Luxembourg

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Country Name

Luxembourg, or officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

Location

Luxembourg is a landlocked country in Western Europe.

It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France to the south.

Capital

Luxembourg City.

Reason for Naming

In 963 AD, Siegfried I of Ardennes signed a trade arrangement with the Abbey of Saint-Maximin to buy the region surrounding the modern-day city of Luxembourg. After gaining ownership of the land, Siegfried I approved the construction of Lucilinburhuc, currently known as the Luxembourg Castle. The name Lucilinburhuc translates to "Little Fortress" in English. Luxembourg Cities expanded up around the castle, with the celebration of several altars at the Church of the Redemption being the first major addition. The church is still in Luxembourg City today and is known as St. Michael's Church.​

Since Lucilinburhuc castle was the region's oldest structure, its name was used to refer to the city. Luxembourg is the anglicized form of Lucilinburhuc, which means that the country and its capital city were named after a 10th-century castle.​

Flag

It was first used between 1845 and 1848 and officially adopted in 1993.

The flag of Luxembourg consists of three equal horizontal stripes, red, white, and light blue.

These colors are national colors and were first adopted during the 19th century. It is believed that these colors were derived from the coat of arms of Luxembourg’s counts, dukes, and grand dukes. The red color represents power, revolution, courage, and domination

of the people of Luxembourg, the white color represents the peace, harmony, and innocence of the people, and the blue color represents the determination and perseverance of the people.

The design of the flag is similar to the national flag of the Netherlands. However, the flag of Luxembourg is identified by its lighter shades of red and blue.

*Flag Facts:

- The flag of Luxembourg is similar to the flag of The Netherlands, the flag of Croatia, and the flag of Paraguay. the only distinguishable bit between the flags is that the flag of Paraguay has the coat of arms featured the flag.

-Although the four flags use similar colors, the flag of Luxembourg has lighter shades of red and blue.

Language

The major languages spoken in Luxembourg include Luxembourgish, French, and German. All three are established as official administrative languages of the country, although Luxembourgish* is the national language.

French and German are used widely by major public institutions, including the media and police. While German is an official language in Luxembourg, the country is not a member of the Council for German Orthography and was not involved in the drafting of the German Orthography Reform in 1996. French is used as the language of legislation in Luxembourg, given the country’s use of the French Napoleonic civil code.

Foreign Languages: Portuguese and Italian, and English.

Luxembourg is a cosmopolitan country and foreign-born workers, tourists, students, and guests make up 40% of the total population. The most common languages spoken by, foreigners include Portuguese, Italian, and English, and native residents of Luxembourg use these foreign languages when they are in establishments frequented by foreigners such as hotels and restaurants.