Ahhh Luxembourg

[SoCalDem]

Nothing much happening in the world except new years' celebrations & Plaxico's senate appointment:evilgrin:..so let's talk about other places we can name :


New Year's Masquerade Ball, Luxembourg
European Irish News - Music, Sport, Culture & Business, Ireland - Dec 29, 2008
http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=us/6-0&fp=495c1eb0070dbe74&ei=LhRcSfXSKYKQNbC_1PYI&url=http%3A//www.europeanirish.com/news_details.php%3Fnews_id%3D1232&cid=0&sig2=f5oSTglAi6kQckHMTlRGNA&usg=AFQjCNEjz57OroqJvcKk8Zo2i2RhG-hiTg
The Irish Club of Luxembourg will be hosting a unique and fun New Year’s Masquerade Ball at the Hotel Royal on Saturday 10th January from 7.30pm. ...





Latitude of Luxembourg: 49º45´ North of the Equator

Longitude of Luxembourg: 6º 10´East of Greenwich
What is the official name of Luxembourg?

conventional long form: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

conventional short form: Luxembourg

local short form: Luxembourg

local long form: Grand Duche de Luxembourg

more facts:

Motto: "Mir wëlle bleiwe wat mir sinn" (Luxembourgish)
"We want to remain what we are"

Anthem: Ons Heemecht
"Our Homeland"
<<gee WE have a "homeland" too>>

............................

Capital
(and largest city) Luxembourg
49°36′N 6°7′E / 49.6, 6.117
Official languages German, French, Luxembourgish (de jure since 1984)
Demonym Luxembourgers
Government Parliamentary democracy and Constitutional grand duchy
- Grand Duke Grand Duke Henri (List)
- Prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker (List)
Independence
- From French empire (Treaty of Paris) 9 June 1815
- 1st Treaty of London 19 April 1839
- 2nd Treaty of London 11 May 1867
- End of personal union 23 November 1890
EU accession March 25, 1957
Area
- Total 2,586.4 km2 (175th)
998.6 sq mi
- Water (%) negligible
Population
- 2007 estimate 480,222 (-)
- 2001 census 439,539
- Density 186/km2 (59th)
481/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2007 estimate
- Total $38.261 billion<1> (97th)
- Per capita $79,659<1> (IMF) (1st)
GDP (nominal) 2007 estimate
- Total $49.531 billion<1> (65th)
- Per capita $103,124<1> (IMF) (1st)
HDI (2004) 0.945 (high) (18th)
Currency Euro (€)2 (EUR)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Drives on the right
Internet TLD .lu3
Calling code 352
.............................................

) is a small landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. Luxembourg has a population of under half a million people in an area of approximately 2,586 square kilometres (999 sq mi).<3>

Luxembourg is a parliamentary representative democracy with a constitutional monarch, ruled by a Grand Duke. It is the world's only remaining sovereign Grand Duchy. The country has a highly developed economy, with the second highest Gross Domestic Product per capita in the world (U.S. Central Intelligence Agency 2007 est.). Its historic and strategic importance dates back to its founding as a Roman era fortress site and Frankish count's castle site in the Early Middle Ages. It was an important bastion along the Spanish road when Spain was the principal European power influencing the whole western hemisphere and beyond in the 14th–17th centuries.

Luxembourg is a founding member of the European Union, NATO, the United Nations, Benelux, and the Western European Union, reflecting the political consensus in favour of economic, political, and military integration. The city of Luxembourg, the capital and largest city, is the seat of several institutions and agencies of the European Union.

Luxembourg lies on the cultural divide between Romance Europe and Germanic Europe, borrowing customs from each of the distinct traditions. Luxembourg is a trilingual country; German, French and Luxembourgish are official languages. Although a secular state, Luxembourg is predominantly Roman Catholic.

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. 998.6 square miles?

My Luxembourgisch grandfather always said it was 999 square miles. Close enough, I guess.

It's a very scenic country with a diverse landscape tucked within a small area.

[SoCalDem]

2. I never knew they had their own language.. I thought they spoke german, primarily

and I guess your grandfather rounded up:)

[greatauntoftriplets]

3. It's a bastard German, and mostly unwritten.

Not all of the words have standardized spellings.

Most schools teach in French and that's more commonly spoken than German. Among themselves, the residents do speak Luxembourgisch. My cousins are fluent in English, though our parents' generation was not.

The prime minister is some kind of in-law to my family as well. Most of the family stayed there, so I have tons of relations over there. It's great fun to visit them.

[Odin2005]

8. Not to nitpick, but it is wrong and insulting to call dialects "Bastardized".

[Odin2005]

6. It is German, just not the Standard High German of the written language.

Many dialects, some very different from each other, fall under the label "German" Dutch is one of those "German" dialects that happened to become a standardized written language of it's own. The lowest Low German of the North Sea coast is not understandable to a speaker of the highest High German of Switzerland. English, in fact, can be described as a form of Low German grammatically tortured by the Vikings and Welsh and French. :) Luxembourg German is probably more similar to Dutch then it is to Standard High German.

[neverforget]

4. I need to make it to Oberdonven, Luxembourg. It appears that I am

related to most of that tiny town.

[SoCalDem]

5. cool ...a free place to crash

and centrally located for easy travel to everywhere:)
My son stayed there a few nights while he was over there for World Cup when it was in Germany

[neverforget]

9. That would be awesome except I don't know anyone there. However

that won't stop me from going there. I so want to go to Europe.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. Ahh, Rosa Luxemburg

"Freedom for the supporters of the government only, for the members of one party only - no matter how how big its membership may be - is no freedom at all. Freedom is always for the man who thinks differently." Rosa Luxemburg

[TheCentepedeShoes]

10. My HS best friend was there

in the summer between Jr/Sr year in 65. She flew Icelandic from NYC via Reykjavik and on to Luxembourg where she was picked up by her sister and BIL (in the Air Force.) Spent some of the summer around Paris, then when the BIL had a 30 day leave, they drove thru Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy.