i found out recently that my great grandma is from luxembourg. where is luxembourg located and what are typical characteristics of people from there?
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Luxembourgish: Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg, French: Grand-Duché de Luxembourg, German: Großherzogtum Luxemburg), archaically spelled Luxemburg, is a small landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. Luxembourg has a population of under half a million people in an area of approximately 2,585 square kilometres (998 sq mi).
Luxembourg is a parliamentary representative democracy with a constitutional monarchy, ruled by a Grand Duke. It is the world's only sovereign Grand Duchy. The country has a highly developed economy, with the highest Gross Domestic Product per capita in the world. Luxembourg is a founding member of the European Union, NATO, the United Nations, Benelux, and the Western European Union, reflecting the political consensus in favour of economic, political, and military integration. The city of Luxembourg, the capital and largest city, is the seat of several institutions and agencies of the European Union.
Luxembourg lies on the cultural divide between Romance Europe and Germanic Europe, borrowing customs from each of the distinct traditions. Luxembourg is a trilingual country; French, German, and Luxembourgish are official languages. Although a secular state, Luxembourg is predominantly Roman Catholic.
Geography and climate
Luxembourg is one of the smallest countries in Europe, and ranked 175th in size of all the 194 independent countries of the world; the country is about 2,586 square kilometres (999 sq mi) in size, and measures 82 km (51 miles) long and 57 km (35 miles) wide. To the east, Luxembourg borders the German Bundesländer of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, and, to the south, it borders the French région of Lorraine. The Grand Duchy borders the Belgian Walloon Region, in particular the latter's provinces of Luxembourg and Liège to the west and to the north respectively.
The northern third of the country is known as the 'Oesling', and forms part of the Ardennes. It is dominated by hills and low mountains, including the Kneiff, which is the highest point, at 560 metres (1,837 ft). The region is sparsely populated, with only one town (Wiltz) with a population of more than two thousand people.
The southern two-thirds of the country is called the "Gutland", and is more densely populated than the Oesling. It is also more diverse, and can be divided into five geographic sub-regions. The Luxembourg plateau, in south-central Luxembourg, is a large, flat, sandstone formation, and the site of the city of Luxembourg. Little Switzerland, in the east of Luxembourg, has craggy terrain and thick forests. The Moselle valley is the lowest-lying region, running along the south-eastern border. The Red Lands, in the far south and southwest, are Luxembourg's industrial heartland and home to many of Luxembourg's largest towns.
The border between Luxembourg and Germany is formed by three rivers: the Moselle, the Sauer, and the Our. Other major rivers are the Alzette, the Attert, the Clerve, and the Wiltz. The valleys of the mid-Sauer and Attert form the border between the Gutland and the Oesling.
Luxembourg is divided into three districts, which are further divided into twelve cantons and then 116 communes. Twelve of the communes have city status, of which the city of Luxembourg is the largest.
Luxembourg has a marine west coast climate (Köppen: Cfb), marked by high precipitation, particularly in late summer.
IANAL (I am not a Luxembourger) but it is a small country south of Belgium and east of France. Germany borders it on the east. I believe people there are mostly of French ethnicity but there is a strong German influence. If you are from the US you might know Luxembourg as part of the Ardennes battlefield, aka the Battle of the Bulge
Actually, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a small country (about the size of Rhode Island) located in a triangle at the southern boundary of Belgium, the eastern boundary of France, and the western boundary of Germany. The people are primarily German if I remember, and there is considerable commerce and manufacture done in the Country.
Just returned about 2 weeks ago.
People are friendly. It's a modern country with old-world charm, particularly outside of the capital. Fascinating history - it used to be about 2x its current size but since 1500's they've lost parts to France, Belgium, and Germany.
Luxembourg City has some impressive fortifications, but that's only 10% of what used to be there in the 16th century. The other major European powers of the day forced them to tear them down in return for independence - the city is so naturally defendable anyway with the forst they built it was totally imp[regnable - which made them a threat to all theri neighbors.
It was also the site of much of the Battle of the Bulge in WW2.
This is why they invented atlases. To find places you have just heard about. They are great things.
As for characteristics of people, they vary in any country as much as in your homeland. The all encompassing characteristics are bipedal, erect, with ocular, olfactory and auditory sensors clustered at the top of the body.