Visit to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

This is one of the smallest countries in Europe, and the smallest not considered a microstate, but with a very interesting structure, to say the least. It has a very good minimum wage and is considered one of the richest, situated between Belgium, France and Germany and is one of the four institutional seats of the European Union, and today hosts the Court of Justice of the European Union.

The official language is Luxembourgish, but due to proximity, French and German are also widely spoken in this country with an estimated population of over 645,000, making it the least populous country in Europe. The national currency is now the euro, but until 1999 it was the Luxembourg franc.

The city is full of beautiful monuments full of meaning. It would be impossible to mention them all, but there are certainly some that are worth talking about.

First and foremost is the "Monument of Memory", nicknamed "Gëlle Fra", 21 meters high, on top of which stands a gilded bronze statue representing the goddess of victory "Nike" or "Queen of Liberty", holding a crown, as if she were placing it on the head of the nation, The obelisk, inaugurated in 1923, stands in Constitution Square in the Ville Haute neighborhood and was erected to commemorate the thousands of Luxembourgers who volunteered to serve in the armed forces of the Allied Powers during World War I.

Below the square we find Constitution Square, another unforgettable place, built in 1923 on the remains of the Bastion Beck Fortress to honor the soldiers who presented themselves for World War I. There is a multicolored garden here with a perfect view of the Adolphe Bridge.

We have to mention the Adolphe Bridge in particular, which is perhaps one of the best-known images of Luxembourg throughout the world, and it is from the Place de la Constitution that we have a perfect view of it all. It was built between 1900 and 1903 and named after the "Grand Duke Adolph" who reigned between 1890 and 1905. At that time it was considered the largest stone arch bridge in the world, with parallel arches almost 100 meters long. Designed by the French engineer Paul Séjourné, it extends 150 meters into the Pétrusse Valley and is almost 50 meters high at its highest point.

The Pétrusse Valley, spanned by the Adolphe and Viaduc bridges, separates the Upper Town from the Bourbon Plateau. The Viaduc bridge was completed in 1861 and is often called the Old Bridge.
Until 1933 Pétrusse was a torrent on the riverbed you can still see remains of the Bourbon dam. The dam was built in 1728 to flood the Pétrusse valley in case of enemy attack.

The beautiful "ARBED Building" on the Avenue de la Liberté, built in 1922, covers 15,000 square meters and was designed by the architect René Théry. In front of this beautiful building, we have the "Place des Martyrs", which draws our attention not only because of its beautiful garden, but also because of a beautiful sculpture by the artist Henry Moore called "Mother and Child".

One of the many curiosities of this beautiful place is the free internal public transport, both the buses and the electric train that crosses the city, which is not common anywhere, but in Luxembourg both visitors and locals get around for free.

The beautiful Luxembourg train station, which is certainly one of the places I recommend visiting, has a ceiling that is so mesmerizing, with a map drawn and colors appropriate to the image, it leads us to reflect on how small we are on such a big planet.

This station was inaugurated in 1895 and renovated in the 2000s, when the RATP selected nine emblematic stations to commemorate the transition to the year 2000 and chose the environment theme for the Luxembourg station.

In addition to the monument commemorating the victims of the Second World War on one of the pillars of the great hall, there are also large temporary exhibition panels that have been placed in the center of the platforms that have glass roofs. From these platforms, trains leave for various European countries and capitals, and the architecture of this place is eye-popping.

It's a large place, where, as in the whole of Luxembourg City, you'll find a modern, elegant and functional place, with history everywhere, all in perfect harmony.

With its snack bars, chocolate stores and cafés, this is certainly a good place for a stroll, even if you don't intend to travel.

Luxembourg has a lot going for it, but we'll end by talking about this bank, an important and beautiful place called "Banque et Caisse d'Épargne de l'État", the main national financial institution founded in 1856, wholly owned by Luxembourg, an important piece of information, especially when it comes to being the richest country in the world.

Luxembourg (city) - Photos

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Travel at any time of the year, city trips, multi-day stays.

★★★★☆

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Remark:
Winkler & Cabral & Project Globetrotter are the old labels of the photos, from the beginning of 2024 they will only be labeled "J.Winkler - Art my way".

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