Geography

Founded in 963, Luxembourg became a grand duchy in 1815 and an independent state under the Netherlands. It lost more than half of its territory to Belgium in 1839, but gained a larger measure of autonomy. Full independence was attained in 1867. Overrun by Germany in both World Wars, it ended its neutrality in 1948 when it entered into the Benelux Customs Union and when it joined NATO the following year. In 1957, Luxembourg became one of the six founding countries of the European Economic Community (later the European Union), and in 1999 it joined the euro currency area.

Luxembourg is a small country located in the Low Countries, part of North-West Europe It bordersBelgium (148 kilometres) to the west and north,France (73 km) to the south, and Germany (138 km) to the east. Luxembourg is landlocked, separated from the North Sea by Belgium.

The topography of the country is divided very clearly between the hilly Oesling of the northern third of the Grand Duchy and the flat Gutland, which occupies the southern two-thirds. The country's longest river is the Sauer, which is a tributary of the Moselle, the basin of which includes almost all of Luxembourg's area. Other major rivers include the Alzette in the south and the Wiltz in the north.

The capital, and by far the largest city, isLuxembourg City, which is located in the Gutland, as are most of the country's main population centres, including Esch-sur-Alzette, Dudelange, andDifferdange. Besides Luxembourg City, the other main towns are primarily located in the southern Red Lands region, which lines the border between Luxembourg and France to the south.