Grand Duchy of Luxembourg of Duchy Grand Everything you need to know know needto you Everything Geography History about the Political system National symbols Economy Population Languages Education Culture Publisher Information and Press Service of the Luxembourg Government, Publishing Department Translator Marianne Chalmers Layout Repères Communication Printing Imprimerie OSSA ISBN 978-2-87999-206-8 April 2010 All statistics in this brochure are provided by Statec, unless otherwise stated. Table of contents of Table 4 6 8 12 14 16 18 20 24 26 History Culture Economy Education Population Languages Geography At a glance a glance At Political system system Political National symbols National Everything you need to know about the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg of Duchy about the Grand know need to you Everything Official designation Territory Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Administrative division Capital • 3 districts (Luxembourg, Diekirch, Luxembourg Grevenmacher) • 12 cantons (Capellen, Clervaux, Diekirch, National day Echternach, Esch-sur-Alzette, Grevenmacher, 23 June Luxembourg, Mersch, Redange-sur-Attert, Remich, Vianden, Wiltz) Currency • 116 municipalities Euro • 4 electoral constituencies (South, East, Centre, North) Geography Judicial division At a glance At Geographical coordinates • 2 judicial districts (Luxembourg, Diekirch) comprising 3 magistrates’ courts Latitude 49° 37’ North and longitude 6° 08’ East (Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Diekirch) Area 2,586 km2, of which 86% is farmland or forest Population (2008) Total population Neighbouring countries 502,066 inhabitants, including 215,550 foreign Belgium, Germany, France residents representing 42.9% of the total population (January 2010) Climate Luxembourg enjoys a temperate climate without Most densely populated towns extremes of temperature. Average temperatures Luxembourg (90,800 inhabitants) range between 0° C in January and 18° C in July. Esch-sur-Alzette (30,100 inhabitants) Differdange (21,500 inhabitants) (January 2010) Languages National language Lëtzebuergesch Administrative languages French, German, Lëtzebuergesch Everything you need to know about the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg of Duchy about the Grand know need to you Everything 4 Political system UsefUL aDDresses Form of government Service information et presse Parliamentary democracy within the framework du gouvernement of a constitutional monarchy (Information and Press Service of the Government) Head of state 33, boulevard F.D. Roosevelt L-2450 Luxembourg HRH Grand Duke Henri Tel.: (+352) 247-82181 (acceded to the throne on 7 October 2000) [email protected] www.gouvernement.lu Service central de la statistique et des études économiques (Statec) (Central Service for Statistics and Economic Studies) Centre administratif Pierre Werner 13, rue Érasme L-1468 Luxembourg Tel.: (+352) 247-84219 [email protected] District Luxembourg www.statistiques.lu Clervaux District Diekirch Office national du tourisme District Grevenmacher (National Tourist Office) Gare centrale Place de la Gare Vianden L-1616 Luxembourg Wiltz Tel.: (+352) 42 82 82 20 [email protected] Diekirch www.visitluxembourg.lu Redange- Reference websites www.luxembourg.lu sur-Attert Echternach Mersch www.promoteluxembourg.com www.etat.lu Grevenmacher BELGIUM Capellen Luxembourg GERMANY Remich Esch-sur-Alzette FRANCE 5 The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is located at the The area on the boundary between Oesling and heart of Western Europe between Belgium, Germany Guttland is one of the country’s prime agricultural and France. It has two natural regions: Oesling in regions on account of its rich and varied soils. the north and Guttland, comprising the Moselle • Guttland (“good country”), in the south and centre valley in the east and the mineral basin in the south. of the country, occupies along with the capital the The total area of the country is 2,586 km2, with remainder of the territory (68%). It is made up Oesling covering 828 km2 and Guttland 1,758 km2. essentially of fields and forests and comprises the following main regions: The capital - Luxembourg’s sandstone plateau is the dominant feature of Guttland, where some of the country’s Luxembourg City lies 300 m above sea level. The finest forests are to be found. capital offers a striking contrast between the modern - Marly depressions are the largest and most town perched on a rocky plateau with a sheer drop characteristic feature of the Guttland landscape. and the three old quarters of Grund, Clausen and They extend to the foot of the Dogger and Pfaffenthal. Geography Luxembourg sandstone escarpments and are The quarter housing the European institutions has made up of wide valleys. Over two thirds of this been located on the Kirchberg plateau to the north- area is given over to farming. east of the city since the 1960s. - The Moselle valley is the most impressive in Luxembourg both in terms of size and variety regions of landscapes. It is one of the country’s main tourist attractions, largely on account of its The variety of its landscapes is one of Luxembourg’s winemaking activities. greatest attractions. The country is divided into two - The Mullerthal region-Luxembourg’s Little main regions, Oesling and Guttland. Switzerland is located to the north of the Moselle • Oesling, in the north, forms part of the Ardennes valley along the border with Germany. Its massif and borders the German Eifel plateau. This main town, Echternach, is one of the oldest in wooded region covers one third of the country Luxembourg. (32%) and is a magnet for tourists. The highest - The Terres rouges (Red Lands) are situated to point in Luxembourg is situated in this region the south of the marly depressions. The area rising to 560 m at Wilwerdange. There are villages has been moulded by industry where iron on the uplands, as well as rivers and lakes. Oak ore has been extracted from the red earth, and pine forests cover the steep slopes. The hence the name “Minett” (from “minette”, the climate is harsher than in the rest of the country. designation for iron in the Lorraine) applied to The main towns in this region are Wiltz, Clervaux this region in Lëtzebuergesch. The main towns and Vianden. are Esch-sur-Alzette, the second-largest town in - The Troisvierges plateau in the north of Oesling the Grand Duchy, Differdange and Dudelange. is predominantly arable land with few forests. - The Valley of the Seven Castles boasts the castles It is the coldest and wettest area of Luxembourg. of Mersch, Schoenfels, Hollenfels, the two - The Ardennes plateau, crossed by rivers, south castles of Ansembourg and also Septfontaines of the Wiltz basin, is the most typical area of and Koerich, all within a 24 km area. They are Oesling, with landscapes rich in contrasting forms part of a landscape of meadows and old villages and colours, plateaus and forests. which is perfect walking country. Everything you need to know about the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg of Duchy about the Grand know need to you Everything 6 Climate administrative division UsefUL aDDresses Luxembourg does not have a clearly defined The country is divided into 3 districts (Luxembourg, climate; it ranges between the oceanic climate of Diekirch, Grevenmacher), 12 cantons, 116 munici­­ Office national du tourisme the Atlantic zone (small seasonal variations, mild palities and 4 electoral constituencies. (National Tourist Office) and wet winters) and the continental climate of The district of Luxembourg comprises the cantons Gare centrale Place de la Gare the eastern European plains (pronounced seasonal of Luxembourg, Capellen, Esch-sur-Alzette and variations, harsh winters and rainy summers). L-1616 Luxembourg Mersch; the district of Diekirch consists of Diekirch, Tel.: (+352) 42 82 82 20 Oceanic influence brings rain in all seasons and Clervaux, Redange-sur-Attert, Vianden and Wiltz; [email protected] continental influence brings biting, dry weather and the district of Grevenmacher is made up of www.visitluxembourg.lu in winter. The climate is temperate from May Grevenmacher, Echternach and Remich. to mid-October. July and August are the hottest District commissioners play a supervisory role months, but May and June frequently have more and act as intermediaries between government sunshine. Luxembourg often experiences its own and local authorities. version of an Indian summer in September and October. Average temperatures vary between 0° C in January and 18° C in July. In 2008, the average annual temperature was 9.7° C (source: Service météorologique de Luxembourg [Luxembourg Meteorological Service]). There are slight variations in temperature between the north and south of the country due to the difference in altitude, but these rarely exceed 2° C. river network The four largest rivers in the Grand Duchy are the Moselle, Sûre, Our and Alzette. The other rivers are the Mess, Mamer, Eisch, Attert and the Wark in the west; the Wiltz, Clerve and Blees in the © Christof Weber/SIP north; the White Ernz, Black Ernz, Syr and Gander in the east. The Pétrusse is a minor river running through the city of Luxembourg, before flowing into the Alzette. With the exception of the Chiers, which flows from the south-west of the country into the Meuse basin, Luxembourg’s rivers are tributaries of the Rhine basin by way of the Moselle. 7 Luxembourg’s origins North”, which European powers fought to control. In 1795, the French revolutionary armies conquered The name Luxembourg (Lucilinburhuc) first appears the stronghold. The country was annexed to France in around 963 in a deed of barter in which Count and became the Département des Forêts (Forests Siegfried acquired the abbey of St Maximin of Trier, Department). a small fort situated on the Bock promontory, a rocky outcrop dominating the Alzette valley. This fortified site became a foothold, allowing the Towards the birth counts of Luxembourg to accumulate territory over of an independent state the course of the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. The collapse of the Napoleonic empire in 1815 also History By the late 13th century, the County of Luxembourg occupied a vast area stretching from the Meuse had repercussions for the status of Luxembourg.