Luxembourgers in Chicago are an ethnic group in the Chicago area. [1]
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The first Luxembourgers to come to Chicago immigrated in either 1842 [2] or 1846 [3] along Ridge Road [4] in Edgewater [5] which was just north of Chicago at the time. In 1871, just after the Great Chicago Fire parishioners of St. Michael's Church in Chicago formed the first Luxembourgish-American organization in the United States, the Luxemburger Unterstützungsverein (Luxembourg Mutual Aid Society). [6] Other organizations followed such as the Luxembourg Brotherhood. Many Luxembourgers were Roman Catholics, and the first initial wave of immigrants lived alongside Germans in places like Old Town, later seeking to distinguish themselves from the Germans. [7] After the fire, they moved further north to areas like Rogers Park. [8] In 1880, there were approximately 500-700 Luxembourgers in Chicago [9] and by 1900, that number had ballooned to about 16,000. [10] The majority of the immigrants came from the Moselle river area, [11] which borders Germany.
Chicago has the largest population of ethnic Luxembourgers outside of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg itself. [12]
Many Luxembourgers became involved in the growing of plants in greenhouses, so much so that by 1910, most of the 100 greenhouses in Chicago were owned by Luxembourgish Americans. [14] [15] [16] Some are still in operation to the present day. [17]
"Ons Heemecht" is the national anthem of Luxembourg. Written by Michel Lentz in 1859 and set to music by Jean Antoine Zinnen in 1864, it is performed at national celebrations, while the royal anthem, or, more accurately, the grand ducal anthem, "De Wilhelmus", is performed at entrances or exits of members of the Grand Ducal Family.
Rogers Park is the first of Chicago's 77 community areas. Located 9 miles (14 km) from the Loop, it is on the city's far north side on the shore of Lake Michigan. The neighborhood is culturally diverse and features green spaces, early 20th century architecture, live theater, bars, restaurants, and beaches. It is bounded by the city of Evanston along Juneway Terrace and Howard Street to the north, Ridge Boulevard to the west, Devon Avenue and the Edgewater neighborhood to the south, and Lake Michigan to the east. The neighborhood just to the west, West Ridge, was part of Rogers Park until the 1890s and is still sometimes referred to as West Rogers Park. In the early 1900s, what is now Loyola University Chicago became established at the south eastern end of the community area along the lake.
Edmond de la Fontaine, better known by his pen name of Dicks, was a Luxembourgish jurist, poet, and lyricist, known for his work in the Luxembourgish language. He is considered the national poet of Luxembourg, and along with Michel Lentz and Michel Rodange, one of the most important figures in the history of Luxembourgian literature. In addition, his Luxemburger Sitten und Bräuche was one of the most influential early ethnographies on the Luxembourgian people.
Luxembourg has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 38 times since its debut at the first contest in 1956. The nation participated in all but one event between 1956 and 1993, only missing the 1959 contest. After finishing among the bottom seven countries in 1993, Luxembourg was relegated and prevented from competing in 1994. The nation did not return to the contest in 1995, and would make no further appearances over the next three decades. The country returned to the event for the first time in 31 years in 2024, qualifying for the final.
Luxembourgers are an ethnic group native to their nation state of Luxembourg, where they make up around half of the population. They share the culture of Luxembourg and speak Luxembourgish, a West Germanic language.
The culture of Luxembourg refers to the cultural life and traditions of Luxembourg. Most citizens are trilingual, speaking French and German in addition to the Germanic national language of Luxembourgish. Although its contributions to the arts are not largely known outside its borders, Luxembourg has a rich cultural history, especially in music, painting and photography. Its evolving museums, concert halls, theatres and galleries testify to its citizens' growing appreciation of culture.
The University of Luxembourg is a public research university in Luxembourg.
The history of the Jews in Luxembourg dates back to the 1200s. There are roughly 1,200 Jews in Luxembourg, and Jews form one of the largest and most important religious and ethnic minority communities in Luxembourg historically.
Luxembourger Americans are Americans of Luxembourgish ancestry. According to the United States' 2000 census, there were 45,139 Americans of full or partial Luxembourgish descent. In 1940, the number of Americans with Luxembourgish ancestry was around 100,000.
St. Michael's Church in the Old Town neighborhood of Chicago is a Roman Catholic church staffed by the Redemptorist order of priests. The parish was founded to minister to German and Luxembourgish Catholic immigrants in 1852 with its first wooden church completed that year at a cost of $750. The building stands at the intersection of Eugenie Street and Cleveland Avenue. The church was built as a haven for German immigrants who were outcasts in Old Chicago. In addition, the town's main church, St. Joseph's Church, was overcrowded. The Redemptorists were invited to administer the parish in 1860 and a large brick church was finished in 1869. When completed, its tower made it the tallest building in Chicago and the United States, a distinction it held until the old Chicago Board of Trade Building was completed in 1885.
Multilingualism is a part of everyday life for the population of Luxembourg. Legally and socially, different sectors of Luxembourg use French, German, and Luxembourgish, which is a variety of Moselle Franconian, partially mutually intelligible with the neighbouring High German but with a large number of loanwords from French. Additionally, most citizens learn English and may study other languages as well. A substantial immigrant population has brought numerous immigrant languages to the small state, notably Portuguese, which is spoken by more than one-fifth of the population. However, the different languages are used in different social situations.
Luxembourgish Brazilians refers to Brazilian citizens of full, partial, or predominantly Luxembourgish ancestry, or Luxembourg-born immigrants in Brazil.
When Luxembourg was invaded and annexed by Nazi Germany in 1940, a national consciousness started to emerge. From 1941 onwards, the first resistance groups formed in secret, operating underground and in defiance of the German occupation. Their covert activities included aiding political refugees and those evading conscription into the German forces, as well as disseminating patriotic leaflets to bolster the Luxembourgish population's spirits.
Johannes Olav Fallize, Ph.D., D.Th., was the first Roman Catholic bishop in Norway since the Reformation. As the head of the Catholic Church of Norway for 35 years, he was the Prefect Apostolic of Norway from 1887 to 1892 and the Vicar Apostolic of Norway from 1892 to 1922.
Vicky Krieps is a Luxembourgish-German actress. She has appeared in a number of American, Luxembourgish, French and German productions. Her breakout role was in the period film Phantom Thread (2017).
Volt Luxembourg is a political party in Luxembourg. It is an internal section of Volt Europa and was founded in 2018. It received 2.11% of the vote in the 2019 European elections, which meant that the party did not win a mandate.
The Luxembourg Brotherhood of America, (L.B.A.) is the oldest Luxembourg-American organization in the United States. It was founded in 1887 as a fraternal organization on Chicago's south side. Today, it consists of four sections located in the Chicago area and is dedicated to maintaining strong ties between the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg and its American emigrants and their descendants.
Events in the year 2023 in Luxembourg.
Henri Koch-Kent was a Luxembourgish publicist author, historian, active in the Luxembourgish Resistance during World War II.
Christos Floros is a Greek-born Luxembourgish politician, civil rights campaigner and architect. He is a member of the Democratic Party (DP). He was a candidate in the 2024 European Elections for Member of the European Parliament.