Fortress Luxembourg

I spent the weekend in Luxembourg City, the capital of Luxembourg. I had wanted so see what was there, and my friend Morgan said you could cycle across the whole country in a day. The cycling never happened because I somehow hurt my knee, but I did get to explore the old city quite extensively.

The city was founded in 963 buy a some guy named Siegfried. The city wasn't on a great trade route; it had no religious significance; He chose the location completely based on the military advantage that the terrain offered. There old city is wrapped by a deep ravine that acts as a natural defence, surrounding the city on three sides.

As an aside, I am just reading now that Siegfried married a mermaid who according to folklore disappeared in the waves of the river in the ravine. I had no idea mermaids liked fresh water.

So anyway, this fortress was the capital of Luxembourg for almost 500 years. People had their own language, Letzeburgesh, and their own culture. Then for about 500 years people kept on invading. The Burgundians invaded in 1443, Habsburgs around 1540, French in 1684, The Habsburgs came back in 1697and then the french got is back in 1795. In 1815 Luxembourg became a member of the German Confederation, stood in the middle of Napoleon III and Bismarck in the and stood in the middle of the 19th century. Every new owner redesigned or added to the fortifications. Usually, they fortified the weakness that they used themselves to creak through the city's defences.




Finally in 1867 a treaty was signed in London declaring Luxembourg neutral territory. Part of the treaty stipulated that the fortifications had to be dismantled. 90% were destroyed, but 10 percent were so integral to the city's foundation that they were impossible to remove. Th e10 percent are still spectacular to look at, and if you look at old maps, you can imagine what a fantastic structure the fortress must have been.

As I mentioned, I spent the majority of my time walking around the old city. My guidebook informed me that locals still speak the native language, Letzeburgesh, which is similar to German. walking around town, you would never know. All I heard was french everywhere. When I went to a cafe or restaurant I didn't know what to speak. On my first evening in town I walked past this garden maze near my hostel and saw a lot of raven or crow nests.




I've also included a stream I shot from the train window on my way to Luxembourg. The ride through eastern Belgium was so nice. The flat landscape gave way to rolling hills and farms. Very relaxing.



On my second day, I visited "the block" which is the place where Siegfried built the first fortifications 1000 years ago. A UNESCO world heritage site, the upper fortifications were blown up after 1867 , but an impressive series of caves and tunnels remain underneath. Sometime in the last few hundred years, these caves were hollowed out and housed something like 20 cannons that could shot at enemies from the cliff face. The last amazing thing I saw was a stone bridge that contained the largest stone arch in the world when it was built. I was so impressed that a group of masons and engineers were able to do that. there were no cables visible, only stone blocks.