Esch-sur-Alzette

Esch-sur-Alzette (Luxembourgish: Esch-Uelzecht, German: Esch-an-der-Alzette or Esch-an-der-Alzig, French: Esch-sur-Alzette) is a commune with city status in south-western Luxembourg. It is the country's second city, and its second-most populous commune, with a population of 33,286 inhabitants. It lies in the south-west of the country, on the border with France. The town is usually referred to just as Esch, but there is also a village and commune further north named Esch-sur-Sûre from which to distinguish it. It lies in the valley of the Alzette, which flows through the town. The capital, Luxembourg City, is roughly 15 km (9.3 mi) to the north-east.

History

For a long time Esch was a small farming village in the valley of the Uelzecht river. This changed when important amounts of iron ore were found in the area in the 1850s. With the development of the mines and the steel industry the town's population multiplied tenfold in a couple of decades. In 1911 the steel and iron producing company ARBED was founded. and the development of the steel industry, especially in the south of the country, provided Luxembourg with sustained economic growth during the second half of the 19th century.

Esch-sur-Alzette (canton)

Esch-sur-Alzette is a canton in the south-west of Luxembourg, in Luxembourg District. The capital is Esch-sur-Alzette.

The canton consists of the following 14 communes:

Esch-sur-Alzette (Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg constituency)

The constituency Esch-sur-Alzette elected members to Luxembourg's national legislature, the Chamber of Deputies, from 1848 until its abolition in 1919. It was coterminous with the canton of Esch-sur-Alzette, in the south of the country.

After its abolition, it was replaced by Sud, which also included the canton of Capellen.

Members elected to represent Esch-sur-Alzette include Dominique Brasseur (1866–90), Xavier Brasseur (1902–12), and Léon Metz (1875–1918).