Any Travels

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg with a population of only 435,700 is bordered by Belgium on the north and west, Germany on the east, and France on the south. It has an area of 2,586 sq km (998 sq mi). Until the EU expansion of May 1 2004, Luxembourg was the smallest member country in the European Union (now Malta is the smallest EU member country). Luxembourg is one of the world's most industrialised countries and has the highest standard of living in the EU.

Founded in 963, Luxembourg became a Grand Duchy in 1815 and an independent state under the Netherlands. It lost more than half of its territory to Belgium in 1839, but gained a larger measure of autonomy. Full independence was attained in 1867. Overrun by Germany in both World Wars, it ended its neutrality in 1948 when it entered into the Benelux Customs Union and when it joined NATO the following year. In 1957, Luxembourg became one of the six founding countries of the European Economic Community (later the European Union) and in 1999 it joined the euro currency. The center of Luxembourg is Luxembourg city and there are a number of other beautiful small cities and villages to visit. Really worth a visit is Echternach and Vianden. All places can be easily visited in a day from the capital or neighbouring Trier.

Squashed in between two major historical world powers (and having been conquered at times by both of them), Luxembourg takes a good deal of its identity from its neighbours' contributions. This shows itself both in the generally amicable relationship between the countries and their citizens and in their shared linguistic traits. Multilingualism is universal among Luxembourgers, and both the German and French languages are used in the press, in politics and in daily life. French is most common in government and schools, though Luxembourgish is the language you'll hear most frequently on the street. English is widely understood in tourist areas.

Luxembourg's cuisine is similar to that of Belgium's Wallonia region - plenty of pork, fish and game - but also features some heavy German influence in local specialties like liver dumplings with sauerkraut. Its beer (like that of neighbouring Belgium) is not too shabby; neither are the Moselle Valley's fruity white wines.

Few Luxembourg natives are internationally famous in the arts, which probably explains why Edward Steichen, a pioneer in American photography, is held in such high regard in his homeland. While the capital has a few good museums and galleries, few of the native artists seem to exhibit beyond the country's border. Expressionist painter Joseph Kutter brought modern art to Luxembourg. Roger Mandersheid is a respected contemporary writer who often publishes in Luxembourgish.

For a small country, Luxembourg is big on festivals. The liveliest national events are Carnival, held six weeks before Easter; Bonfire Day, the following week; and National Day, on 23 June, which is celebrated with parties and revelry akin to those on New Year's Eve, particularly in Luxembourg City. Also in the capital and definitely worth catching are Octave, a Catholic festival held from late April to early May that climaxes with a street parade headed up by the royal family; and Schueberfouer, a fortnight's worth of fair-type fun held in late August that features a cavalcade of decorated sheep joining in the streetside revelry.

East of the capital, the Mullerthal town of Echternach celebrates Whitsunday (the 7th Sunday after Easter) with a handkerchief pageant in honor of St Willibrord, a local boy made good, whose remains you can visit in the town's basilica. That same weekend, up in Ardennes, the town of Wiltz celebrates its yearly Broom Flower festival with parades and colourful floats. The Moselle Valley's wine festivals begin in August and run through November's 'New Wine' celebration in Wormeldange.