Luxembourg - Gheos Worldguide

Luxembourg (Lëtzebuerg)

The city of Luxembourg, or Lëtzebuerg, sits on a promontory overlooking the valleys of Pétrusse and Alzette. The city was founded in 963 AD, when Count Sigefroid (of the Ardennes) built a fortress on the Bock.

This rocky outcrop still exists and provides excellent views over the city. The fortress was blown up in the second half of the 19th century and all there is left are some ruins that can be visited.

Points of interest

Luxembourg is not a very large city and can easily be explored on foot. The old town is concentrated on the two squares of Place d'Armes and Place Guillaume and there is a large pedestrians-only area.
The Adolphe Bridge (Adolphe-Bréck, Pont Adolphe, Adolphe-Brücke) is a scenic double-decked arch bridge that crosses the P&ecute;trusse River and connects Boulevard Royal in Ville Haute with Avenue de la Liberté on the Bourbon Plateau in Gare. The bridge opened in 1903, after 3 years of construction.
The Am Tunnel is an underground art gallery.
In 1644, when the Spanish controlled the area, the 23 km (14 mi) long casemates where hewn out of the rock. They consist of a subterranean labyrinth of defensive passageways. Nowadays 17 km (11 mi) of them are open to the public. Some of the tunnels reach as deep as 40 m (131 ft) and during WWI and WWII they were used as bomb shelters. The casemates are on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.
The Chemin de la Corniche runs down from the Bock and provides fantastic views over the City.
At the end of the promenade is the Citadelle du St. Esprit, from which there are good views of the lower town, or Grund (ground) and the Pétrusse River.
In Grund are many old buildings and cobblestoned streets.
The Grand Ducal Palace (Groussherzogleche Palais, Palais grand-ducal, Großherzogliches Palais) is the official residence of the grand duke of Luxembourg. It was originally the city hall of Luxembourg from 1572 to 1795.
The city is home to Luxembourg Castle. It was established by the Franks in the Early Middle Ages. A settlement that would become Luxembourg developed around it.
The Gothic Revival Cathedral of Notre Dame (Kathedral Notre Dame, Cathédrale Notre-Dame, Kathedrale unserer lieben Frau). Construction started in 1613, but it was not completed until 1938.
Luxembourg City Hall
The Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial is the place where some 5,000 American victims of WWII are buried. The military war grave cemetery is located in the disctrict of Hamm.
The Monument of Remembrance (Monument du souvenir) is usually referred to as Gëlle Fra (Golden Lady). It is a war memorial in the center of town. The monument is dedicated to the thousands of Luxembourgers who volunteered for service in the armed forces of the Allied Powers during both World Wars, the Korean War and the Spanish Civil War. The Gëlle Fra is located on the Place de la Constitution.
The former Benedictine Neimënster Abbey (Abtei Neimënster, Abbaye de Neimënster, Abtei Neumünster) is located in the Grund district. The abbey was constructed in 1606 on the site of an earlier abbey and it has subsequently been destroyed and rebuilt many times.
The Place d'Armes (Plëss d'Arem) is usually referred to as Plëss. The square is located in the center of town and a popular place for both locals and visitors.
There are several interesting parks, churches and palaces in the city, of which the Grand Ducal Palace is the most prominent. Most of the sights are on the southern rim of the old town.

There are numerous hotels and restaurants in town and most nightclubs are in Grund. The city lies in the south of the country and has air, rail and road connections with most other places in Luxembourg (country), as well as with Belgium and Germany. Public transport in Luxembourg is free and includes rail, bus and tram.

Images