There are some amazing facts about Luxembourg you would like to know. Luxembourg is one of the smallest countries of the world. It has a land area of 2,586.4 km2. And according to UN in 2011, Luxembourg has a population of 516,000.
It is a land-locked country in central Europe, with Luxembourgish, German, and French as official languages. The small country operates a unicameral legislature. And its constitution dates back to 1867.
Apart from these, this tiny country has quite a number of very amazing facts. Here are just 10 of them.
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Amazing Facts About Luxembourg
1. TELECOM GIANT
Being one of the smallest countries in the world, Luxembourg is amazingly famous in Europe for its largest radio and television stations: Radio Luxembourg, the RTL Group of Luxembourg. The tiny country runs 34 television and 33 radio stations in 12 countries, including France and the United Kingdom.
2. TOSSED FROM HAND TO HAND
Before independence, Luxembourg was passed back and forth between various European powers in the past. It passed from the French to the Spanish, then to the Austrians, and then back again to the French.
3. MEANING IN CHINESE
Luxembourg was at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China. The country’s pavilion has the name written in Chinese: “Lu Sen Bao.” What is Lu Sen Bao?
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Lu Sen Bao originated from the translation of the word Luxembourg into Chinese. It means: “Forest and Fortress.” And it denoted Luxembourg as the “Green Heart in Europe.”
4. LIVING OUT, WORKING IN
Almost half of the country’s workforce lives abroad but work in Luxembourg. How do they work in Luxembourg then?
This category of Luxembourg’s workforce commutes to work from another country! Most non-nationals traveling across the border to work and back on a daily basis are:
- French: 78,500 workers
- Belgians: 39,400 workers
- Germans 39,100 workers
5. FREEDOM TO HAVE SELF KILLED
In Luxembourg, Euthanasia assisted suicide is legal. That means you can pay or beg someone to kill you or help you kill yourself.
In 2008, the Grand Duke refused to sign a bill approving euthanasia because it was against his personal beliefs. This led to a constitutional reform. The reform took away some of the powers of the Grand Duke.
6. UNDERGROUND TUNNELS
There are some 17km of underground tunnels beneath Luxembourg city. The Bock and Pétrusse casemates networks were built as part of the city’s defenses. Some parts are up to 40m deep. They were used as air raid shelters during the two World Wars, large enough to shelter up to 35,000 people.
7. ALMOST HALF FOREIGNERS
There are about 170 different nationalities living in the country. Portuguese ranks largest at 16.4 percent. Also, over 60 percent of Luxembourg’s total population has an immigrant background. You can find this at the statistics portal of the Duchy of Luxembourg.
8. HIGHEST CAR OWNERSHIP RATE
For every 1,000 population of Luxembourg, there are 647 cars! This ranks the country’s population highest in car ownership. And Volkswagon was the top selling brand in the country in 2014.
9. LANGUAGE FIRST IN PRINT
In 1821 there was a weekly journal called “Luxemburger Wochenblatt.” In the second edition of this journal which came out on 14th April of that year, the first printed sentences in Luxembourgish were released.
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10. OFFICIAL LANGUAGE USAGE
The first language of school is German. That is also the language for church and the media. Amazingly, however, all other business and official dealings are conducted in French.