Enjoy
LUXEMBOURG
The country is half the size of Chicago cemetery - and twice as boring! It is a frequently used teasing remark about the small country. And like everything else of that sort is obviously not fair and just!
Luxembourg is at 2586 kv.km - or slightly smaller than the Danish island of Funen. About 530,000 inhabitants live in the country. A very large part is not born in the country. It is actually 44% of the residents,
who are citizens of 170 other countries. So the country is very internationally influenced. The 11,000 of them are working for EU institutions in the country (especially the Commission, Parliament, the European Court of Justice, the European Investment Bank
and the EU Court of Auditors).
Luxembourg became independent in 1890 after several years of personal union with The Netherlands. The country was
invaded by Germany during both the 1st and 2nd World War. Hitler went so far that he made it a province of his Greater Germany under the name Moselland.It was forbidden
to use the word Luxembourg. Therefore, young men in Luxembourg were, of course, forced to be soldiers in the German army.
It was American troops
who liberated Luxembourg in 1944-45. The US General Omar Bradley had his headquarters in the building at the Place d'Armes, where the EU Coal and Steel Union later started
in 1951. There is a plate on the building today. Now it is a private insurance company building.
Another
famous American general George Patton, was so fond of the country, he settled there after the war. It was not to last for long, as he is already in the autumn of 1945
was fatally injured by a runaway fruit cart in the town of Vianden, as he walked on the street. He demanded to be buried in Luxembourg.
When we
talk about personalities, it must of course be mentioned that one of the EU's founding fathers, Robert Schuman (1886-1963), born in Luxembourg. His birthplace is now a
museum that can be visited. The address is in the district of Clausen in Luxembourg City.
Luxembourg has otherwise over the years contributed
with three Presidents of the European Commission: Gaston Thorn (1981-85), Jacques Santer (1995-99) and Jean-Claude Juncker (from 2014). All three were former prime ministers in the country.
Luxembourg has three official languages: Letzebürgisch (which is a kind of German dialect, which only recently have been made also for a written language), French and German. The country's largest newspaper,
Luxemburger Wort, is almost entirely written in German.
The capital Luxembourg is very beautiful
with large level shifts. The central parts of the city from the main station and down towards the Place d'Armes and especially on the other side of the gorge, where the Grand Ducal Palace is located, is very cozy. Lots
of tempting restaurants and bars, where a cold local Boefferding beer or a chilled glass of Moselle wine does not do much damage to J.
Speaking of the Grand Duke, as I had in my time
as director in the Commission his younger brother as an intern for a period. He was a nice, quiet guy. I would incidentally also have had Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark as an intern. But
he came for different reasons instead to the UN in New York for a period.
EU institutions are for the most part placed on Kirchberg, a hill in
the northern part of the city. The impressive European Bridge / Pont de l'Europe leads directly there from inside the city center.
You will also
quickly notice that the country is filled with hundreds of banks. Its banking legislation has tempted them there over the years. But after various unfortunate revelations, the terms have been tightened, so their role will certainly be smaller in future.
A very well known company in Luxembourg Villeroy & Boch. A serious competitor
to Royal Copenhagen. It makes great stuff.
The
rest of the country Luxembourg is a very, very nice area. It is furnished by impressive roads everywhere. It is strongly recommended to go on a trip around 10 km to the south – to the banks of the Moselle river. It forms the border with Germany and further west also to France. The small town of Schengen is precisely
where the three countries meet. And it was here that the EU countries in 1985 on board a ship on the river made the Schengen agreement on no border controls between the participating countries from 1995. A little further
east along the Luxembourg side of the river you can find the one vineyard after another. One can even without great difficulty have some tastings of the noble beverage.
From here you can drive north, for example. town Echternach close to the German border. It has an impressive cathedral - and again, is well equipped with small tempting places specialising in food of many kinds. Clairvaux further to the northwest is worth a visit too.
If you want to know more about this
small, cozy and very European country, you can look it up here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg
Niels Jørgen Thøgersen
April 2016
niels4europe@gmail.com