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Luxembourg (; ; ), also known as Luxembourg City ( or d'Stad; ; or Luxemburg-Stadt), is the capital city of Luxembourg and the country's most populous commune. Standing at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers in southern Luxembourg, the city lies in the center of Western Europe, situated by road from Brussels and from Cologne. The city contains Luxembourg Castle, established by the Franks in the Early Middle Ages, around which a settlement developed.
, Luxembourg City has a population of 137,696 inhabitants, which is more than three times the population of the country's second most populous commune (Esch-sur-Alzette). The population consists of 160 nationalities. Foreigners represent 69.5% of the city's population, whilst Luxembourgers represent 30.5% of the population, making it the commune with the highest proportion of foreign residents in Luxembourg.
In 2024, Luxembourg was ranked by the IMF as having the highest GDP per capita in the world at $140,310 (PPP), with the city having developed into a banking and administrative centre. In the 2019 Mercer worldwide survey of 231 cities, Luxembourg was placed first for personal safety, while it was ranked 18th for quality of living.
Luxembourg is one of the de facto capitals of the European Union (alongside Brussels, Frankfurt and Strasbourg), as it is the seat of several institutions, agencies and bodies, including the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Court of Auditors, the Secretariat of the European Parliament, the European Public Prosecutor's Office, the European Investment Bank, the European Investment Fund, the European Stability Mechanism, Eurostat, as well as other European Commission departments and services. The Council of the European Union meets in the city for three months annually.
In 987, Archbishop Egbert of Trier consecrated five altars in the Church of the Redemption (today St. Michael's Church). At a Roman road intersection near the church, a marketplace appeared around which the city developed.
The city, because of its location and natural geography, has through history been a place of strategic military significance. The first fortifications were built as early as the 10th century. By the end of the 12th century, as the city expanded westward around the new St. Nicholas Church (today the Cathedral of Notre Dame), new walls were built that included an area of . In about 1340, under the reign of John the Blind, new fortifications were built that stood until 1867.
In 1443, the Burgundians under Philip the Good conquered Luxembourg. Luxembourg became part of the Burgundian, and later Spanish Empire and Austrian empires (See Spanish Netherlands and Spanish Road) and under those Habsburg administrations Luxembourg Castle was repeatedly strengthened so that by the 16th century, Luxembourg itself was one of the strongest fortifications in Europe. Subsequently, the Burgundians, the Spanish, the French, the Spanish again, the Austrians, the French again, and the Prussians conquered Luxembourg.
In the 17th century, the first were built; initially, Spain built of tunnels, starting in 1644. These were then enlarged under French rule by Vauban, and augmented again under Austrian rule in the 1730s and 1740s.
During the French Revolutionary Wars, the city was occupied by France twice: once, briefly, in 1792–93, and, later, after a seven-month siege.Kreins (2003), p. 64 Luxembourg held out for so long under the French siege that French politician and military engineer Lazare Carnot called Luxembourg "the best fortress in the world, except Gibraltar", giving rise to the city's nickname: the 'Gibraltar of the North'.
Nonetheless, the Austrian garrison eventually surrendered, and as a consequence, Luxembourg was annexed by the French Republic, becoming part of the département of Forêts, with Luxembourg City as its préfecture. Under the 1815 Treaty of Paris, which ended the Napoleonic Wars, Luxembourg City was placed under Prussian military control as a part of the German Confederation, although sovereignty passed to the House of Orange-Nassau, in personal union with the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.
After the Luxembourg Crisis, the 1867 Treaty of London required Luxembourg to dismantle the fortifications in Luxembourg City. Their demolition took sixteen years, cost 1.5 million gold French franc, and required the destruction of over of underground defences and of , batteries, barracks, etc. Furthermore, the Prussian garrison was to be withdrawn. Treaty of London, 1867 , Article IV. GWPDA. Retrieved 19 July 2006.
When, in 1890, Grand Duke William III died without any male heirs, the Grand Duchy passed out of Dutch hands, and into an independent line under Grand Duke Adolphe. Thus, Luxembourg, which had hitherto been independent in theory only, became a truly independent country, and Luxembourg City regained some of the importance that it had lost in 1867 by becoming the capital of a fully independent state.
Despite Luxembourg's best efforts to remain neutral country in the First World War, it was occupied by Germany on 2 August 1914. On 30 August, Helmuth von Moltke moved his headquarters to Luxembourg City, closer to his armies in France in preparation for a swift victory. However, the victory never came, and Luxembourg would play host to the German high command for another four years. At the end of the occupation, Luxembourg City was the scene of an attempted communist revolution; on 9 November 1918, communists declared a Socialist state, but it lasted only a few hours.
In 1920 and 1921, the city limits were greatly expanded, with the communes of Eich, Hamm, Hollerich, and Rollingergrund all merging with Luxembourg City. Until then, the city proper had only had an area of ; the merger gave Luxembourg City a new area of , making the city the largest commune in the country (a position that it would hold until 1978).
In 1940, Germany occupied Luxembourg again. The Nazi Germany were not prepared to allow Luxembourgers self-government, and gradually integrated Luxembourg into the Third Reich by informally attaching the country administratively to a neighbouring German province. Under the occupation, the capital city's streets all received new, German names, which was announced on 4 October 1940. The Avenue de la Liberté for example, a major road leading to the railway station, was renamed "Adolf-Hitlerstraße". On 26 March 1943, Nazi authorities expanded the city's boundaries by incorporating the communes of Strassen and Walferdange and parts of the commune of Hesperange. Luxembourg City was liberated on 10 September 1944,Thewes (2003), p. 121 after which the pre-occupation city boundaries were restored. The city was under long-range bombardment by the German V-3 cannon in December 1944 and January 1945.
After the war, Luxembourg ended its neutrality, and became a founding member of several inter-governmental and supra-governmental institutions. In 1952, the city became the headquarters of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community. In 1967, the High Authority was merged with the commissions of the other European institutions; although Luxembourg City was no longer the seat of the ECSC, it hosted some part-sessions of the European Parliament until 1981. Luxembourg remains the seat of the European Parliament's secretariat, as well as the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Court of Auditors, and the European Investment Bank. Several departments of the European Commission are also based in Luxembourg. The Council of the EU meets in the city for the months of April, June and October annually.
The city centre occupies a picturesque site on a salient, perched high on precipitous cliffs that drop into the narrow valleys of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers, whose confluence is in Luxembourg City. The deep gorges cut by the rivers are spanned by many bridges and , including the Adolphe Bridge, the Grand Duchess Charlotte Bridge, and the Passerelle. Although Luxembourg City is not particularly large, its layout is complex, as the city is set on several levels, straddling hills and dropping into the two gorges.
The commune of Luxembourg City covers an area of over , or 2% of the Grand Duchy's total area. This makes the city the fourth-largest commune in Luxembourg, and by far the largest urban area. Luxembourg City is not particularly densely populated, at about 2,600 people per km2; large areas of Luxembourg City are maintained as parks, forested areas, or sites of important heritage (particularly the UNESCO sites), while there are also large tracts of farmland within the city limits.
The city's administration is headed by the mayor, who is the leader of the largest party on the communal council. After Xavier Bettel became Luxembourg's new prime minister on 4 December 2013, Lydie Polfer (DP), who had already been in office from 1982 to 1999, was sworn in as new mayor of Luxembourg on 17 December of the same year. Since the last elections the mayor leads the cabinet, the College of Aldermen, in which the DP forms a coalition with the CSV. Unlike other cities in Luxembourg, which are limited to four aldermen at most, Luxembourg is given special dispensation to have six aldermen on its College.
For national elections to the Chamber of Deputies, the city is located in the Centre constituency.
In addition to its two main theatres, the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg and the Théâtre des Capucins, there is the Philharmonie concert hall, as well as a conservatory with a large auditorium. Art galleries include the Villa Vauban, the Casino Luxembourg and Am Tunnel. "Art et Culture", Ville de Luxembourg. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
Luxembourg was the first city to be named European Capital of Culture twice. The first time was in 1995. In 2007, along with the city of Sibiu, the European Capital of Culture was to be a cross-border area (Greater Region of SaarLorLux or Grande Région) consisting of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland in Germany, the Walloon Region and the German-speaking part of Belgium, and the Lorraine area in France. The event was an attempt to promote mobility and the exchange of ideas, crossing borders in all areas, physical, psychological, artistic and emotional.
Luxembourg City is also famed for its wide selection of restaurants and cuisines, including four Michelin starred establishments.
The Luxembourg Open is a tennis tournament held since 1991 in the capital. The tournament runs from 13 to 21 October. BGL BNP Paribas, one of the more famous sponsors in the world of tennis, was the contracted title sponsor of the tournament until 2014.
The Stade de Luxembourg, situated in Gasperich, southern Luxembourg City, is the country's national stadium and largest sports venue in the country with a capacity of 9,386 for sporting events, including football and rugby union, and 15,000 for concerts. The largest Indoor arena in the country is d'Coque, Kirchberg, north-eastern Luxembourg City, which has a capacity of 8,300. The arena is used for basketball, team handball, gymnastics, and volleyball, including the final of the 2007 Women's European Volleyball Championship. D'Coque also includes an Olympic-size swimming pool.
The two football clubs of the city of Luxembourg; Racing FC Union Luxembourg and F.C. Luxembourg City, play in the country's highest league, the BGL Ligue, and second-tier, Division of Honour, respectively. The Stade de Luxembourg hosts the Luxembourg national football team.
The Second World War Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial is located within the city limits of Luxembourg at Hamm. This cemetery is the final resting place of 5,076 American military dead, including General George S. Patton. There is also a memorial to 371 Americans whose remains were never recovered or identified.
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