Everything about County Duchy And Grand Duchy Of Luxembourg totally explained
For other uses of Luxembourg see Luxembourg (disambiguation).
The historical region of
Luxembourg belonged to the Roman province of
Germania Inferior. After the invasion of the
Germanic tribes from the East, Luxembourg became part of the
Frankish Empire, and was later made part of
Middle Francia.
History
Ancient history before 963
The first known reference to the territory in modern Luxembourg was by
Julius Caesar in his
Commentaries on the Gallic War. Modern historians explain the etymology of the word
Luxembourg as coming from the word
Letze, meaning fortification which might have referred to either the remains of a Roman watchtower or to a primitive refuge of the early
Middle Ages.
County (963-1353)
In the year
963, Count
Siegfried of the
House of Ardennes purchased some land from the
abbot Wikerus of
Saint Maximin in
Trier. This land was centered around a ruined, supposedly
roman,
fort by the
Germanic name of
Lucilinburhuc (which is commonly translated as little
castle). In the following years Siegfried had a new castle built on the site of these ruins, on a rock that would later be called
Bock Fiels. This castle dominated a stretch of the old roman road linking
Reims, Arlon and
Trier, which also opened some prospects for trade and taxation. Despite this new construction it seems that Siegfried and his immediate successors didn't make the castle their primary residence. The history of Luxembourg proper began with the construction of this castle.
In following years, a small town and market grew around the new castle. The first inhabitants were probably servants of count Siegfried and clergy of Saint Michael's church. This settlement soon received additional protection by the construction of a first, partial
city wall and
moat.
In addition to the small town near
Bock Fiels and the roman road, another settlement was formed in the
Alzette Valley (today the
Grund quarter). By
1083 this lower town contained two churches, two bridges of the rivers
Alzette and
Petruss. Its inhabitants pursued various professions including fishery, bakers and millers. That same year the
Benedictine abbey of
Altmünster was founded by count
Conrad on the hill behind Luxembourg castle.
Henry III was the first count known to have established his permanent residence in Luxembourg castle. In a document from the year
1089 he's referred to as
comes Henricus de Lutzeleburg, which also makes him the first documented count of Luxembourg.
Around this fort, the town gradually developed, which became the centre of a small but important state of great strategic value to
France,
Germany and the
Low Countries. Luxembourg's fortress, was steadily enlarged and strengthened over the years by successive owners, which made it one of the strongest fortresses on the European continent. Its formidable defences and strategic location caused it to become known as the
Gibraltar of the North.
The
House of Luxembourg provided several
Holy Roman Emperors, Kings of
Bohemia, as well as
Archbishops of
Trier and
Mainz. From the early Middle Ages to the
Renaissance, Luxembourg bore multiple names, depending on the author. These include Lucilinburhuc, Lutzburg, Lützelburg, Luccelemburc, Lichtburg, among others.
Duchy (1353-1790)
Luxembourg remained an independent
fief (county) of the
Holy Roman Empire until
1354, when the emperor
Charles IV elevated it to the status of a
duchy for his brother
Wenceslaus. The
duchy of Luxembourg was formed in
1353 by integration of the old
county of Luxembourg, the
marquisat of
Arlon, the
counties of
Durbuy and
Laroche as well as the districts of
Thionville,
Bitburg and
Marville. The county of
Vianden can also be included as it had been a
vassal of the counts and dukes of Luxembourg since about
July 31,
1264.
The Duchy passed to the
Dukes of Burgundy of the
House of Valois, and to the
Archduke of Austria of the
House of Habsburg. The
Seventeen Provinces were formed into an integral union by
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in the
Pragmatic Sanction of 1549.
In
1792, French revolutionaries ended this situation. Only at the
Congress of Vienna in
1815 this situation was resolved, as the
Duchy of Luxembourg was upgraded to a
Grand Duchy, and given to
William I of the Netherlands in a
personal union with the
United Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Grand duchy (1815-Present)
Rulers
and
Prime Ministers of LuxembourgFurther Information
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