The Grand Duke of Luxembourg’s Official Birthday takes place on June 23rd every year, although this date has surprisingly never been the ‘real’ birthday of any Grand Duke. Instead, the current monarch’s birthday, Grand Duke Henri Albert Gabriel Félix Marie Guillaume, is in April, but between June 22nd and 23rd, the capital city blossoms into one massive celebration. In this special article from Luxembourg-based TermCoord, we celebrate this day with a glance back at the history of Luxembourg.
As you probably already know, Luxembourg is one of the smallest states in the world, but its culture and atmosphere extends far beyond its size. With a population of about 550 000 and a rich history, this country should be on your bucket-list of European countries to visit.
The state we know today was established during the 19th century, however the ‘Luxembourgish’ national identity dates as far as back to the 10th century, as even then it was an independent duchy. This particular region in Europe has experienced the influence of several different national identities; ranging from Romans during Ancient times, to Germans in the early Medieval Era, the French, Spanish and Austrians during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, finally arriving at the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars – the Congress of Vienna. Thus, in 1815 Luxembourg was declared a grand duchy, which placed the first King of the Netherlands, William I, as ruler of the new state. Nevertheless, it was not until about 1867 that Luxembourg gained its full independence.
So, after centuries of foreign influence, the Luxembourg we see today is very interesting in regard to its national identity. In particular, some argue that the two world wars in the 20th century shaped much of its modern nationalism. In the First World War, the Grand Duchess Marie-Adelaïde was forced to abdicate due to the German occupation, leaving her sister to ascend the throne, whereupon a referendum on democratisation was later held. In the end, Luxembourgers voted to keep the monarchy, while including democratic privileges and universal suffrage. In the Second World War, however, the then Grand Duchess refused to collaborate with the Nazi occupation, which served to strengthen the positive attitude towards the monarchy of Luxembourg.
Given its rich history and culture, Luxembourg sure is a thriving place, yet one of the defining factors for the Luxembourgish national identity are the many languages spoken. Three official languages exist in the state: French, German and Luxembourgish (Lëtzebuergesch), which all native-born citizens can speak fluently. Regarding the use of languages, however, you may already be aware that French is the legal and administrative language of Luxembourg, which was chosen over the other two languages for many reasons.
Natives of Luxembourg, on the other hand, speak mostly Luxembourgish with one another. Interesting to note is that this native language is considered as a ‘Moselle-Franconian’ tongue of German, but due to the strong influence of French semantics in medieval times, Luxembourgish seems to have meandered far from its Germanic roots. German is nevertheless the primary language of instruction in elementary school, but French has been instituted as the language of instruction in high school and higher education. Speaking German today is fairly neutral among the populace, yet it may be avoided by the older generations. The painful memories from the WWII occupation, where speaking any other language than German was banned, might have made Luxembourgers mindful of speaking German in public situations. Conversely, it is common that most Luxembourgers prefer German media to French in their private lives. People outside the city seem to go about their daily life mostly communicating in Luxembourgish, but German may be just as popular. However, one of the major reasons for French being the dominate language in especially the capital is due to the large influx of French-speaking commuters from neighbouring regions.
In the end, all three languages should be considered as a representation of Luxembourg’s wide history. Indeed, ponder the extraordinary thought that one of the smallest countries in Europe has been one of the largest sites for a ‘meeting point’ between cultures!
More in:
Useful Luxembourgish Phrases
Online Language Course in “Luxembourgish”
Language Training: Luxembourgish
References
The Grand Duke’s Official Birthday
By Oscar Larsson
Student at University of Glasgow, School of Social & Political Sciences
Communication Trainee at TermCoord