Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France to the south. Its capital, Luxembourg City, is one of the four official capitals of the European Union and the seat of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the highest judicial authority in the EU. Its culture, people, and languages are highly intertwined with its neighbors, making it a mixture of French and German cultures. It has three official languages: French, German, and the national language of Luxembourgish.
The history of Luxembourg consists of the history of the country of Luxembourg and its geographical area.
The politics of Luxembourg takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, whereby the Prime Minister of Luxembourg is the head of government, and the multi-party system. Executive power is under the constitution of 1868, as amended, exercised by the government, by the Grand Duke and the Council of Government (cabinet), which consists of a prime minister and several other ministers. Usually, the prime minister is the leader of the political party or coalition of parties having the most seats in parliament. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has long been a prominent supporter of European political and economic integration. In 1921, Luxembourg and Belgium formed the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU) to create an inter-exchangeable currency and a common customs regime. Post-war, Luxembourg became a founding member state of the United Nations, and dropped its policy of neutrality to become a founding member state of NATO. Luxembourg expanded its support for European integration, becoming a founding member state of the Benelux Economic Union, and one of the "inner six" founding member states of the three European Communities; the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), and the European Economic Community (EEC). Subsequently, Luxembourg became a founding member state of the European Union (EU) when the EEC and ECSC were incorporated into it in 1993. Luxembourg is a founding member of the Schengen Area, abolishing internal borders amongst its member states, named after the Luxembourg village where the original agreement — since incorporated into EU law — was signed in 1985. At the same time, the majority of Luxembourgers have consistently believed that European unity makes sense only in the context of a dynamic transatlantic relationship, and thus have traditionally pursued a pro-NATO, pro-US foreign policy.
Luxembourgish is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 600,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide.
Luxembourg, also known as Luxembourg City, is the capital city of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the country's most populous commune. Standing at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers in southern Luxembourg, the city lies at the heart of Western Europe, situated 213 km (132 mi) by road from Brussels, 372 km (231 mi) from Paris, and 209 km (130 mi) from Cologne. The city contains Luxembourg Castle, established by the Franks in the Early Middle Ages, around which a settlement developed.
The Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg constitutes the House of Luxembourg-Nassau, headed by the sovereign Grand Duke, and in which the throne of the grand duchy is hereditary. It consists of heirs and descendants of the House of Nassau-Weilburg, whose sovereign territories passed cognatically from the House of Nassau to a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon-Parma, itself a branch of the Spanish Royal House which is agnatically a cadet branch of the House of Capet that originated in France. This is descended from the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians.
Esch-sur-Alzette is a commune with town status in south-western Luxembourg. It is the country's second "city", and its second-most populous commune, with a population of 35,040 inhabitants, as of 2018. It lies in the south-west of the country, on the border with France and in the valley of the Alzette, which flows through the town. The town is usually referred to as just Esch; however, the full name distinguishes it from the village and commune of Esch-sur-Sûre which lies 45 kilometres further north. The country's capital, Luxembourg City, is roughly 15 km (9.3 mi) to the north-east.
Henri is Grand Duke of Luxembourg, reigning since 7 October 2000. He is the eldest son of Grand Duke Jean and Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium, and a first cousin of King Philippe of Belgium.
Jean-Claude Juncker is a Luxembourgish politician who served as the 23rd Prime Minister of Luxembourg from 1995 to 2013, as Minister for Finances from 1989 to 2009, and as President of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019.
The Christian Social People's Party, abbreviated to CSV or PCS, is the largest political party in Luxembourg. The party follows a Christian-democratic ideology and, like most parties in Luxembourg, is strongly pro-European. The CSV is a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and the Centrist Democrat International (CDI).
The Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party, abbreviated to LSAP or POSL, is a social-democratic, pro-European political party in Luxembourg.
The Luxembourg national football team is the national football team of Luxembourg, and is controlled by the Luxembourg Football Federation. The team plays most of its home matches at the Stade Josy Barthel in Luxembourg City.
Stade Josy Barthel is the national stadium of Luxembourg, home to the Luxembourg national football team and also used for rugby union and athletics. It is located on route d'Arlon, in the Luxembourg City quarter of Belair.
.lu is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Luxembourg. .lu domains are administered by RESTENA. Since 1 February 2010, the administrative contact no longer needs to be based in Luxembourg.
The Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois is the national railway company of Luxembourg. In 2013, it carried approximately 25 million passengers and 804 million tonnes of goods. The company employs 3,090 people, making CFL the country's seventh-largest corporate employer.
Xavier Bettel is a Luxembourg politician who has been Prime Minister of Luxembourg since 2013. He has previously served as Mayor of Luxembourg City, and was also a Member of the Chamber of Deputies.
Trek–Segafredo is a professional road bicycle racing team at UCI WorldTeam level licensed in the United States. Formerly RadioShack–Nissan, in 2014, Trek took over the ownership of the team and its ProTeam License.
The involvement of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in World War II began with its invasion by German forces on 10 May 1940 and lasted beyond its liberation by Allied forces in late 1944 and early 1945.
The Holocaust in Luxembourg refers to the systematic persecution, expulsion and murder of Jews in Luxembourg after its occupation and later annexation by Nazi Germany. It is generally believed that the Jewish population of Luxembourg had numbered around 3,500 before the war although many fled into France at the time of the German invasion of 10 May 1940 or in the early months of the occupation. Around 1,000 to 2,500 were murdered during the Holocaust after being deported to ghettos and extermination camps in Eastern Europe.
