THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBUEG.* 



SMALL state of triangular shape occupies the eastern slope of the 

 Ardennes. The rivers Our, Sauer (Sure), and Moselle separate it 

 from Pthenish Prussia, whilst the boundaries towards Lorraine, 

 France, and Belgium are altogether conventional. Luxemburg, 

 like Belgium, is a neutral territory ; but whilst Belgium only won 

 its neutrality after its soil had many times been hotly contested, Luxemburg has 

 rarely been overrun by invading hosts. When it changed hands, as happened not 

 unfrequently, it did so as a dependency of some neighbouring province, and its 

 foreign masters scarcely ever interfered with the local institutions. 



In its physical aspects Luxemburg resembles the Belgian province of the 

 same name, except that that portion of it which forms a natural dependency 

 of Lorraine is of greater extent. It occupies the whole of the region to the 

 south of the hilly Oesling (1,810 feet), which joins the plateau of Western 

 Luxemburg to the Eifel in Rhenish Prussia. This southern region, known as 

 "Gutland" {i.e. Good' Land), differs in nearly every respect from the northern 

 uplands. These latter are of palaeozoic age, the thin layer of vegetable mould 

 being pierced in many places by Devonian rocks. The Gutland, on the other 

 hand, is of more recent formation, and its valleys are frequently covered with 

 alluvial soil. There are no coals. The artesian brine spring of Mondorf, near 

 Sierck, has been bored to a depth of 2,395 feet, down to tlie Devonian rocks, 

 without meeting with any carboniferous strata. 



Nearly the whole of the grand duchy lies within the basin of the Moselle, of 

 which the Sauer, its principal river, is a tributary. Most of its valleys are bounded 

 by cliffs or steep slojoes, and thus, although there are no elevated mountains, the 

 country is rich in picturesque scenery. All the ancient lakes have been drained, 

 and so have most of the artificial reservoirs, formerly very numerous. The gain 

 in arable land, however, would not appear to compensate for the deterioration of the 

 climate resulting from this reduction of the water surfaces. It is stated that the 



Area, 999 square miles. Population (1862), 202,313 ; (1876), 205,100. 



