Luxembourg
Overview
 
Luxembourg officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked
Landlocked
A landlocked country is a country entirely enclosed by land, or whose only coastlines lie on closed seas. There are 48 landlocked countries in the world, including partially recognized states...

 country in western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...

, bordered by Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It has two principal regions: the Oesling
Oesling
The Oesling or Ösling is a region covering the northern part of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, within the greater Ardennes area that also covers parts of Belgium and France...

 in the North as part of the Ardennes
Ardennes
The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges formed within the Givetian Ardennes mountain range, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France , and geologically into the Eifel...

 massif, and the Gutland
Gutland (Luxembourg)
Gutland is a region covering the southern and central parts of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Gutland covers 68% of the territory of Luxembourg; to the north of Gutland lies the Oesling, which covers the remaining 32% of the Grand Duchy....

 ("good country") in the south. Luxembourg has a population of over half a million people in an area of approximately 2586 square kilometres (998.5 sq mi).
A representative democracy
Representative democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...

 with a constitutional monarch
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...

, it is ruled by a grand duke
Grand Duke
The title grand duke is used in Western Europe and particularly in Germanic countries for provincial sovereigns. Grand duke is of a protocolary rank below a king but higher than a sovereign duke. Grand duke is also the usual and established translation of grand prince in languages which do not...

.
Timeline

1346    Charles IV of Luxembourg is elected emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

1543    French troops invade Luxembourg.

1856    The Coup of 1856 leads to Luxembourg's unilateral adoption of a new, reactionary constitution.

1867    Luxembourg gains its independence.

1912    Marie-Adélaïde, the eldest of six daughters of Guillaume IV, becomes the first reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.

1940    World War II: Germany invades Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

1944    Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg constitute Benelux.

1957    The European Economic Community is established (West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg).

2006    Luxembourg becomes the first country to complete the move to all digital television broadcasting.

Quotations

We are the greatest people,sitting on our old street,the best wine in the world,much better than that of the French.We are rich and cultural,and we are better than the other nations,richest in the world,high-class beyond other countries,better than England or Germany,we know we will be praised,as Luxies, of Luxembourg.

Jean-Henri-Claude Charlotte II, The Luxembourg Show. Category:Countries Category:Europe

 
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