"Luxembourg by Fam_Stoica" a Luxembourg Travel Page by Fam_Stoica

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Luxembourg - banks and steel in the heart of Europe

The city of Luxembourg is the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, situated at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers. Also called Luxembourg-Ville (Luxembourg City) or Lützelburg, the country's chief administrative and economic center, the city is of growing international importance as the seat of the Court of Justice of the European Communities and the European Investment Bank and as a joint seat (with Strasbourg, France) of the European Parliament. The old medieval city, located on rocky Bock Peninsula between the two rivers, is surrounded by fast-growing residential and industrial suburbs. The major tourist attractions are : the gothic Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Grand Ducal Palace, the city hall.
A short history (from Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2001) : "located on the ruins of a Roman settlement, Luxembourg developed in the 10th century as a fortress community. Its large fort, strengthened in later years, was held by a succession of European powers until ordered dismantled in 1867, when Luxembourg was recognized as a neutral European power. The city was occupied by the Germans in World Wars I and II. It emerged as a focus of Western European unity in the late 1940s."