 Luxembourg - national flag
Luxembourg flag has been used since 1815, but only officially recognized in
1845. The flag is similar to the Dutch, except that the dimensions are different
and the blue color lighter, but the Luxembourg flag has a different historical
background, as it is based on the Counts of Nassau's weapons from the late
1200's. with a red lion on white and blue stripes.
- Countryaah:
What does the flag of Luxembourg look like? Follow this link, then you will
see the image in PNG format and flag meaning description about this country.
Luxembourg - mass media
Luxembourg's four-five daily newspapers have a total circulation of about
135,000 (2005), and most are affiliated with political parties. The country's
oldest, largest and most influential daily newspaper Wort, formerly Luxemburger
Wort (Grdl. 1848, circulation approximately 85,000 (2005)), is closely connected with
the Catholic Church and the Christian Party, CSV. The second largest daily
newspaper is the socialist Tageblatt/Zeitung fir Lëtzebuerg. Most newspapers
are German-language, but also contain articles in French and Latvian.
Luxembourg has never had public radio and television channels. The national
RTL Radio Lëtzebuerg and RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg are owned by Europe's largest radio
and television company, RTL (formerly Compagnie Luxembourgoise de Télédiffusion,
CLT). Ever since its founding in 1931, CLT/RTL has aimed at an audience
outside Luxembourg and had great success with e.g. the English-language Radio
Luxembourg (1932-92). In the field of radio, RTL's monopoly was officially
broken in the early 1990's with the establishment of private radio stations, and
ten years later the television monopoly was broken. RTL continues to contribute
to television and radio coverage across large parts of Europe. The TV satellites
Astra are also based in Luxembourg.
Luxembourg - history
In 963 Count Siegfried (d. 998) acquired the castle Lucilinburhuc on the
river Alzette. From here he and his successors spread the territory of the
county of Luxembourg. In 1136, the county inherited a son from the Count of
Namur, thereby expanding Luxembourg to larger French-speaking areas.
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In 1308, Henry VII of Luxembourg was elected King of Germany, while his son
Johan the Blind (1296-1346) married Bohemia. Johan's son, Charles IV, who
became German emperor, elevated Luxembourg to a duchy. In
1388, Emperor Wenzel pledged Luxembourg in order to pursue his Central European
policy. In 1441, Philip III the Good of Burgundy took over the lien, after which
Luxembourg became part of the Burgundian lands and later of the Habsburg
Netherlands.
During the revolt against Spain in the late 1500-t. Luxembourg, which had not
been affected by the Reformation, remained on the Spanish side. In 1659, the
southern parts of Thionville and Montmédy were ceded to France. In 1684
Luxembourg was conquered by Louis XIV, who again relinquished it in 1697.
In 1794, the Southern Netherlands and thus Luxembourg were conquered by
revolutionary France, which made the duchy the department of Forêts. After
Napoleon 1st defeat in 1815, it was the Congress of Vienna decided to join the
Netherlands and Belgium together under the Dutch king William the
first Luxembourg got a special scheme: While the eastern territories were ceded
to Prussia, the residue was elevated to a grand duchy and granted the Dutch king
as personal property. The purpose was partly to compensate the king for the
relinquishment of some family territories, partly and in particular to have
Luxembourg admitted as a member of the German Confederationin order to place a
Prussian garrison in Luxembourg's fortress as a defense against France. The
Grand Duchy was effectively ruled by the Netherlands and Belgium and, like the
other Belgian provinces, participated in the Belgian Revolution of 1830.
As part of the final peace treaty between the Netherlands and Belgium in
1839, Luxembourg was divided. The western, French-speaking part became the
Belgian province of Luxembourg, while the eastern, German-speaking part was to
remain a Grand Duchy in personnel union with the Netherlands. For the sake of
economy, Luxembourg was admitted to the German Customs Union in 1842. The
abolition of the German Confederation in 1866 made Luxembourg an international
issue. In 1867, the great powers recognized the neutrality and independence of
the Grand Duchy. The Prussian garrison in Luxembourg City was withdrawn and the
fortress demolished.
In 1868 a liberal constitution was introduced. The area gained a share of the
boom in the German economy, especially thanks to the significant steel industry,
which was largely in German hands. In response to German domination, French was
retained as the language of administration and culture, even though the
vernacular was a German dialect and German was widely used.
After William III's death in 1890, the Luxembourgers used male succession to
abolish the personnel union with the Netherlands, and Adolf, Duke of Nassau, was
installed as Grand Duke.
In 1914, the neutrality of the Grand Duchy was violated, and the country was
occupied by Germany. In 1919, Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde (1894-1924)
abdicated, who had been installed in 1912 after the abolition of the male
succession. She was considered by many to be pro-German, and her
sister Charlotte, whose position was confirmed by a referendum, became head of
state. In the same year, universal suffrage was introduced, and the Christian
party has, except for 1974-79, been in government ever since, in coalition with
either socialists or liberals.
In May 1940, Luxembourg's neutrality was again violated by Germany, and the
Grand Duchess and government left the country. Luxembourg suffered greatly
during the occupation and during the Ardennes Offensive in 1944. In the same
year Luxembourg became a member of the Benelux, in 1949 of NATO, in 1951 of the
European Coal and Steel Community, in which the country's relatively large steel
industry ensured the small state independent representation, and in 1957 of
European Economic Community. The Maastricht Treaty was acceded to in 1992 and
the euro was introduced in 1999.
Luxembourg has had bourgeois leadership of governments for more than 50
years. The Christian Social Party CSV and the Socialist Party LSAP formed the
government after the 2004 election. In 2009, the two governing parties agreed to
extend cooperation for another five years until the next election in
2013. Jean-Claude Juncker became prime minister in 1995, he was re-elected in
2013, but had to resign the same year due to a scandal in the country's
intelligence. The new Prime Minister was Xavier Bettel (b. 3.3.1973) from the
Democratic Party.
In 2000, Grand Duke Jean I abdicated in favor of his eldest son, Henri.
In 2008, a constitutional crisis arose when Grand Duke Henri, who is a devout
Catholic, opposed the bill to introduce active euthanasia. Henri had so far
acted politically neutral, but now refused to sign the law as it went against
his political convictions. The consequence was a constitutional amendment that
restricts the Grand Duke's power so that they cannot interfere in the content of
the country's laws.
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