1. LUXEMBOURG CITY,SITE AND SITUATIONREPORT
Georgia
Luxembourg City is the capital of Luxembourg, a country in Western Europe, bordered by
Belgium, France, and Germany
PART A: The Site
The site is a Defence Site
First and foremost, Luxembourg City is a defence site. It is a defence site because of its
geographical natural benefits. From the South, East, and North-East, it is surrounded by
deep, narrow valleys of the River Alzette and the River Pretrusse. The height was invincible,
leading to a sheer drop and certain death. Anybody who wanted to be safe on the sight
would only have to defend themselves from the West and North-West. They were near to
resources, and were easy to defend. Today we still see the remains of the fortress that was
built on the site and which existed for 9 centuries between 963 and 1867.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg_%28city%29
RiverAlzette
SteepCliffs
The Bock Promontorywhere
CountSigfriedbuiltthe first
fortressin963 on top of a
steepcliff
River
Petrusse
Remainsof the original fortress
perchedontop of the steep
cliffs.These cliffsmeantthat
the site wasa natural defence
site.
2. https://www.britannica.com/place/Luxembourg
The Site is a Bridging Site
Second it is a bridging site. Part of the reason that count Siegfried wanted his castle to be
where it was because it was at the crossroad of the two Roman routes. The first connected
Metz in what is now France with Aachen which is in what is now Germany. The second
connected Arlon in what is now Belgium with Trier which is in what is now Germany.
These roads crossed at the Marche du Poisson which was located immediately outside the
original fort built by Count Sigfried in 963. (Luxembourg Tourist Office) These routes have
been referred a major military route linking Germanic and Frankish areas.
(https://www.britannica.com/place/Luxembourg) This is reflected by the fact that French and
German are spoken in Luxembourg, along with Luxembourgish, their national language
which is a mixture in part of French and German
The cliffswhichmake Luxembourg
a natural defence site.
To Aachen
To Trier
To Metz
To Arlon Site of Count
Sigfried fortress
Marche du Poissonwhichwas
at the crossroadsof the
ancientRomanroads
3. PART B: The Situation
Luxembourg City was near to resources, water, and had excellent defence. Because of the
river running through the city, causing the huge cliff, it provided excellent natural defence,
meaning a good chance of survival.
It was first built by the Romans in 53.There is evidence that roman settlements were in this
area, taking advantage of the fertile land in the River Alzette valley around 300AD.
(Luxembourg Tourist Information)
The first Fort
Luxembourg was a fortified city for nine
centuries between 963 and 1867. It beganin
963, a man named Siegred, count des
Ardennes, exchanged his land for a castle called
Lucilinburhuc, meaning little fortress. This was
built on the promontory. He expanded it into an admirable fortification,
a castle which would gradually evolve into the fortified city of
Luxembourg..
In the late 900s a church was built outside the Lucilinburhuc castle.
Today, the Saint Michel Church can still be seen just next to te Marche du Poisson (where
the old Roman roads crossed and where a regular market was held) and is the oldest
church in Luxembourg. Around the 12th
century, the settlement near the castle was protected
by a stone fort wall, which was extended in the 14th and 15th centuries “In the 11th
,12th
and
13th
century, this fortified site became a foothold allowing the count of Luxembourg to
accumalate territory”. (Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Everything you ned to know about the
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg) Taking advantage of the site’s natural attribute as a defence
site, people used it and modified it to make it into a bigger and bigger fortress.
The fort grows over several centuries
Because of it’s strategic location, the fortress was fought over and it exchanged hands over
several centuries.. As the fortress was traded through different owners, it was improved and
more fortified than ever before. After a brief period of Burgundinian rule, it fell to the
CountSiegred’s
fortressonthe
promontory
Early fortificationsoutside
CountSigfried’scastle around
1200
Siegred’scastle on
the promontory
RiverAlzette
Fortresswall alongwhatistoday
Rue du Fosse,enclosingMarche de
Poisson,andStMichel church
4. Habsburgs in 1477, the Southern Netherlands in 1713, then it forms a union with the
Netherlands, in 1815, then falling under German influence in 1890, The town of
Luxembourg was gradually transformed into a formidable fortress dubbed ’’Gibraltar of the
North’’, which European powers fought to control.’ Because of its strategic importance and
the fact that it was fought over, Luxembourg continued to grow as a fortress. Because the
site was naturally protected on the southeast, east and northeast sides by the cliffs, the
defences only needed to be built initially on the western sides.
(LE GOUVERNEMENT DU GRAND-DUCHE DE LUXEMBOURG, Everything you need to
know about the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg)
While the wealthy and influential population like the soldiers and knights were living within
the walls of the fortress, development was also occuring at the bottom of the cliff in the river
valley. Artisants and traders lived along the River in the Grund, Clausen and Pfaffenthal ,
while the soildiers and knights were at the top, between the walls of the fortress. The fertile
valley, a natural attribute of the site, allowed for farming and growing of crops for the people
of the fortified city.The following series of images shows Luxembourg’s city’s development
into a fortress
1649
https://www.google.lu/search?q=LUXEMBOURG+FORTRESS+MAPS&biw=1093&bih=521&
tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj23uCF8vbQAhUFNxQKHYgTCIgQsA
QIHg#imgrc=_
A map from1581 showing
Luxembourgstartingtoevolve
intoa fortresstown
Developmentatthe bottomof
the cliff inthe Grund iswhere
the artisansand traderslived
The wallswere pushedfurther
out to allow the fortifiedcityto
expand.
5. 1660
1730
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg_City
Painting by Christophe-Guillaume Selig of the
Luxembourg fortifications as seen from Pfaffenthal
around 1814.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg_City
By 1730, there fortress walls on the east side
of the city look larger and the drawing
shows the fields around the city on all sides
being used for farming.
Fieldsaroundthe citybeing
usedforfarming
Larger fortificationsdevelopedonthe other
eastside of the Alzette River,nowenclosing
the riverwithinthe fortress
A plan from 1660 showing the fortress city.
The walls have been pushed further out and
the defences on the western side of the city
have become a more elaborate fortress wall.
By 1660 the walls have extended down into
the river valley on the eastern side of the city
to incorporate parts of the Grund, Clausen
and Pfaffenthal
6. The Fort is dismantled
In 1867 under the Treaty of London, Luxembourg was declared a neutral state and the
fortress was dismantled. It took 16 years for the fort to be dismantled. This allowed many
opportunities for growth and started a major process of changing how the city looked They
built a massive park, called the Municipal Park, and the Avenue de la Liberté, a beautiful
road filled with a harmonious blend of houses, and has several edifices, such as; The
National Savings Bank, The Railways Administration, Arbed, and The Central Railway
Station. They also built the new neighbourhoods of Limpertsberg and Belair, and some
lovely squares such as Place de Paris. Below is a map what Luxembourg City looked like
about 30 years after the fortress was dismantled.
https://www.britannica.com/place/Luxembourg
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/699
1895
1895 Planof the cityof Luxembourg
showingthatafterthe fort was
dismantled,developmentstarted to
happenoutside of the old fortress
walls.A greenbeltwascreatedand
thennew housingareas.
New parkswere
locatedwhere
fortresswalls
had previously
stood
Luxembourgfortressbefore its
demolitionin1867
The new Avenue
de la Gare which
wouldbe
followedby
Avenue de la
Liberte andnew
development
New
development
outside the
formerfortress
wallsledupto
Limbertsberg
7. https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=luxembourg+fortress+history+maps&FORM=HDRS
C2
Despite having been occupied for 900 years, the city’s population was only 13,129 in the mid
1800s, due to being constrained by the fortress wallls. The walls were dismantled in 1867,
and by 1905, the population reached 20,984, and by 2011, the city.was at 94,034. So human
intervention by taking down the walls has allowed the city to grow.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Luxembourg_City
EXTENSION:MODERN DAY LUXEMBOURG CITY
Luxembourg City has grown hugely since they took down the fortress and started expanding.
It has attracted hundreds of businesses, banks, and workers. Because of this, Luxembourg
City is now one of the richest countries in the world. It’s landscape has changed
considerably because of the business. A whole new part of the city, Kirchberg, has been
created to provide a home for businesses, European Institutions and International
Organizations. The big challenges in the future would be to deal with traffic created by
growth. As much as possible, there should be more house and apartements built in the City
Centre so people wont have to drive to the centre in the first place. It could be built on the
huge car parks near the city centre, such as Glacis. The new Cloche D’or development in
the Southern part of Luxemboutrg City which includes a train station is a step in the right
direction.
