Luxembourg sits at a strategic intersection of the French and German-speaking worlds. Indeed, by the 19th century, it was one of Europe’s most heavily fortified regions. At the center of European conflict for centuries, the region is a distinctive combination of German, French, and Walloon, offering a glimpse into a more multi-cultural past and the nation-state of the future.
Proud of its heritage as a cultural crossroads, the people of Luxembourg learn to speak their language, Luxembourgish, German, and French. Their cultural heritage is simultaneously French, Walloon, and German, creating something unique. This cultural blending is evident in the architecture, from the early French Gothic of the d’Orval Ruins to the Liégeois Saint-Hubert to the avenues of Germanic Historicism throughout the South.
A trip through Luxembourg need not end with a simple visit to the capital. A journey from the Luxembourgish South to the Walloon North offers beautiful natural and cultural landscapes.
The borders of Luxembourg today reflect the politics of Europe in the decades after Napoleon’s demise. Historically, the region was much larger in size, evidenced by the name of the eponymous Luxembourg province in Belgium. When Belgium revolted against Dutch rule in 1830, most of Luxembourg joined the revolution. However, a unified Belgium was not part of the envisioned world order of the great powers in Berlin, Paris, and London. These powers split Luxembourg in two, with Belgium getting half and the remaining independent state joining the German confederation.
My region of Luxembourg reunites the two halves of Luxembourg. In this Greater Luxembourg, there are four areas to speak of, the dense Ardenne Forest in the North, the castle-strewn valleys of the Kaalbach and Semois Rivers, and the densely populated core of Luxembourg in the South.
