LUXEMBOURG

	L UXEMBOURG before 1814 was part of France. In 1815 it became a grand duchy as  part of Belgium was founded and in 1839 the part Wallonen of Luxembourg went to Belgium. In 1842 Luxembourg became part of the German toll union. In 1867/69 the   independent state Luxembourg was founded.
	Let me give you the postcard version of Prussian/German history.
	When I was a boy, a lot of people could remember when Germany and, also, Italy did not exist per se.  Italy was only a geographic terms, embracing kingdoms, dukedoms, city states,  Papal States, and areas  controlled by the Hapsburg Emperors.  A strong, northern kingdom with the aid of various allies, finally drove out the Austrians and incorporated the various little states  into what we now call Italy.  The unifier: the kingdom of Piedmont and Sardinia ; commonly  called Savoy and located on the Italian Riviera.
	The same thing happened in Germany, which in the 18th Century, comprised more than 300 polities: some tiny, some sizable (like Bavaria, Baden, etc.).  Napoleon reduced this to 15, and under the driving control and leadership of a brilliant Prussian aristocrat, Otto von  Bismarck,   Prussia began unifying Germany using, essentially, a series of three wars, aiming not so much  at conquest of new territories as at getting rid of Austria hegemony over the area and French  influence and animating a Second Reich  (the First being under Charlemagne, the Third under  Hitler).
	Histoire du Luxembourg, by Gilbert TRAUSCH, Editions Hatier, 1992.
	The Duchy of Luxembourg, at the beginning of the 17th century, was part of the so-called "Pays;Bas espagnols", Spanish possession. 1635  France starts an expansion by war, to the north and the east. 1659  Pyrenees peace Treaty / France holds the southern part of the                         Duchy of Luxembourg, 1679  Frances continues its expansion to the north, 1684  The city of Luxembourg capitulates after a siege by Vauban, 1697  The French return the Duchy of Luxembourg to Spain / Treaty of                          Ryswick. 1713 / 1714  Treaties of Utrecht and Rastadt put an end to the Spanish                          succession war, the Spanish heritage is split and Charles VI of                           Habsburg gets, amongst other regions, the Duchy of Luxembourg. This                          starts the so called "Pays;Bas  autrichiens", Austrian possession..                           The Habsburg dynasty holds the Duchy of Luxembourg until the French                          revolution wars.
	N: Maria Theresia, Austrian Empress, in 1766 originated what is today commonly called "Le cadastre the Marie Theresia", in order to establish fiscal equality amongst her subjects in the Duchy of Luxembourg ; the "cadastre" is a very valuable source for genealogical research.
	1795  June 7th.  The Austrian troops lead by Marechal Bender capitulate  to the French revolutionary armies,  after a six-month siege. Luxembourg falls to the French.
	1795, October 1rst ; French Decree declaring the annex ion of the former "Pays;Bas autrichiens" and the "Principaute ecclesiastique de Liege". The new regions are devised into 9 "departments". Luxembourg becomes the "Department des Forets".
	1797 ; The Austrian emperor officially renounces to the Duchy of Luxembourg  by the treaty of Campoformio (197) and the "peace of Luniville" (1801). Luxembourg stopped to be a part of the German empire.
	1814 ; Bonaparte's empire crumbles ; the allied armies cross the Moselle on January 7th, 1814.
	1814 ; January 15th, the fortress of Luxembourg is invested by Hessian troops.
	1814 ; May 3rd ; the fortress capitulates.
	1815 ; At the Vienna Congress,  Guillaume I of Orange;Nassau, "Roi/King des Pays;Bas/of the Netherlands", gets the  former "Pays;Bas autrichiens" and the "Principaute ecclesiastique de Liege",  in fact the territories of what is now Belgium.
	The  Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is created, by the allied diplomats, as some sort of barrage to all future hegemonistic French aspirations.
	The Grand Duchy becomes the personal property (union personnelle) of Guillaume I. From 1815 on, there where two juridically independent states, under one sovereign, a "King Grand Duke": the "Royaume des Pays;Bas" and "Le Grand Duchy de Luxembourg".
	Prussia gets some Luxembourg territories at the east of the Moselle, Sauer and Our rivers (Bitburg, Saint;Vith, Schleiden, Cronenburg).
	The Grand Duchy is integrated into the newly created "Confederation Germanic", as one state amongst some other 35 ; 40 independent Germanic states. The city of Luxembourg becomes a federal fortress ; with a Prussian garrison. In fact, Guillaume I, according to the Vienna treaty, had the right to put is own troops into the fortress, together with the Prussian ones, but he renounced that right.
	In 1815 , the Grand Duchy holds two linguistic halves, "splitting" it into a western part, wherein people speak French or rather "wallon",  and an eastern Germanic part, wherein people speak the Luxembourg's dialect.
	The Grand Duchy enters the Germanic confederation with its French speaking population. The creation of the Grand Duchy, as an independent state, is in fact the result of diplomatic efforts and had nothing to with some sort of national Luxembourg's aspirations to statehood.
	1830 ; Revolutionary activities starting in Brussels. The Belgian part of the kingdom revolts against the policies of Guillaume I.
	The  Grand Duchy rallies the movement, with the exception of the capital where the Prussian      garrison holds strong.
	1830 ; October 4th, the revolutionary authorities proclaimed the Belgian independence. A decree of October 16th says that the Grand Duchy is part of the new Belgian  state. 1831 ; June 26th, London congress ; "XVIII articles treaty". Belgium as an independent and neutral state is confirmed. What to do with the Grand Duchy
	?  Emergence of the so-called "Luxembourg's question". Diplomats at the London congress leave the problem to be directly negotiated between Guillaume I, King of the Pays;Bas and the new Belgian state.
	After a military victory by the Dutch troops, French armies had to intervene to help the fragile  Belgian state.
	1831 ; October 14th, London congress ; "XXIV articles treaty". Belgium agrees to leave the  Grand Duchy to Guillaume I. But, its western half (Arlon, Bastogne, Marche, Durbuy) should  be cut off and annexed to Belgium.
	Guillaume I refuses the treaty. He wants to keep the whole of the Grand Duchy.
	Status quo. During that time, the Grand Duchy was under Belgian administration, with the exception of the capital, staying under Dutch; Prussian administration.
	1838, The status quo comes to an end in march 1838. Guillaume I finally accepts the proposed   solution.
	Meanwhile, Belgium had grown accustomed to the idea of keeping the Grand Duchy , so Belgium now refused the treaty.
	Finally, after diplomatic pressure, the treaty was accepted in 1839 and the Grand Duchy was split. The eastern half was hold by the Dutch Orange;Nassau until 1890, as personal property    of the King Grand Duke, whereas the western half went to Belgium as "Province de Luxembourg". Since 1839 those boundaries of the Grand Duchy haven't changed (2586 km2)
	Marc Lecuit Grand Duchi de Luxembourg     marc.lecuit@perceval.lu