Luxembourgeois

ETHNONYM: Luxembourgers

The Luxembourgeois are the citizens of the nation of Luxembourg (Grand Duchy of Luxembourg). Luxembourg is a landlocked nation of 2,586 square kilometers bounded on the south by France, on the west and north by Belgium, and on the east by Germany. In 1990 the estimated population was 369,000. Luxembourgeois are mostly of German, French, Belgian, and Italian ancestry. Today, however, they see themselves as a distinct cultural group. That distinctiveness, However, is based more on their political independence than on marked cultural or linguistic distinctions. French is the Language of government while German is the language of business. Recently, there has been a resurgence of interest in learning and speaking Letzeburgeshe (Luxembourgian), a local dialect of German with roots in the Moselle Frankish language once spoken in western Germany. Most Luxembourgeois are Roman Catholics, although there is also a marked Mennonite community.

Luxembourg has a free-market economy based on agriculture (barley, oats, potatoes, clover, rosebushes, grapes for wine making), livestock (pigs and dairy products), tourism, and industry (steel). Luxembourg is a constitutional monarchy governed by the Grand Duke or Duchess, a prime minister, and a Chamber of Deputies.

Bibliography

Kurian, George T. (1990). Encyclopedia of the First World. 2 vols. New York: Facts on File.