LUXEMBOURG NATIONAL MUSEUM

formally National Museum of History and Art, French: Muse National d'Histoire et d'Art, formerly (until 1988) Luxembourg State Museums, national museum of Luxembourg, located in the historic centre of Luxembourg city at the Fish Market (March-aux-Poissons). It is housed in an extensive late Gothic and Renaissance mansion. The museum has collections of Gallo-Roman art, coins, medieval sculpture, armour, and contemporary art, as well as a 25,000-volume library. There is also a special exhibit entitled The Fortress of Luxembourg with models. In 1854 the Luxembourg Society of Natural Sciences established a museum that became the nucleus of the Luxembourg State Museums. The collections were moved to Fish Market square in 1922. From 1970 the earth sciences and astronomy exhibits were expanded, and in 1988 the State Museums were administratively divided into the National Museum of History and Art, which remained at the Fish Market, and the National Museum of Natural History, which completed its move to a separate location (on Mnster Street) in 1996. The economy Luxembourg's economy is notable for its close connections with the rest of Europe, since Luxembourg itself is too small to create a self-sustaining internal market. Luxembourg's prosperity was originally based on the iron and steel industry, which in the 1960s represented as much as 80 percent of the total value of exports. By the late 20th century, however, the nation's economic vigour stemmed chiefly from its involvement in international banking and financial services and in such noncommercial activities as hosting intra-European political activities. The result of this adaptability and cosmopolitanism is a very high standard of living; the Luxembourgers rank in the world second only to the Swiss in their standard of living and their per capita income. Resources Luxembourg's natural resources are quite modest. Its agriculture is not particularly prosperous, and its once-copious iron ore deposits had been exhausted by the 1980s. With the exception of water and timber, there are no energy resources. Indeed, Luxembourg has almost nothing that predisposes it to agricultural or industrial development. The roots of its economic growth lie in its use of capital and in the adaptability and ingenuity of its work force rather than in natural resources. The land Relief and soils The northern third of Luxembourg, known as the Oesling (sling), comprises a corner of the Ardennes Mountains, which lie mainly in southern Belgium. It is a plateau that averages 1,500 feet (450 metres) in elevation and is composed of schists and sandstones. This forested highland region is incised by the deep valleys of a river network organized around the Sre (or Sauer) River, which runs eastward through north-central Luxembourg before joining the Moselle (or Mosel) River on the border with Germany. The Oesling's forested hills and valleys support the ruins of numerous castles, which are a major attraction for the region's many tourists. The fertility of the relatively thin mountain soils of the region was greatly improved with the introduction in the 1890s of a basic-slag fertilizer, which is obtained as a by-product of the grand duchy's steel industry. The southern two-thirds of Luxembourg is known as the Bon Pays, or Gutland (French and German: Good Land). This region has a more varied topography and an average elevation of 800 feet. The Bon Pays is much more densely populated than the Oesling and contains the capital city, Luxembourg, as well as smaller industrial cities such as Esch-sur-Alzette. In the centre of the Bon Pays, the valley of the northward-flowing Alzette River forms an axis around which the nation's economic life is organized. Luxembourg city lies along the Alzette, which joins the Sre farther north. In the east-central part of the Bon Pays lies a great beech forest, the Mllerthal, as well as a sandstone area featuring an attractive ruiniform topography. The country's eastern border with Germany is formed (successively from north to south) by the Our, Sre, and Moselle rivers. The slopes of the Moselle River valley, carved up in chalk and calcareous clay, are covered with vineyards and receive a substantial amount of sunshine, which has earned the area the name of Little Riviera. Besides vineyards, the fertile soils of the Moselle and lower Sre valleys also support rich pasturelands. Luxembourg's former iron mines are located in the extreme southwest, along the duchy's border with France. Climate Luxembourg has a mild climate, with considerable precipitation. The north is slightly colder and more humid than the south. The mean temperatures in Luxembourg city range from 33 F (0.7 C) in January to 63 F (17 C) in July, but in the Oesling both extremes are slightly lower. The Oesling receives more precipitation than the Bon Pays, but the greatest amount, about 40 inches (1,000 millimetres), and the least, about 27 inches, fall in the southwest and southeast, respectively. The sheltered valley of the Moselle River benefits from a gentler and sunnier climate than does the rest of the duchy. The people Luxembourg has been one of the historic crossroads of Europe, and myriad peoples have left their bloodlines as well as their cultural imprints on the grand duchy. The Celts, the Belgic peoples known as the Treveri, the Ligurians and Romans from Italy, and especially the Franks were most influential. The dialect spoken by Luxembourg's native inhabitants is Luxembourgian, or Letzeburgesch, a Moselle-Franconian dialect of German that has been enriched by many French words and phrases. Most Luxembourgers speak French (used for most official purposes) and German (the lingua franca). There is a strong sense of national identity among Luxembourgers despite the prevalence of these foreign influences. Almost all of Luxembourg's native citizens are Roman Catholic, with a small number of Protestants, mainly Lutherans, and Jews. Luxembourg has a higher proportion of foreigners living within its borders than does any other European country. This is chiefly the result of an extremely low birthrate among native Luxembourgers, which has led to a chronic labour shortage. Fully one-quarter of the total population is of foreign birth and consists mainly of Portuguese, Italians, and other southern Europeans, along with French, Belgians, and Germans. Among the foreign workers are many in the iron and steel industry, and numerous others work in foreign firms and international organizations located in the capital. The 20th century has also witnessed a continual internal migration away from the countryside to urban areas, and the growth of Luxembourg's service sector at the expense of heavy industry has only accelerated this trend. Luxembourg city in particular continues to attract migrants from the rest of the country because of its vibrant banking and finance sector. The increasing concentration of the population in the southwest has led the government to try to locate some industries in rural areas. About two-thirds of Luxembourg's work force is engaged in trade, government, and other service occupations, while almost one-third of the work force is employed in industry and construction, and the rest in agriculture.