n.
City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 76,833), capital of Luxembourg .
A rocky promontory along the Alzette River was the site of a Roman fortress and later of a Frankish castle, around which the medieval town developed. Siegfried, count of Ardennes, purchased this castle and made the duchy of Luxembourg independent in 963. The strongest in Europe after Gibraltar , the castle was garrisoned by the Prussians as a bulwark of the German Confederation (181566); it was dismantled by treaty in 1867. Long an important road and railway focus, the city is also an important industrial and financial centre. It is the seat of the European Court of Justice and several administrative offices of the European Union .