13.Luxemburg, the Historical Curiosity

BUT ere I talk of Switzerland I ought to mention a curious little independent principality, the name of which would hardly be known if it had not played quite an important role during the first days of the World War. Luxemburg(the“lützel”or“little”,burg)counts only one quarter of a million inhabitants, whose ancestors lived in this neighborhood when it was still part of the Roman province of Belgium.It was however of considerable importance during the Middle Ages on account of the strength of the capital, which was supposed to be one of the“impregnable”fortresses of the world.

That same fact and the jealousy between France and Prussia as to whom should own it made the Congress of Vienna of 1815 give the tiny country an independent status as a duchy of which the kings of the Netherlands should be the personal rulers to compensate them for the loss of their ancestral territories in Germany.

Twice during the nineteenth century the small duchy almost caused a war between Germany and France. In order to prevent further difficulties of that sort, the fortifications were finally dismantled and Luxemburg was officially declared to be“neutral territory”—like Belgium.

When the war broke out, the Germans violated this act of neutrality, basing their decision to do so upon the geographical necessity of invading France by way of the flat plains of the north and east without trying the hopeless expedient of forcing the steep tea-cup barriers of the west.(See France.)Luxemburg remained in German hands until 1918. Even now the small duchy is not actually out of danger, for the soil contains a considerable amount of iron ore.