Despite its status as a national and European capital, little is known about its historical, architectural and heritage charms. Along its bridges, squares and streets, Luxembourg City reveals itself.
Formerly, because of its strategic position, its fortress earned it the name of Gibraltar of the North. Today, the stones content their history in harmony with nature and Luxembourg is now “the Green Heart of Europe”. By itself, the city elevates the small neighboring state of Belgium to the rank of “great in Europe and the world”.
The city in the south of the country is one of the three seats of the institutions of the European Union where the jurisdictional component and the financial nerve center are based. It is also reputed to be the first financial center of the European Union.
Behind modern multi-storey buildings, reflections of the talent of contemporary architects in which European powers are partly exercised, a historic center has been preciously preserved.
Surrounded by bastions and ramparts several meters thick, embellished with crenellated portals, walkways laid out on steep sandstone rocks and frightening loopholes, the imposing fortress and the surrounding old quarters have been listed as World Heritage since 1994. Unesco.
Although not extensive, the profile of the city is complex because it was born on several levels, straddling two valleys.
The heart is perched on top of steep cliffs overlooking deep valleys carved by the Alzette and the Pétrusse, rivers dotted with numerous bridges and viaducts including the famous Grand Duchess Charlotte and Adolphe bridges as well as the Passerelle.
The Adolphe bridge
The first stone was laid on July 14, 1900. Its name was chosen in honor of the Grand Duke Adolphe during his lifetime. Made up of three arches, when it was inaugurated in July 1903 it was the largest bridge in the world with masonry vaults.
The 153 m long infrastructure is one of the unmissable sights of the city. Under its unique deck designed in reinforced concrete, on a suspended footbridge for cyclists and pedestrians, 154 m long and 4 m wide. The work, the result of civil engineering, is a world first.
The viaduct bridge displays a similar profile.
The more modern Grand Duchess Charlotte ‘red’ crutch bridge, (335m), is more grimly known for the hundred or so suicides reported from its opening in 1963 until 1993, when an anti- suicide was installed.