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Early settlements in the area of modern-day Luxembourg before the 10th century with the church of Saint-Saveur (today Saint-Michel) built in 987. The first known reference to the territory was made by Julius Caesar in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico. [1] The historical region of Luxembourg belonged to the Roman province of Belgica Prima. [2]
The history of Luxembourg properly began with the construction of Luxembourg Castle in the High Middle Ages. It was Siegfried I , count of Ardennes who traded some of his ancestral lands with the monks of the Abbey of St. Maximin in Trier in 963 for an ancient, supposedly Roman, fort named Lucilinburhuc , commonly translated as "little castle ...
Between 1684 and 1697, the territory of the Duchy of Luxembourg was under French rule for a second time. [7] In the meantime, the Wittelsbachs, Wettins and the House of Bourbon ruled over Luxembourg. The history of the duchy came to an end in 1795 when France annexed the territory and integrated it into the French state. [8] [9]
This marked the second time that the Duchy of Luxembourg was reduced in size, and is generally known as the Second Partition of Luxembourg. To compensate the Duchy for this loss, it was decided to elevate the Duchy to a Grand-Duchy, thus giving the Dutch monarchs the additional title of Grand-Duke of Luxembourg.
Luxembourg is the world's only extant sovereign grand duchy, a status to which Luxembourg was promoted in 1815 upon its unification with the Netherlands under the House of Orange-Nassau. The Luxembourg constitution defines the grand duke's position: The grand duke is the head of state, symbol of its unity, and guarantor of national independence.
The three partitions of Luxembourg reduced Luxembourg's area substantially, to the advantage of the three surrounding countries. There were three Partitions of Luxembourg between 1659 and 1839. Together, the three partitions reduced the territory of the Duchy of Luxembourg from 10,700 km 2 (4,100 sq mi) to the present-day area of 2,586 km 2 ...
In 1443 the last member of the senior branch of the House of Luxemburg, Duchess Elisabeth, sold the Duchy of Luxembourg to Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy, a prince of the French House of Valois. In 1477 the duchy passed by marriage of Philip's granddaughter, Mary of Burgundy, to Archduke Maximilian I of Austria of the House of Habsburg.
The Grand Duke of Luxembourg [a] is the head of state of Luxembourg. Luxembourg has been a grand duchy since 15 March 1815, when it was created from territory of the former Duchy of Luxembourg. It was in personal union with the United Kingdom of the Netherlands until 1890 under the House of Orange-Nassau.