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44 Interesting Luxembourg Facts You Might Not Know

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Luxembourg is a European country of small size but big dreams. The country excels in music, painting and photography. Luxembourg loves festivals and celebrates many throughout the year, particularly traditional festivals. It is also known for its natural beauty and numerous outdoor activities including cycling, hiking and kayaking.

It is a landlocked country in Western Europe and its official name is the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Luxembourg has existed as a nation since 1890. Luxembourg was an independent country until it was occupied by Germany in the Second World War. It was liberated in 1944.

Here are 44 Interesting Luxembourg Facts you might not know.

Luxembourg City interesting luxembourg facts
Luxembourg City

44 Interesting Luxembourg Facts

  1. We want to remain one” or “We will stay what we are” is the national motto of Luxembourg.

 2. If you are invited to someone’s home in Luxembourg, then you must always take gifts with you.

3. Luxembourg is one of the top 10 richest countries in the world with one of the lowest GDP debt ratios. On average, residents of Luxembourg earn twice as much as an American and its GDP per capita is $USD 62.4 billion (2017).

As it is one of the least populated countries in the world it also has a high standard of living. Plus its petrol is one of the cheapest in the European Union.

4. In Luxembourg, the minimum wage paying workers is EUR 1,923 per month.

Vianden Castle and Viaden Town Houses
Vianden Castle and Viaden Town Houses

5. According to a survey, this European country is the safest country in the world. There are only 2 police stations and 1300 police soldiers in this country.

6. Luxembourg is the 20th smallest independent country of the 194 countries in the world.

7. It is also the least populated country in the European Union with an area of 2,586 square kilometers.

8. This country is also known as a tax haven. It has a huge network and set of financial institutions.

The Old Town of Luxembourg City
The Old Town of Luxembourg City

9. The average unemployment rate in Luxembourg from 1980 to 2015 was 3.2%, the lowest in Europe.

10. Skype, the free internet calls and instant messaging software, is headquartered in Luxembourg.

11. Luxembourg is the world’s only Grand Duchy. It was established by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. As a duchy, it was a part of German Imperial power but was ruled by the Netherlands.

12. Nearly 40 % of the population is of immigrants. 15 % are of Portuguese origin. Immigration and foreigners are driving high population growth in the country.

The City of Vianden
The City of Vianden

13. Luxembourg is an area of 998 square miles, which is probably smaller than Oxfordshire in England.

14. It has 3 borders, France, Belgium and Germany. Luxembourg also has three official languages: French, German, and Luxembourgish. German and French are primarily used for administrative matters and official written communications.

Luxembourgish is used in everyday conversation. And in school, everybody has to learn German from the first grade, French from the end of the second grade, and English in the eighth grade.

15. In 1443, the Duchess of Luxembourg, sold the country to Philip the Good of Burgundy.

16. Around 346,000 people in the world speak Luxembourgish.

Luxembourg Gardens
Luxembourg Gardens

17. When giving someone flowers in Luxembourg it is customary to give an odd number, but not 13. And remember that chrysanthemums are considered to be funeral flowers.

18. Luxembourg’s only Olympic gold medal was won by Josy Barthel for the 1,500 meters at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. Barthel was also a government minister.

19. They have won the Eurovision Song Contest five times.

20. From 1310 to 1437, the Dukes of Luxembourg were also the Kings of the modern Czech Republic.

luxembourg flag

21. Amazon, Paypal, and Rakuten have their European headquarters there.

22. Luxembourg has won two medals at the Summer Olympics and two at the Winter Olympics.

23. It was ranked probably the 2nd best country in the EU for business efficiency in 2007, after Denmark.

24. The Heritage Foundation ranked Luxembourg 1st in Europe and 4th in the world for economic freedom.

Grund Quarter in Luxembourg City
Grund Quarter in Luxembourg City

25. Luxembourg has around 130 castles.

26. Luxembourg means “Lucilinburhuc” or little fortress. The country is named after a historic 10th-century castle. The anglicized version of Lucilinburhuc is Luxembourg.

27. The capital of Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, was the first city in Europe to be named the “European Capital of Culture” twice. This took place in 1995 and 2007.

28. The Luxembourg passport is ranked as the 5th best passport in the world. Citizens of Luxembourg have visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 186 countries and territories.

29. The country’s adult literacy rate is 99%.

30. Traditional Luxembourg cuisine is smoked pork and beans or Judd mat Gaardebounen. This is made from smoked pork that has been soaked overnight and boiled with vegetables and spices. The dish is served with beans and boiled or mashed potatoes and this is the country’s national dish.

Fort Thungen in Luxembourg
Fort Thungen in Luxembourg

31. In Luxembourg, those who are LGBT have exactly the same rights as those who aren’t including the right to marry. There are many gay bars and clubs in the country. And they had the first gay prime minister in the world, Xavier Bettel.

In 2014 83% of the population voted in favour of same-sex marriage. Xavier Bettel married his partner Gauthier Destenay in 2015.

32. The restaurant with the largest wine list in the world is in Luxembourg. The Chiggeri restaurant in the city of Luxembourg offers more than 2,200 different wines.

33. Both euthanasia and suicide are legal in Luxembourg.

34. Luxembourg sells the most alcohol per capita in Europe. However, most of that alcohol is purchased by residents of neighboring countries so it is not representative of the actual alcohol consumption of the country of Luxembourg.

35. Luxembourg has 79.68 telephone lines per 100 inhabitants. The average person in Luxembourg has just over 1 and a 1/2 mobile phones. This gives the country the highest ratio of telephone lines and people in the world.

36. Luxembourg’s National Day is June 23. However, none of the Grand Dukes or Duchesses of Luxembourg were born on that day. The date of June 23 comes from 1962 when it was decided to move the actual birthday of Grand Duchess Charlotte from January 23 to June 23 to take advantage of the warmer weather.

Castle of Vianden
Castle of Vianden

37. Luxembourg has the highest rate of car ownership in the world. It has an average of 647 car owners for every 1000 inhabitants. This is most likely driven by the fact that nearly half of the country’s workforce work in either Belgium, France or Germany.

38. Luxembourg produces award-winning wines. In particular, it is known for its high-quality sparkling wine called Cremant de Luxembourg. This wine won 22 gold medals in the 2015 Cremant Awards.

The wine is produced in Moselle in the same manner as Champagne with two fermentation cycles. Bordeaux and Burgundy in France also produce this type of wine but Luxembourg tends to be them in most international competitions.

39. There is a 17km tunnel network underneath Luxembourg City. These tunnels were built in 1644 with some as deep as 40 meters into the rock face.

For this reason, Luxembourg is sometimes referred to as the Gibraltar of the North. The Bock Casemates are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and are open for guided tours between March and September.

40. There are two universities in Luxembourg: the University of Luxembourg and Sacred Heart University Luxembourg.

41. Luxembourg’s oldest city dates back to 698. Echternach began when a Benedictine Abbey was established on a piece of land that had been inhabited by the Romans. Today this lovely little town is known as “little Switzerland” due to its beautiful scenery and many hiking trails.

Alzette River in Luxembourg City
Alzette River in Luxembourg City

42. Luxembourg was one of the six original members of the EU. The European Union was established in 1951 with France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. It is also one of the 12 founding member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

43. All public transport is free in Luxembourg. In March 2020 it became the first country in the world to offer nationwide free public transport to everyone. This does not apply to journeys that cross into Belgium, France, or Germany or first class tickets.

44. The largest entertainment network in Europe, the RTL Group, is based in Luxembourg. It has interests in 55 TV channels and 29 radio stations across the world.

Alzette River and Grund Quarter in Luxembourg City
Alzette River and Grund Quarter in Luxembourg City

You Might enjoy reading my post on Interesting Facts about Liechtenstein.

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