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Luxembourg
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With the coming Youth Olympic Games, our school is proud to present information on Luxembourg.
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Luxembourg
is one of the smallest countries in Europe, and ranked 175th in size of
all the 194 independent countries of the world. The country is about
2,586 square kilometres in size, and measures 82 km long and 57 km
wide. To the east, Luxembourg borders the German Bundesländer of
Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, and, to the south, it borders the
French région of Lorraine. The Grand Duchy borders the Belgian Walloon
Region, in particular the latter's provinces of Luxembourg and Liège,
more in particular the German-speaking Community of Belgium, to the
west and to the north respectively. |
Quick Facts
Short name
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Luxembourg
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| Official name |
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg |
| Location |
Western Europe |
| Capital |
Lëtzebuerg (Luxembourg) |
| Flag |
 |
| Population |
465,000 inhabitants |
| Major languages |
Luxembourgish, French, German |
| Major religions |
Roman Catholicism |
History
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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. |
People
The people of Luxembourg are called
Luxembourgers. The native population has a Celtic base with a French
and Germanic blend. The immigrant population increased in the twentieth
century due to the arrival of immigrants from Belgium, France, Germany,
Italy, and Portugal.
Language
Three languages are recognised as
official in Luxembourg: French, German, and Luxembourgish, a Franconian
language of the Moselle region very similar to the local German dialect
spoken in the neighbouring part of Germany, except that it includes
more borrowings from French. So in principle, Luxembourgish is a High
German dialect with the status of a national language. Apart from being
one of the three official languages, Luxembourgish is also considered
the national language of the Grand Duchy; it is the mother tongue or
"language of the heart" for nearly all Luxembourgers.
In addition to the three official languages, English is taught in the
compulsory schooling and much of the population of Luxembourg can speak
English, at any rate in Luxembourg City.
Luxembourg at the Olympics
Athletes from Luxembourg have competed at
28 editions of the modern Olympic Games. Luxembourg's National Olympic
Committee, the Comité Olympique et Sportif Luxembourgeois, was founded
in 1912 and sent its first team to the 1912 Summer Olympics in
Stockholm.
Medalists
Luxembourg has won four Olympic medals (one gold and three silver) in its 28 Olympic appearances.
| Medal |
Name |
Games
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Sport |
Event |
| 2 Silver |
Joseph Alzin
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1920 Antwerp
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Weightlifting |
Men's heavyweight |
| Gold |
Josy Barthel
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1952 Helsinki |
Athletics |
Men's 1500 metres |
| 2 Silver |
Marc Girardelli |
1992 Albertville |
Alpine skiing |
Men's giant slalom |
| 2 Silver |
Marc Girardelli |
1992 Albertville
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Alpine skiing |
Men's super-G |
Adapted from worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/europe/lu.htm & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg
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