Did You Know?

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a fascinating place, with a touch of difference. Without any particular order, here's a selection of Facts and Trivia about the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Please email us if you would like to contribute to this page.

• Luxembourg is the sixth-smallest country and the only Grand Duchy in the world. The country measures just 51 miles (max North-South) by 32 miles (max East-West), and has a population of 420 000 comprising the highest proportion of inhabitants with a foreign passport among the EU countries.
  More info: Luxembourg in a Nutshell and Luxembourg in figures
  
  
• Luxembourg has more Michelin-starred Restaurants per square mile (or per head of inhabitant) than any other country in the world.
  See also: Recipes from Luxembourg
  
  
• The Prince of Wales's motto is said to be derived from "John the Blind" (1296-1346), Earl of Luxembourg and King of Bohemia, known in Luxembourg as "Jang de Blannen". Blind as he was, he insisted on fighting in the Battle of Crécy in 1346 (helping Philippe of France against Edouard III of England), so he had himself strapped to his charger, and headed his troops into battle. Mortally wounded, he lay dying on the battlefield, when the "Black Knight" passed by, picked up his shield with the three feathers and the motto "Ich Dien", and said: "There lies the Prince of Chivalry, but he does not die". The "Black Knight" of course was none else but the Prince of Wales. [Note: In spite of this story being told in many a History book, modern research on the Battle of Crécy does not place the "Black Knight" and "John the Blind" any closer than 500 yards from each other in the course of the battle. Did one of his men pick up the shield, or did he recover it after the battle? The fact remains that the Prince of Wales acquired his shield and motto at this very battle.]
  
  The same "John of Luxembourg", as he is known in the Czech Republic, successor to King Wenceslas III (1289-1306) [note: not "Good King Wenceslas" known from the carol!], was father to Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, known today as the Father of the Czech Nation. By the time Wenceslas, the son of Charles IV, gained the throne, the House of Luxembourg ruled a territory some 500 times the size of today's Luxembourg.
  See also: Luxembourg Sovereigns
  
  
  
• Grand Duke Jean, the father of Luxembourg's current Head of State, Grand Duke Henri, actively participated in the D-Day landings. Grand Duke Jean's father was a British Brigadier.
  Grand Duke Jean is a Knight of the Garter and Colonel of the Irish Guards, therefore rides immediately behind H.M. The Queen during the "Trooping the Colour" ceremony, along with Prince Charles, Prince Philip, and the Duke of Kent.
  Incidentally, the Luxembourg Army trains at Sandhurst. While the Grand Duchy does not have no Navy nor Air Force, the country does have a sea-going flag. NATO's entire fleet of Airborne Early Warning reconnaissance aircraft is registered in Luxembourg.
  See also: Luxembourg Grand-Ducal Family Tree
  
  
• Luxembourg's Head of State, Grand Duke Henri is the youngest European Monarch.
  
  
• The ASTRA satellites are owned by and controlled from Luxembourg. They bring you the "SKY" programmes along with all the new digital channels which are beginning to hit our television screens
  
  
• Luxembourg is the world's 8th largest banking centre. See also Luxembourg for finance
  
  
• Government Ministers list their direct lines in the local telephone directory.
  
  
• Luxembourg's only Saint: "Saint Willibrord" was born in Northumbria (658) and educated in Ireland. He built an Abbey in Echternach (where he also died on Nov 7, 739), and to this day, the famous "Dancing Procession" pilgrimage to his shrine (the only "dancing procession" in the World) happens every year on Tuesday after Whitsun. More info: Catholic Encyclopedia , Willibrord.lu
  
  
• Karl Marx (born in Trier [Germany], 8 miles from the Luxembourg border), was prompted to consider the economic reasons for social conditions when seeing the abject poverty of winegrowers on the Luxembourg Moselle - a great contrast with today's economic success of Luxembourg. (contributor: Bob West)
  
  
• There are large communities of ex-Luxembourgers living in America (eg the village of "Rolling Stone" was funded by emigrants from the Luxembourg village of "Rollingergrund"), and in Romania (in the area known as "Siebenbürgen"). An old form of Lëtzebuergesch, is still today spoken in those parts.
  See also: Luxembourgers in the New World
  
  
• Among Luxembourg's "Sporting Greats" we mention:
  The most outstanding performance by a Luxembourg sportsman dates back to 1952, when Josy Barthel became Gold Medalist in the 1500 metres event at the Helsinki Olympic Games.
  In 1909 François Faber was the first non-Frenchman to win the hardest and best known cycle race in the world, the "Tour de France". Three times more did a Luxembourger win this race: Nicolas Frantz in 1928 and in 1929, and Charly Gaul in 1958 (who also won the Tour of Italy twice).
  More recent are the performances of skier Marc Girardelli, a chosen Luxembourger: five times World Cup winner, World Champion, and Silver medalist at the Olympic Games.
  Further Luxembourg World Champions were among others: Sylvie Hülsemann (water-skiing), Elsy Jacobs (cycling), Jean Link (fencing), Guy Moyano (hot-air ballooning), Jeannot Peters (bowling), Fonsy Grethen (billiards), Pierre Zirves (sea-fishing).
  François Mersch made a fine career for himself as a sprinter and long-jumper; the high-point of his sporting career came in June 1938 when he achieved a national record with a long jump of 7.44 metres.
  More recently, David Fiegen won a silver medal at the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Göteborg (Sweden) in the 800 m competition.
  The 21-year-old Andy Schleck made a name for himself when he finished second overall in the 2007 Giro d'Italia -cycling's most important race after the Tour de France. His team mate Kim Kirchen also finished 2nd in the Tour de Suisse and came 7th in the 2007 Tour de France. Such outstanding results have put Luxembourg into 4th place worldwide where cycling is concerned.
  
  
• Henri Tudor was a famous engineer from Luxembourg. He developed what was to become the Tudor Accumulator, the first correctly functioning lead storage battery in the world. We should also mention the Luxembourg-born William J. Kroll, inducted in the year 2000 in the US "National Inventors Hall of Fame", famous for his method of manufacturing titanium and alloys thereof, and for his research into lead and a number of other metals.
  See also the official Government web site for a listing of some famous people from Luxembourg (presented in the French Language)
  
  
• The 1997 movie "American Werewolf in Paris" was filmed in Luxembourg (contributor: Gary Little) as was Shadow of the Vampire".
  Peter Webber's movie: "The girl with the pearl earrings" was largely filmed in Luxembourg's Deluxe Studios in Contern and Esch-sur-Alzette.
  See also: www.filmfund.lu.
  
  
• Luxembourg shares the privilege of owning exactly one confluence point reachable without the help of a boat or other vessel with St. Lucia, Rwanda, Kuwait and Brunei. Some 600m from Enscherange in the vicinity of Wiltz is the country's only spot where a line of latitude and longitude cross: 50°N 6°E. (contributor: Gilles Kohl)
  And while we're on the subject: The following site lists Sunrise, sunset, dawn and dusk times for a number of localities in Luxembourg.
  
  
• There is a cheering section for the Knights of Luxembourg at the jousting show at the Excalibur Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. (contributor: Gary Little)
  
  
• Hugo Gernsback, the founder of Amazing Stories, and thus the father of modern science fiction, was born in Luxembourg. The Hugo Award is named after him.
  He emigrated to the USA in 1905. He also pioneered amateur radio and electronics. See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Gernsback (contributor: Mike Pieke )
  
  
• Flag Day in the USA became established through a person whose father came from Luxembourg.
  
  Bernard J. Cigrand & the Flag Day
  
  1777 Jun 14 Congress defined the layout of the US flag
  
  1831 Nicholas Cigrand (Bernard's father) was born in Luxembourg
  
  1852 Nicholas Cigrand arrived in New York, worked as a blacksmith and wagonmaker
  
  1866 Oct 1 - Bernard J. Cigrand born in Waubeka
  
  1885 Jun 14 - first recognized observance of the flag birthday
  
  1916 Jun 14 - President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the national observance of Flag Day
  
  1932 Bernard J. Cigrand +
  (contributor: Fernand Pletschette)



• Luxembourg has 6 golf courses, most of them within 30 minutes drive of the Capital
  (just one course is about 50 minutes away from Luxembourg City in Clervaux, in the "Ardennes", what the Luxembourgers sometimes refer to as "Far North"!)
  More Info: Golf in Luxembourg
  
  

last update: May 13, 2008