Celtic Luxembourg

Celtic Luxembourg existed during the period from roughly 600 BC until 100 AD, when the Celts inhabited what is now the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Their culture was well developed, especially from the 1st century BC, as can be seen from the remains of the extensive Titelberg site in the far southwest of the country and from the impressive finds in several tombs and necropolises in the Moselle valley and its surroundings.

The Celts inhabited large areas of Europe from the Danube to the Rhine and Rhône during the 6th to 1st centuries BC, a period sometimes referred to as La Tène after a site in Switzerland where Celtic remains were discovered in 1857. It was around 100 BC that the Treveri, one of the Celtic tribes, entered a period of prosperity. They constructed a number of fortified settlements or oppida near the Moselle valley in what is now southern Luxembourg, western Germany and eastern France.

Early inhabitants

In the territory now covered by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, there is evidence of primitive inhabitants right back to the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age over 35,000 years ago. The oldest artifacts from this period are decorated bones found at Oetrange.

Luxembourg

Coordinates: 49°45′N 6°10′E / 49.750°N 6.167°E / 49.750; 6.167

Luxembourg ⁱ/ˈlʌksəmbɜːrɡ/ (Luxembourgish: Lëtzebuerg; German: Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France to the south. It comprises two principal regions: the Oesling in the north as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland ("good country") in the south. With an area of 2,586 square kilometres (998 sq mi), it is one of the smallest sovereign states in Europe (about the same size as the English county of Northamptonshire). Luxembourg had a population of 524,853 in October 2012, ranking it the 8th least-populous country in Europe.

As a representative democracy with a constitutional monarch, it is headed by a grand duke, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and is the world's only remaining grand duchy. Luxembourg is a developed country, with an advanced economy and the world's highest GDP (PPP) per capita, according to the United Nations in 2014. Its central location has historically made it of great strategic importance to numerous powers, dating back to its founding as a Roman fortress, its hosting of a vital Frankish castle during the Early Middle Ages, and its role as a bastion for the Spanish Road between the 16th and 17th centuries.

Luxembourg (disambiguation)

Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a sovereign country in western Europe.

Luxembourg or Luxemburg may also refer to:

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Luxembourg

Belgium

France

United States

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Luxembourg (Belgium)

Luxembourg (Dutch:  Luxemburg ; same in German but with a slightly different pronunciation; Luxembourgish: Lëtzebuerg; Walloon: Lussimbork) is the southernmost province of Wallonia and of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the east) the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, France, and the Belgian provinces of Namur and Liège. Its capital is Arlon (Luxembourgish: Arel, Dutch: Aarlen), in the south-east of the province.

It has an area of 4,443 km², making it the largest Belgian province. At around a quarter of a million residents, it is also the province with the smallest population, making it the most sparsely populated province in an otherwise very densely populated country.

It is significantly larger (70%) and much less populous than the neighbouring Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

About eighty percent of the province is part of the densely wooded Ardennes region.

The southernmost region of the province is called Gaume or Belgian Lorraine (main city: Virton).

The Arelerland or Arlon region (in red on the following map of the province) alongside the border with the neighbouring Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg has the particularity that many residents speak Luxembourgish instead of the Walloon (French) dialect(s) spoken elsewhere in the province.