Luxembourg
- Also called:
- Letzeburg
Luxembourg, city, capital of Luxembourg, located in the south-central part of the country. Luxembourg city is situated on a sandstone plateau into which the Alzette River and its tributary, the Petrusse, have cut deep winding ravines. Within a loop of the Alzette, a rocky promontory called the Bock (Bouc) forms a natural defensive position where the Romans and later the Franks built a fort, around which the medieval town developed. The purchase of this castle in 963 ce by Siegfried, count of Ardennes, marked the beginning of Luxembourg as an independent entity. The castle’s old name, Lucilinburhuc (“Little Fortress”), is the origin of the name Luxembourg.
The old town consists of Luxembourg Castle’s surviving fortifications, the Grand Ducal Palace, Notre-Dame Cathedral (the construction of which was begun by the Jesuits in 1613 and completed in 1621), and other historic buildings. The city eventually spread westward, and the suburbs of Grund, Clausen, and Pfaffenthal developed in lower-lying sections across the Alzette from the old town. These sections are linked by several bridges.
Over a 400-year period, Luxembourg Castle was repeatedly attacked and rebuilt—by the Spaniards, Austrians, French, and Dutch, successively—to become the strongest fortress in Europe after Gibraltar. One such reinforcement was undertaken by the French military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, who redesigned the city’s defensive fortifications after having orchestrated its siege in 1684 in the service of Louis XIV.
From after the Congress of Vienna (1815) to 1866, the fortress was garrisoned by the Prussians as a bulwark of the German Confederation. With the Treaty of London, in 1867, Luxembourg was declared neutral, and the fortress, containing 15 miles (24 km) of casements, three battlements with 24 forts, and an extensive (10-acre [4-hectare]) area of military barracks, was largely dismantled, an operation that took 16 years. Today visitors can tour the remaining 7 miles (11 km) of casements or view the modern city below from the Chemin de la Corniche, a promontory built atop the old town wall.
The Grand Ducal Palace is home to the royal family, heirs of William I (1772–1843), king of the Netherlands and grand duke of Luxembourg (1815–40). The palace dates from 1572, and later additions were made in 1895. After renovations were completed in the 1990s, portions of the palace were opened to the public.
Notre-Dame Cathedral, a Gothic-style church, contains the tomb of John the Blind, king of Bohemia and count of Luxembourg from 1310 to 1346. Several members of the royal family and noted bishops are buried in the crypt.
The heart of the old town is the Fish Market (Marché-aux-Poissons), around which stand several 17th- and 18th-century buildings, including the mansion housing the Luxembourg National Museum (National Museum of History and Art). Um Bock, a 13th-century building and the city’s oldest, is also located at the Fish Market. Among the city’s other cultural institutions are the Villa Vauban–Museum of the Art of the City of Luxembourg, MUDAM Luxembourg (Grand Duke Jean Museum of Modern Art), the Museum of the History of the City of Luxembourg, and the National Museum of Natural History. At the town of Hamm, 4 miles (6 km) to the east, is a World War II military cemetery with the graves of more than 5,000 U.S. soldiers, including those of Brig. Gen. Edward Betts and Gen. George S. Patton, Jr.
Luxembourg has long been a major road and railway hub. In the 20th century the city became a thriving financial centre, owing to banking laws that keep investors’ identities confidential and allow the accounts of foreign nationals to earn interest tax-free. Luxembourg is the seat of the European Investment Bank, the European Court of Justice, and several other administrative offices of the European Union. In 1994 the old town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. Pop. (2011 est.) commune, 94,034; urban agglom., 136,816.