Netherlands) in 1714-94 / 95, and again under French sovereignty from 1795-1814. Prussia acquired the area east of the Moselle, Sauer and Our in 1814. The Congress of Vienna made Luxembourg a Grand Duchy and a member of the German Confederation in 1815; However, it remained linked to the Kingdom of the Netherlands in personal union until 1890 (as compensation for the loss of the Nassau hereditary lands) and was administered like a Dutch province. The city of Luxembourg was expanded into a federal fortress, and Prussia was granted the right of occupation there. In 1830 the country joined the Belgian Revolution, in 1839 the Walloon part was ceded to Belgium (as the province of Luxembourg). In 1842 Luxembourg joined the German Customs Union. In 1866 it became completely independent through the dissolution of the German Confederation.
European Integration
As a small state, according to Youremailverifier, Luxembourg actively promoted the process of European integration; its capital, Luxembourg, became the seat of various European institutions. In July 1992, Luxembourg ratified the Maastricht Treaty. With effect from 1.1.1999 it became a member of the Eurozone. J.-C. Juncker served as chairman of the Eurogroup from 2005–13. On November 1st, 2014 he became President of the EU Commission. Luxembourg has particularly close ties with Belgium and the Netherlands (the economic union established in 1958 and entered into force in 1960, Benelux).
Esch an der Alzette
Esch-sur-Alzette [- al zεt], officially French Esch-sur-Alzette [.epsilon. ʃ Syral zεt], State Capital in Luxembourg, 290 m above sea level, near the border with France, (2019) 35 400 residents.
Headquarters of the University of Luxembourg (opened in 2015 on an industrial wasteland), Museum of the Luxembourg Resistance Movement (1940–45), Rockhal Concert Hall (opened in 2005). – Esch an der Alzette used to be the center of the southern Luxembourg mining and iron industry area, which was one of the most important in Western Europe (minette mining was discontinued in 1980); Rolling mill.
Differdange
Differdange, French Differdange [- dã ː ʒ ], city in the canton of Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg Southwest, near the French border, (2019) 26,800 residents.
University of Health, Physiotherapy and Sport (opened in 2016); Steel and rolling mill. – Differdange Castle, built in 1577 on the site of a burnt-out castle, now serves as the European branch of the University of Miami, USA.
Dudelange
Dudelange, French Dudelange [dy DLA ː ʒ ], city in the canton of Esch-sur-Alzette, Südluxemburg, 290 m above sea level (2,019) 21,100 residents.
City Museum; Galvanizing, mechanical engineering, steel processing. The Minette iron ore mines are exhausted.
Radio Luxembourg’s 214 m high television station (built in 1955).
Pétange
Pétange, French Pétange [pe tã ʒ ], municipality in the canton Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg, (2019) 19 100 residents; Iron and steel processing.
Luxembourg City
Luxembourg, capital and residence of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, on the Alzette, with (2019) 119,200 residents.
The city is the seat of numerous EU institutions (including the European Court of Justice) and an important financial center. The Gothic cathedral Notre-Dame and the church Saint-Michel (17th century) as well as the grand ducal palace (1572) are worth seeing. The Kirchberg plateau in the northeast of the city, where most of the EU institutions are located, shows the modern side of Luxembourg.
