Luxembourg tourist information
As far back as 963 Count Siegfried chose the Bock promontory to build his fortress which was to become, together with the first market near Saint Michael’s Church, the cradle of the city, surrounded by a simple fortification. In the course of the years a second and third fortification were constructed on the west side, whereas the rocks of the “Pétrusse” Valley and of the “Alzette” Valley constituted a safe natural defence. All these powerful ramparts, however, did not prevent the Burgundians from taking the city by surprise in 1443; it developed into a strategic position, important on the European chess-board. After more than four centuries the best military engineers of the Burgundians, the French, the Spaniards, the Austrians and of the Germanic Confederation ended up transforming the city into one of the mightiest emplacements in the world, known as the “Gibraltar of the North”.
Three girdles of battlements provided its defence: the inner one was fortified with bastions; the second included fifteen forts and the third was composed of an exterior wall, containing nine forts, all hewn into the rock. An extraordinary network of 23 km of underground tunnels - the so-called casemates - and more than 40.000 m2 of bombproof rooms were hewn in the rocky foundations of the city. They were capable of sheltering not only thousands of defenders with their equipment and their horses, but also workshops for artillery and arms, kitchens, bakeries and slaughter-houses.
The fortifications covered a surface of 180 ha, while the city accounted for only about 120 ha, inclusive of its lower districts. The Treaty of London, signed by the super-powers on May 11th 1867, stipulated the dismantling of the bulwarks, 10% of which still remain visible. The fortress ramparts and the historically impressive Old Town enjoy international reputation: in 1994 UNESCO listed them as World Heritage.
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