About the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg – Luxembourg American Cultural Society

Despite its small size – 2,586 km2 and home to 576,000 inhabitants – the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a sovereign state with a rich history. Nestled between France, Belgium and Germany in the heart of Europe, it has been involved in the great European developments.

The turbulent past of the Grand Duchy is a true mirror of European history. During the Middle Ages, its princes wore the crown of the Holy Roman Empire. In Early Modern Times, its fortress was a major bone of contention in the battle between the great powers.

Before achieving independence in the 19th century, Luxembourg belonged successively to the Counts and Dukes of Luxembourg, the Dukes of Burgundy, the Kings of Spain, the Kings of France, the Emperors of Austria and Kings of the Netherlands. During the 20th century, this wealthy and dynamic country acted as a catalyst in the unification of Europe.

Everything You Need to Know about the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

Click below for a downloadable publication by the Luxembourg Government that gives an overview of every aspect of this country in the heart of Europe.

About Luxembourg Publication

Key dates in the history of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

962	Creation of the Holy Roman Empire by Otto I
963	Count Siegfried acquires the small fort Lucilinburhuc through an exchange act with the abbey of St Maximin in Trier, and makes it the seat of his county.
1308	Henry VII, Count of Luxembourg, is elected King of Germany. He is crowned Emperor in Rome in 1312.
1310	Marriage of John the Blind to Elisabeth, heiress to the Kingdom of Bohemia. The Counts of Luxembourg become Kings of Bohemia.
1337	Start of the Hundred Years War
1354	Emperor Charles IV elevates the County of Luxembourg to the rank of Duchy and cedes it to his half-brother Wenceslas I.
1364	With the definitive acquisition of the County of Chiny, the possessions of the Dukes of Luxembourg reach their greatest extent (10,000km²)
1388	Wenceslas II mortgages the Duchy of Luxembourg to his cousin Jobst of Moravia.
1437	Death of Sigismond, last Emperor of the House of Luxembourg
1443	The Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, conquers the town of Luxembourg. The Duchy of Luxembourg falls under the rule of the Netherlands. This marks the beginning of four centuries of foreign domination.
1555	Abdication of Charles V in favour of his son Philip II. The Netherlands and the Duchy of Luxembourg pass into the hands of the Spanish Habsburgs.
1659	Under the Treaty of the Pyrenees, Spain cedes the southern part of the Duchy of Luxembourg, including the town of Thionville, to France.
1661	Start of the personal reign of Louis XIV
1684	After a siege directed by Vauban, the troops of Louis XIV take the city and fortress of Luxembourg. Important fortification works are carried out.
1697	Under the Treaty of Ryswick, Louis XIV is obliged to return the Duchy of Luxembourg to Spain.
1701-1714	War of the Spanish Succession
1715	Following the War of the Spanish Succession, the provinces of the Netherlands are assigned to Charles VI of Austria. Luxembourg falls under Austrian control.
1795	After a siege of over seven months by French Revolutionary troops, the fortress surrenders. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg becomes the ‘Département des Forêts’.
1798	Uprisings in the country against the introduction of general military service and the anti-religious policy of the Directory (‘Klëppelkrich’ – cudgel war).
1804	Introduction of the Napoleonic Code throughout the country, at the time the French Republic’s Département des Forêts
1815	Congress of Vienna. Creation of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg assigned in personal union to William I, King of the Netherlands. Territorial division: the Luxembourg territories of the Eifel and the other side of the Moselle, the Sûre and the Our are allocated to Prussia. As a member of the German Confederation, Luxembourg becomes a federal fortress and home to a Prussian garrison.
1830	Start of the Belgian Revolution
1839	Treaty of London. Luxembourg is split in two, its western part going to Belgium, while its eastern part continues to make up the Grand Duchy. Luxembourg acquires its current geographical form (2,586km²).
1842	Luxembourg joins the Zollverein, establishing economic union with Prussia which was to last until 1918. Discovery of mineral deposits in the south of the country.
1848	Luxembourg acquires a constitution guaranteeing the freedoms and fundamental rights of its citizens.
1867	Treaty of London. The Grand Duchy obtains the status of a perpetually neutral and disarmed state. The Prussian garrison leaves the fortress, which is dismantled.
1870	The apostolic vicariate is elevated to the rank of bishopric of Luxembourg by Pope Pius IX. Establishment of the first steelworks in the mining area.
1871	Creation of the German Empire (Second Reich)
1886	Birth of Robert Schuman, the ‘father of Europe’, in Luxembourg City.
1890	Accession to the throne of Grand Duke Adolphe of Nassau-Weilburg. Luxembourg obtains its own dynasty.
1902-1914	Birth of three parties — socialist, liberal, and Christian-social — which will determine political life in the 20th century.
1911	Creation of ARBED, which was to become the leading iron- and steel-making group in the Grand Duchy.
1912	Accession to the throne of Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde, the first sovereign to be born in the Grand Duchy since John the Blind
1914-1918	First World War
1914	On 2 August 1914, German troops invade the Grand Duchy, violating the neutrality granted by the Treaty of London.
1919	Abdication of Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde in favour of her sister, Charlotte. Introduction of universal suffrage.Double referendum: 80% of the Luxembourg people vote in favour of maintaining the dynasty, and 73% in favour of an economic union with France.
1920	France having refused the Luxembourg offer, Luxembourg enters into negotiations with Belgium.
1921	The Grand Duchy signs the convention instituting the Belgo-Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU) with Belgium and adopts the Belgian franc as their common currency.
1929	Referendum on the ‘Muzzle Law’
1939-1945	Second World War
1940	On 10 May 1940, neutral Luxembourg is invaded by the German army. Grand Duchess Charlotte and the Government go into exile.
1944	On 10 September 1944, Luxembourg City is liberated by the Americans.
1944-1945	The Battle of the Bulge devastates the north and east of the country following the counter-offensive of the Germans.
1947	Ratification of the Benelux Convention, instituting a customs union between Belgium, the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
1949	Having abandoned its neutrality (1948), Luxembourg joins NATO.
1951	Luxembourg is one of the founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), forerunner of the European Union.
1952	The city of Luxembourg is appointed the provisional seat of the first European community.
1957	Alongside Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany and France, Luxembourg signs the Treaties of Rome establishing the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom).
1963	Issue of the first eurobonds listed in Luxembourg. The rise of the euro markets triggers the growth of the financial centre during the 1960s.
1964	Abdication of Grand Duchess Charlotte in favour of her eldest son, Jean
1973	First oil crisis. The ensuing crisis hits the Luxembourg economy head-on.
1981	Closure of the country’s last iron ore mine
1984	Lëtzebuergesch becomes the national language.
1985	Pope John Paul II, on a visit to the Grand Duchy, elevates it to the rank of archbishopric.
1986	Charlemagne Prize awarded to the people of Luxembourg in recognition of its commitment to the European cause.
1989	Collapse of the Berlin Wall
1992	The European summit in Edinburgh confirms Luxembourg City as the seat of the Community institutions alongside Brussels and Strasbourg.
1997	Definitive shut-down of the last blast furnace in the Grand Duchy. Steel production is henceforth limited to electric arc furnaces.
2000	Abdication of Grand Duke Jean in favour of his son, Henri.
2002	The euro enters into circulation and replaces the Luxembourg franc.
2003	Golden Lion for best pavilion at the Venice Biennale awarded to Chinese-Luxembourgish artist Su-Mei Tse
2005	National referendum in favour of the draft Constitution for Europe
2007	After 1995, Luxembourg City becomes European Capital of Culture for the second time, this time in association with the Greater Region.
2014	Luxembourg wins its first Oscar in 2014 for the animated film Mr Hublot (Zeilt Productions)
2014	The Grand Duchy celebrates 175 years of independence.