Luxembourg is a tiny landlocked country in western Europe, wedged between Belgium, France, and Germany, and one of the smallest and wealthiest nations in the world. A grand duchy, the only sovereign one remaining, it grew from a mighty fortress on a rocky promontory into a prosperous modern state and a founding member of the European Union, several of whose institutions it hosts. Despite its small size, it has played an outsized role in European history and politics.
Luxembourg began as a small county around a fortress founded in the tenth century, but it rose to prominence in the Middle Ages when the House of Luxembourg produced several Holy Roman Emperors, including Charles the Fourth. Its formidable fortress, perched on steep cliffs, earned it the name the Gibraltar of the North and made it a prize fought over by Europe's great powers, which ruled it in turn. It became an independent grand duchy in the nineteenth century and, after occupation in two world wars, helped found a united Europe.
Luxembourg is small and green, divided into two natural regions. The rugged, forested hills and deep valleys of the Ardennes, known here as the Oesling, cover the north, while the gentler, more fertile lowlands of the Gutland, meaning good land, spread across the south, holding most of the population and farmland. Rivers, including the Moselle along the German border with its terraced vineyards, wind through the countryside, and the capital sits dramatically atop the cliffs and gorges of its old fortress.
The flag of Luxembourg has three horizontal bands of red, white, and light blue, closely resembling the flag of the Netherlands, with which it shares a history, though Luxembourg's blue is a lighter shade. The colours derive from the coat of arms of the grand duchy, which features a red lion on white and blue stripes. Because of the similarity to the Dutch flag, Luxembourg also uses a separate red-lion banner for some purposes.
Luxembourg is historically a Roman Catholic country, and Catholicism long shaped its culture, calendar, and institutions, with the great majority of the population traditionally belonging to the Church. As across western Europe, religious practice has declined and the society has grown more secular, and the state formally separated from organised religion in recent years. Its highly international population has also brought a greater variety of faiths to this small but cosmopolitan country.
Luxembourg's cuisine reflects its position between France and Germany, often described as combining French refinement with German heartiness. The national dish is judd mat gaardebounen, smoked pork collar served with broad beans, a hearty country meal. River fish, game, and rich stews feature in traditional cooking, alongside French-influenced fine dining in the cosmopolitan capital. The terraced vineyards of the Moselle valley produce respected white and sparkling wines that accompany the table.
Agriculture occupies a small part of Luxembourg's highly developed, finance-driven economy, but it remains a feature of the green countryside. The fertile lowlands of the south support the growing of grains and the raising of dairy and beef cattle, while the slopes of the Moselle valley are given over to vineyards producing the country's well-regarded wines. Farming is modern and efficient, on a scale suited to one of the smallest countries on the continent.
The rise of the House of Luxembourg to the imperial throne, and the centuries when its great fortress made it a coveted military stronghold, mark the heights of its history. After gaining independence and surviving occupation in both world wars, Luxembourg reinvented itself, helping to found the European project and becoming one of the capitals of the European Union. Its transformation into a global financial centre made it, by some measures, the richest country in the world per person.
Luxembourg has a population of around 660,000 people, but it is one of the most international societies on Earth: nearly half of its residents are foreign nationals, drawn by its prosperity and its role as a European hub. The country is remarkable for being trilingual, with Luxembourgish, French, and German all in official use in daily life. Most people live in or around the capital, Luxembourg City, a small but globally significant centre of finance and European governance.
