Luxembourg

Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

A dismantled fortress turned financial centre and judicial capital of the Union, Luxembourg is the laboratory of European multilingualism.

Back to the map See the statistics Debates Related news

Heritage

The House of Luxembourg gave four emperors to the Holy Roman Empire, including Charles IV. The cathedral of Notre-Dame and the Octave pilgrimage still shape the civic year. Three official languages — Luxembourgish, French, German — coexist in administration, a unique case in the Union.

History

Founded in 963 around a castle on the Bock promontory, the county then duchy of Luxembourg gave the Holy Roman Empire several emperors in the fourteenth century. Its fortress, constantly strengthened by Burgundians, Spaniards, French and Austrians, earned it the nickname “Gibraltar of the North”.

The Treaty of London of 1867 required the dismantling of the stronghold and guaranteed the Grand Duchy's neutrality. Invaded in 1914 and 1940, the country abandoned that neutrality in 1949 by co-founding NATO.

A founding member of Benelux and then of the Communities, Luxembourg hosted from 1952 the ECSC High Authority, Europe's first supranational institution. The city today houses the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors and the European Investment Bank.

Milestones

963 Middle Ages

Foundation of Lucilinburhuc

Siegfried acquires a rock on the Alzette: the castle will give the country its name.

1354 Middle Ages

Elevation to duchy

Charles IV raises his native county to a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire.

1815 Early modern period

Creation of the Grand Duchy

The Congress of Vienna makes Luxembourg a sovereign state in personal union with the Netherlands.

1867 Early modern period

Treaty of London

The fortress is dismantled and the country’s neutrality guaranteed by the powers.

1949 European construction took part

Council of Europe

Ten states found in London the first European political organisation, matrix of the Convention on Human Rights.

1951 European construction took part

Treaty of Paris — ECSC

Six states create the European Coal and Steel Community, the continent’s first supranational institution.

1952 European construction

Seat of the High Authority

Europe’s first supranational institution settles in Luxembourg.

1957 European construction took part

Treaties of Rome

The EEC and Euratom are established; the common market and the four freedoms are laid down.

1968 European construction took part

Customs union

Internal tariffs disappear eighteen months ahead of schedule.

1985 European construction lead actor

Schengen Agreement

Five states sign on the Moselle an agreement progressively abolishing internal border controls.

1992 European construction took part

Maastricht Treaty

The European Union is created, with European citizenship and the timetable for the single currency.

1999 European construction took part

Birth of the euro

Eleven currencies are irrevocably fixed; the European Central Bank takes up its functions.

Political landscape

Results of the June 2024 European election and their translation into European Parliament groups.

CSV — Chrëschtlech Sozial Vollekspartei 2
DP — Demokratesch Partei 1
LSAP — Lëtzebuergesch Sozialistesch Aarbechterpartei 1
Gréng — Déi Gréng 1
ADR — Alternativ Demokratesch Reformpartei 1

Distribution of European seats

Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) 2
Renew Europe Group 1
Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament 1
Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance 1
European Conservatives and Reformists Group 1

Related news

All news →

Debates

Whole forum →

No discussion open yet.

The state in numbers

All the statistics →
Public debt, % of GDP 28.2 % 0.4 % GDP per head (EU = 100) 243.3 3.0 Government spending, % of GDP 49.1 % 2.3 % Total tax burden, % of GDP 42.2 % 0.3 % Prisoners per 100,000 people 93.5 1.9