Luxembourg Facts

Facts about Luxembourg for Kids

Luxembourg for Kids: Vianden Castle - Moselle - Luxembourg City

Here are some interesting Luxembourg Facts for Kids which were chosen and researched by kids especially for kids.

Population: 626,000 people live in the country (2021)
Capital: Luxembourg City with 124,000 inhabitants
Name: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
Government: Democracy; unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Language: Luxembourgish, French and German
Religion: Mostly Christians - over 70%
Currency: 1 Euro = 100 cents, until 2002 Luxembourg Franc
National Day: 23 June
History: Luxembourg city was founded in 963 with a castle built by King Siegfried. In 1839, the country was split in two with the Treaty of London, when the western part of Luxembourg was added to the then young country of Belgium. In the second World War, Luxembourg was neutral, but still invaded by Germany.

National Symbols: golden rampant lion on the coat of arms, flag, anthem
National Flag: red, white and sky blue
Anthem: 'Ons Heemecht' (Our Homeland)

Luxembourg Map | Luxembourg Geography

Luxembourg is a small landlocked country in Western Europe. The capital city is called Luxembourg City.

Luxembourg shares borders with Belgium, France and Germany. The longest border is shared with Belgium. The Moselle Rivers forms the eastern border to Germany.

Luxembourg Geography Superlatives

Here are some more Luxembourg facts and geography superlatives:

The highest point in Luxembourg is at Wilwerdange. The small town in northern Luxembourg has the highest point of the country with 560 metres/ 1,837 ft.
The longest river in Luxembourg is the Sûre, also called Sauer which runs through the country over 137 km/ 85 miles.
The Haute-Sûre is the location of the largest lake of the country: Upper Sûre Lake.

Haute Sûr Lake

Luxembourg City is also one of the capitals of the European Union and also part of the Benelux Countries with Belgium and the Netherlands.
The country is the second richest country in the world after Monaco.
Luxembourg is the second smallest country of the European Union. Most of the country is covered by forests. The main towns are called Wiltz, Clervaux and Vianden.
Most people in Luxembourg are at least trilingual and many can speak more than three languages fluently.
Luxembourg is a founding member of the EU and NATO.
The Adolphe Bridge in Luxembourg City spans across the Petrusse Valley which is 50 m/ 164 ft deep. This is not the largest but most known landmark of the capital. The largest is the Red Bridge and the oldest the Viaduct Bridge.

Adolphe Bridge over the Petrusse Valley

Luxembourg is slightly smaller than the state of Rhode Island in the USA - or slightly smaller than the islands of Comoros or Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.

Luxembourg Facts
Tourist Attractions | Landmarks

Luxembourg City is known for its medieval fortress and the old town at the foot of the fortress.

The oldest bridge of Luxembourg City is the Viaduct Bridge with its 24 arches and 30 m/ 98 ft high pillars.

Viaduct Bridge

Explore the underground labyrinth 'Bock Casemates' which is a tunnel system that was carved out of rock in the 17th century when the Spanish ruled the area. This also gave Luxembourg the name 'Gibraltar of the North'!

The Moselle Valley, also spelt as Musel, at the border to Germany is a well-known wine region.

Moselle Wine Valley

Vianden Castle: There are many romantic castles and ruins in the small country but this one is probably the most favourite with families. The large medieval castle is one of the major attractions of the country and often named among the most beautiful castles in the world. In Vianden, you can even ride the chairlift up to a special platform and admire the city, valley and castle!

Vianden Castle

The scenic Mullerthal (or Mëllerdall) is also referred to as 'Little Switzerland' due to the rocky hillsides and rivers, waterfalls and streams.

Mullerthal

Red Lands or Land of the Red Rocks in the country's southwestern parts is a region where industry dominates and the largest towns such as Esch and Differdange are found.

Luxembourg Facts
Luxembourg People

Luxembourg has a monarch. Grand Duke Henri (born 1955) is married to Cuban born María Teresa and they have five children.

Luxembourg Duke and Duchess - image from Alexandros Michaelidis/shutterstock.com

Luxembourgs monarchs - image by Alexandros Michaelidis

Among the most famous Luxembourgers are:

Edward Steichen (1879-1973): photographer and former curator and photographic director of MoMA in New York
Anne Beffort (1880-1966): teacher and educator. The first woman in Luxembourg who gained a doctorate.
Jean-Claude Juncker (born 1954): former long-standing prime minister of Luxembourg and former president of the European Commission (until 2019)
Marc Girardelli (born 1963): alpine ski racer and one of the most celebrated top ten World Cup champions
Hugo Gernsback (1884-1967): writer and inventor, is often referred to as the "father of science fiction"
Lea Linster (born 1955): the only woman who earned a Bocuse d'Or (highest international culinary award)
Anise Koltz (born 1928): writer and poet

Luxembourg is a multicultural society. About people commute to work every day from the neighbouring countries. And there is a large international community coming from over 170 countries. In fact about half of the population are foreigners! The largest foreign community is Portuguese speaking (15%).

Luxembourg Langugage

Luxembourg has three official languages: Luxembourgish, French and German. French is the main language in the city while also English is spoken in many institutions and offices of the European Union that are based in the city.

The Luxembourgish or Lëtzebuergesch sounds a bit like Dutch and also is a mix of French and German.

Here some words in Luxembourgish:

Luxembourg City is a multilingual city and in many touristy places people not only speak French, Dutch and German but also English and some even Portuguese, Spanish or Italian. Luxembourg City is home to more foreigners (70%) than Luxembourg citizens!

Portuguese is one of the most spoken foreign community languages and mother tongue of almost 15% of the people! All children in Luxembourg learn at least three foreign languages at school.

Luxembourg Economy

Luxembourg is one of the co-founders of the European Union and the headquarters of many of the financial and legal institutions of the European Union are based in Luxembourg. Read more about the EU on our EU Facts page here.

The European Investment Bank is owned by the EU member states and based in Luxembourg.

Luxembourg European Investment Bank - image by nitpicker/shutterstock

Many international corporates have their headquarters in Luxembourg as the country offers the lowest company tax rates. Among the biggest companies in Luxembourg are the world's largest steelmaker Arcelor Mittal, Europe's largest broadcaster RTL (Radio Télévision Luxembourg) as well as Amazon, Paypal and Skype.

Luxembourg's main trading partners are France, Germany, and Belgium.

The main export products of Luxembourg are steel products, machinery, chemicals and diamonds.

Luxembourg Facts | Luxembourg Food

The Luxembourg cuisine is an international mix of foods from the region and neighbouring countries and those of the international residents.

French and German specialties can be found in many restaurants. Although many call food in Luxembourg calorie-rich and heavy, there are also lighter dishes which cater for vegetarians as well... though not the national dish: "Judd mat Gaardebounen".

Luxembourg's national dish: Pork neck and beans

Luxembourg's national dish "Judd mar Gaardebounen"

Here some typical Luxembourg food:

Judd mar Gaardebounen: boiled pork neck with broad beans and boiled potatoes
Bouneschlupp: green bean soup with potatoes, carrots, leek and sausage
Quetschentaart: shortcrust plum tart usually in round form - in contrary to the rectangular shape of the German "Zwetschgenkuchen" plum cake
Verwurrelter: sweet dough fritters - often eaten during the Carnival season

Luxembourg Facts | Resources

Luxembourg Government. "Luxembourg Demographics" Luxembourg. Last updated 5 February 2021. Last accessed 19 August 2021
Friends of Vianden Castle. "History". ViandenCastle. Last accessed 20 August 2021
Central Intelligence Agency. "Luxembourg." WorldFactBook. Last updated 16 August 2021. Last accessed 20 August 2021
Women in the Food Industry. "Interview with Chef Lea Linster". WomenintheFoodIndustry. Last updated 13 October 2019. Last accessed 20 August 2021

France Facts

Germany Facts

Picture Credits on Luxembourg Facts: All Pictures, own and if not otherwise mentioned from sxc.hu and shutterstock.com

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