Sign in with Facebook"Luxembourg - European Capital" Luxembourg by MikeAtSea
Luxembourg Travel Guide: 595 reviews and 1,462 photos
As far back as 963 Count Siegfried chose the Bock promontory to build his fortress which was to become, together with the first market near Saint Michael’s Church, the cradle of the city, surrounded by a simple fortification. In the course of the years a second and third fortification were constructed on the west side, whereas the rocks of the Pétrusse valley and of the Alzette valley constituted a safe natural defence. All these powerful ramparts, however, did not prevent the Burgundians from taking the city by surprise in 1443; it developed into a strategic position, important on the European chess-board. After more than four centuries the best military engineers of the Burgundians, the French, the Spaniards, the Austrians and of the Germanic Confederation ended up transforming the city into one of the mightiest emplacements in the world, known as the “Gibraltar of the North”.
Three girdles of battlements provided its defence: the inner one was fortified with bastions; the second included fifteen forts and the third was composed of an exterior wall, containing nine forts, all hewn into the rock. An extraordinary network of 23 km of underground tunnels - the so-called casemates - and more than 40.000 m2 of bombproof rooms were hewn in the rocky foundations of the city. They were capable of sheltering not only thousands of defenders with their equipment and their horses, but also workshops for artillery and arms, kitchens, bakeries and slaughter-houses.
The fortifications covered a surface of 180 ha, while the city accounted for only about 120 ha, inclusive of its lower districts. The Treaty of London, signed by the super-powers on May 11th 1867, stipulated the dismantling of the bulwarks, 10% of which still remain visible. The fortress ramparts and the historically impressive Old Town enjoy international reputation: in 1994 UNESCO listed them as World Heritage.
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Schengen Visas
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I still remember the old days when one needed a visa for every single European country. That is of course if you have a... more travel advice
Euro Coins
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Luxembourg is part of the Euro Zone, the common currency for Europe. Although all banknotes in the Euro Zone are the... more travel advice
Archeological Crypt
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As the didactic anti-chamber of the Bock casemates, it houses the origins of the city of Luxembourg. Modern technology... more travel advice
Beck Bastion
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Erected during the first Spanish rule by Isaac von Traybach on the site of what is now Constitution Square (1644), the... more travel advice
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Comments (4)
Revisiting. Liked the underground tunnels. Cheers, SL
Mike, very interesting page with gorgeous photos. You obviously had sunny weather there. Your page brings back many memories of my 4 days in Luxembourg in April this year. Of course I have kept all Letzebuerg Euro coins.
Nice pages Mike, Luxembourg is a lovely country, I need to visit more often.I just seen some plaes I missed on my visit.
Nice page on Luxembourg. I remember my first few trips to Europe and we had to suffer through border checkpoints.