TheDuchy of Luxembourg(Dutch:Luxemburg;French:Luxembourg;German:Luxemburg;Luxembourgish:Lëtzebuerg) was astateof theHoly Roman Empire,the ancestral homeland of the nobleHouse of Luxembourg.The House of Luxembourg became one of the most important political forces in the 14th century, competing against theHouse of Habsburgfor supremacy inCentral Europe.They would be the heirs to thePřemyslid dynastyin theKingdom of Bohemia,succeeding to theKingdom of Hungaryand contributing fourHoly Roman Emperorsuntil their own line of male heirs came to an end and the House of Habsburg received the territories that the two Houses had originally agreed upon in the Treaty of Brünn in 1364.
Duchy of Luxembourg Herzogtum Lëtzebuerg(Luxembourgish) Herzogtum Luxemburg(German) Duché de Luxembourg(French) Hertogdom Luxemburg(Dutch) Ducatus Luxemburgensis(Latin) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1353–1443/1797 | |||||||||||||
 Luxembourg within theLow Countries,1350 | |||||||||||||
| Status | Stateof theHoly Roman Empire Part of theBurgundian Netherlands(1443–1482) Part of theHabsburg Netherlands(1482–1581) Part of theSpanish Netherlands(1581–1714) Part of theAustrian Netherlands(1714–1795) | ||||||||||||
| Capital | Luxembourg | ||||||||||||
| Common languages | |||||||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||||||||||
| Government | FeudalDuchy | ||||||||||||
| Duke of Luxemburg | |||||||||||||
• 1353–1383 | Wenceslaus I(first) | ||||||||||||
• 1415–1419 | Elizabeth of Görlitz | ||||||||||||
• 1419–1425 | John the Fearless | ||||||||||||
• 1425–1443 | Elizabeth of Gorlitz (last) | ||||||||||||
• 1439–1482 | William III of Saxony(claimant) | ||||||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||||||
• Obtained bySigfried | 963 | ||||||||||||
• Acquired byLuxembourg dynasty | 1059 | ||||||||||||
• Raised tocounty | 1214 | ||||||||||||
• Raised toduchyby the Emperor | 1354 | ||||||||||||
• Held by theDukes of Burgundy | 1443 | ||||||||||||
• ToHabsburg | 1482 | ||||||||||||
• Occupied byFrance | 1797 | ||||||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | LU | ||||||||||||
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In 1443, the duchy passed to DukePhilip the Goodof Burgundy of the FrenchHouse of Valois,and, in 1477, by marriage to ArchdukeMaximilian I of Austriaof theHouse of Habsburg.TheSeventeen Provincesof the formerBurgundian Netherlandswere formed into an integral union byCharles V, Holy Roman Emperorin thePragmatic Sanction of 1549.In 1795,French revolutionariesended this situation.
Pre-Duchy
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The first known reference to the territory was made byJulius Caesarin hisCommentarii de Bello Gallico.[1]The historical region of Luxembourg belonged to the Roman province ofBelgica Prima.[2]After the invasion of theGermanic tribesfrom the East, Luxembourg became part of theFrankish Empire.By the 843Treaty of Verdun,it became part of theLotharingianprovince ofMiddle Francia.According to theTreaty of Ribemontin 880, it had finally fallen toEast Francia.
Modern historians explain the etymology of the wordLuxembourgas coming from the wordLetze,meaning fortification,[3]which might have referred to either the remains of a Roman watchtower or a primitive refuge of theEarly Middle Ages.
Proto-Duchy (963–1353)
editBy the 959 partition ofLotharingia,the Luxembourg region had passed toFrederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraineof theHouse of Ardenne–Bar,a son ofCount PalatineWigeric of Lotharingia.In 963,Count Siegfried,probably a younger brother of Duke Frederick I, purchased some land from Abbot Wikerus ofSt. Maximin's Abbey, Trier.This land was centered on a ruined (supposedlyRoman) fort by theOld High Germanname ofLucilinburhuc(commonly translated as "little castle" ). In the following years, Count Siegfried had a new castle built on the site of these ruins, on a rock that would later be calledBock Fiels.This castle dominated a stretch of the old Roman road linkingReims,Arlon,andTrier,and opened some prospects for trade and taxation. Despite this new construction, it seems that Siegfried and his immediate successors did not make the castle their primary residence. The history of Luxembourg proper began with the construction of this castle.
In the following years, a small town and market grew around the new castle. The first inhabitants were probably servants of Count Siegfried and clergy ofSaint Michael's church.This settlement soon received additional protection by the construction of a first, partialcity wallandmoat.
In addition to the small town nearBock Fielsand the Roman road, another settlement was formed in theAlzetteValley (today theGrundquarter). By 1083, this lower town contained two churches, two bridges of the rivers Alzette, andPetruss.Its inhabitants pursued various professions, including fishing, baking and milling. That same year, theBenedictineabbey ofAltmünsterwas founded byCount Conradon the hill behind Luxembourg castle.
Henry IIIwas the first count known to have established his permanent residence in Luxembourg castle. In a document from the year 1089, he is referred to ascomes Henricus de Lutzeleburg,which also makes him the first documented count of Luxembourg.
Around this fort, the town gradually developed and became the center of a small, but important state of great strategic value toFrance,Germany,and theLow Countries.Luxembourg's fortress was steadily enlarged and strengthened over the years by successive owners, making theFortress of Luxembourgone of the strongest in continental Europe. Its formidable defenses and strategic location caused it to become known as theGibraltarof the North.
TheHouse of Luxembourgprovided severalHoly Roman Emperors,kings ofBohemia,andarchbishopsofTrierandMainz.From theEarly Middle Agesto theRenaissance,Luxembourg bore multiple names, including Lucilinburhuc, Lutzburg, Lützelburg, Luccelemburc, and Lichtburg, among others.
The Duchy (1353–1797)
editLuxembourg remained an independentfief(county) of theHoly Roman Empire,when, in 1354,Emperor Charles IVelevated it to the status of aduchyfor his brotherWenceslaus.The ducal lands had been formed in 1353 by integration of the old County of Luxembourg, theMarquisateofArlon,the counties ofDurbuyandLaroche,and the districts ofThionville,Bitburg,andMarville.The County ofViandencan also be included as it had been avassalof the counts and dukes of Luxembourg since about 31 July 1264.
In 1411,Sigismund of Luxembourglost the duchy to his nieceElisabethbecause he defaulted on a loan. Elisabeth later sold the duchy toPhilip the Good,duke of Burgundy of theHouse of Valois-Burgundy,who paid her off in 1444. Thedukes of Burgundyhad previously acquired a number of other possessions in theLow Countries,includingFlanders,Artois,Hainaut,Brabant,Zeeland,Holland,andNamur;Luxembourg and these other Burgundian possessions in the Low Countries are collectively referred to during this period (1384–1482) as theBurgundian Netherlands.The male line of the dukes of Burgundy died out in 1477 when Philip's sonCharles the Bolddied at theBattle of Nancy,leavingMary of Burgundy,his only child, as his heiress. After his death, Mary marriedArchduke Maximilian Iof theHouse of Habsburg,who later becameHoly Roman Emperor.The Burgundian Netherlands then came under the rule of the House of Habsburg, beginning the period of theHabsburg Netherlands(1482–1581).
With the abdication in 1556 ofCharles V, Holy Roman Emperor(also King of Spain as Charles I), the Habsburg Netherlands passed to his son KingPhilip II of Spain.During the Dutch Revolt, orEighty Years War,the seven northern provinces of the Habsburg Netherlands broke away from Spain to form theDutch Republicin 1581, while the remaining ten southern provinces (including Luxembourg) remained under Spanish rule until 1714. During this time, the remaining southern provinces were referred to as theSpanish Netherlands(orSouthern Netherlands,a name that continued under Austrian rule). TheWar of the Spanish Succession,which was fought after the Spanish Habsburg line died out in 1700, resulted in the Spanish Netherlands coming under the rule ofAustriain 1714, thereby beginning the period of theAustrian Netherlands.The area remained under Austrian rule until theFrench Revolution,when it was taken over by France in 1795. Austria confirmed its loss in the 1797Treaty of Campo Formio.
Post-Duchy (1797–present)
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TheSouthern Netherlands,including Luxemburg, were annexed by theFrench First Republicon 1 October 1795[4]and on 24 October theForêtsdépartementwas established from the territory of the duchies of Luxemburg and theBouillon.[5]Centred onLuxembourg City,it lay in what is today Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany. Its name, meaning "forests", comes from theArdennesforests.
A small amount of the former Luxemburg territory was ceded toPrussiain 1813.
AfterNapoleon's defeat in 1814 and theCongress of Viennain 1815 most of Forêts became part of theUnited Kingdom of the Netherlands,with the part on the east side of the riversOurandSauerbecoming part of Prussia (now Germany) to satisfy a dynastic claim. Rather than being integrated into the Netherlands the newGrand Duchy of Luxemburgwas established, which was held in apersonal unionwith the Netherlands by KingWilliam I.Unlike the Netherlands it became a member of theGerman Confederation,and a garrison of theKingdom of Prussiawas stationed there.
After theKingdom of Belgiumgained its independence from the Netherlands in 1830, Luxembourg was partitioned in theTreaty of London (1839),with the larger western portion of the grand duchy going to Belgium (as theProvince of Luxembourg); only the smaller eastern portion remained part of the grand duchy. The personal union between the Luxembourg and Dutch thrones continued until the death ofWilliam IIIin 1890, at which time the Dutch throne passed to his daughterWilhelminawhile the Luxembourg throne passed toAdolph of Nassau-Weilburg.
The territory of the former Duchy of Luxembourg is today divided between the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Belgian province of Luxembourg, the GermanLandofRhineland-Palatinateand theFrenchdepartments ofArdennes,MeuseandMoselle,the latter part being referred to asFrench Luxemburgsince the 1659Treaty of the Pyrenees.
Notes
edit- ^"Luxembourg".Catholic Encyclopaedia. 1913.Retrieved30 July2006.
- ^"Luxembourg."Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia,16. Funk & Wagnalls, Inc., 1990.ISBN0-8343-0091-5
- ^J.-P. Koltz,Baugeschichte der Stadt und Festung Luxemburg, I. Band
- ^Kreins (2003), p.64
- ^Kreins (2003), pp.64–5
References
edit- Ermesinde et l'affranchissement de la ville de Luxembourg; Etudes sur la femme, le pouvoir et la ville au XIIIe siècle, sous la direction de Michel Margue, Publications duMusée d'Histoire de la Ville de Luxembourg,Publications du CLUDEM tome 7, Luxembourg 1994.
- Tatsachen aus der Geschichte des Luxemburger Landes, Dr. P. J. Müller, Luxemburg 1963, Verlag "de Frendeskres", Imprimerie Bourg-Bourger.
- Vivre au Moyen Age: Luxembourg, Metz et Trèves; Etudes sur l'histoire et l'archéologie urbaines, sous la direction duMusée d'Histoire de la Ville de Luxembourg,Publications Scientifiques du Musée d'Histoire de la Ville de Luxembourg, tome 2, Luxembourg 1998.