City Europe
Luxembourg City
Luxembourg City is the capital of Luxembourg, a small country in Europe. It was built on a high rock above two rivers.
Luxembourg City is the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It grew around a castle built in 963 on a rocky outcrop above the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers, and became one of Europe's greatest fortresses. Luxembourg's statistics office estimated 137,678 people in the city on 1 January 2026.
Luxembourg City grew around a castle of 963 into a fortress that UNESCO calls one of the largest of modern Europe, until most walls came down after 1867. Today it hosts several European Union bodies. Its population, estimated at 137,678 on 1 January 2026, has grown from 78,924 at the 1981 census.
Photo: Pierre Blaché from Paris, France, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Luxembourg City
Luxembourg City is the capital of Luxembourg. Luxembourg is a small country in Europe.
Many people who live in the city are citizens of other countries.
Luxembourg City is the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Universalis says that, though it is not large, it stands out for how international it is, with several European Union bodies and a well-known banking and finance sector.
Luxembourg's statistics office estimated 137,678 people in the city on 1 January 2026. Of them, 95,676 had a foreign citizenship and 42,020 Luxembourg citizenship, so about seven in every ten people in the city are citizens of another country.
City Population's table from Luxembourg's statistics portal and the city administration shows the city at 78,924 people (1981 census), 76,688 (2001), 95,058 (2011), 124,509 (1 January 2021 estimate) and 137,678 (1 January 2026 estimate).
The Kirchberg quarter grew fastest, from 1,878 people in 1981 to 10,982 in 2026. In 2026, 95,676 residents (about 69%) held a foreign citizenship.
- Country
- Luxembourg (capital)
- People in the city (estimate, 1 January 2026)
- 137,678
- People with foreign citizenship (2026 estimate)
- 95,676
- World Heritage Site
- old quarters and fortifications, inscribed 1994
City Hall on Place Guillaume II
In the photo, the city hall glows with warm lights. Wide steps lead up to its doors.
Two stone lions sit beside the steps!
The photo shows Luxembourg City's City Hall, the Hôtel de Ville, lit up under a deep blue sky. It stands on a square called Place Guillaume II. Wide steps lead to tall doors, flags hang above the middle door, red flowers fill the window boxes, and two stone lions guard the steps.
Nearby are the Bock Casemates, tunnels of the old defenses, and the Adolphe Bridge, a stone arch bridge opened in 1903 that now carries trams and cars.
The Commons file, a long exposure by Pierre Blaché from 16 September 2024, is a featured picture filed under the City Hall of Luxembourg City; its camera stood on the square about 60 m south-southeast of Wikidata's point for Place Guillaume II. The city administration gives the Hôtel de Ville as its address.
Wikidata dates the Bock Casemates, a historic underground defense system, to 1640, and records the Adolphe Bridge as a stone arch bridge opened on 24 July 1903, 42 m high, with a pedestrian and cycle bridge hung beneath its upper deck.
- City Hall (Hôtel de Ville)
- seat of the city administration
- Place Guillaume II
- square in the old city
- Adolphe Bridge
- stone arch bridge, opened 24 July 1903
- Bock Casemates
- tunnels of the old defenses, from 1640
The Gibraltar of the North
Long ago, a count built a castle on a high rock here. A town grew around it.
The town built strong walls and became a huge fortress. Later, most of the walls were taken down.
Universalis says the city grew around a castle built in 963 by Count Siegfried on a high point above the deep valleys of the Alzette and the Pétrusse. In the 12th century a stone wall was built around the town.
UNESCO says the city passed from one great European power to another, and each made its walls stronger, until it was one of the largest fortresses of modern Europe, called the "Gibraltar of the North". In 1867 it was decided to take the fortress down, and a belt of green spaces replaced many of the walls.
UNESCO describes the old city on a steep rocky outcrop at the meeting of the Alzette and Pétrusse, a natural fortification that only needed completing on the west side. The settlement's wall of the 12th century was extended in the 14th and 15th centuries; the Burgundians, Habsburgs, Spanish, French (with Vauban), Austrians and Prussians strengthened the fortress in turn.
After the Treaty of London in 1867, most fortifications were demolished, but gates, forts, bastions and casemates remain. Universalis says a belt of green spaces took their place, between the old upper town and districts built at the end of the 19th century.
- Castle built
- 963
- Stone town wall
- 12th century
- Fortifications dismantled
- decided in 1867
A tram to the airport
Luxembourg City has a long tram line. It goes all the way to the airport!
The trams cross a big old stone bridge.
Luxembourg City's tram line is 16.1 kilometers long. Its first section opened in 2017, and it grew in stages until 2025, when it reached Luxembourg Airport at Findel. On some stretches, about 3.6 kilometers in all, the trams run without overhead wires.
The tram crosses the Adolphe Bridge, a stone arch bridge from 1903, and stops at the central station, which Universalis says was built in 1858 south of the city.
UrbanRail.Net lists the tram's openings: Rout Bréck (Pont Rouge) to Luxexpo, 3.5 km (10 December 2017); to Place de l'Étoile, 1.6 km (27 July 2018); to Gare Centrale, 2 km (13 December 2020); to Lycée Bouneweg, 1.4 km (11 September 2022); to Stadion, 3.7 km (7 July 2024); and Luxexpo to Findel airport, 3.9 km (2 March 2025). It is run by Luxtram with CAF trams.
Universalis places Findel airport east of the city and calls it a hub for the cross-border Greater Region.
- Tram
- 1 line, 16.1 km
- First tram section
- opened 10 December 2017
- Extension to the airport
- opened 2 March 2025
Mild summers, chilly winters
Luxembourg City has warm summers and chilly winters. On average, winter nights are a little below freezing.
Rain or snow falls on about half the days of the year.
The World Meteorological Organization's averages for Luxembourg (1981–2010) give July days an average high of about 23 °C. In January, days average about 3 °C and nights about −1.6 °C.
About 897 millimeters of precipitation fall in an average year, spread quite evenly over the months, on about 178 days. October and December are the wettest months, with about 87 millimeters each, and April the driest, with about 58.
The WMO table for Luxembourg, 1981–2010, gives average highs from 3.1 °C in January to 23.2 °C in July and average lows from −1.6 °C in January to 13.3 °C in July; December, January and February have average lows below freezing.
The monthly precipitation averages add up to about 897.0 mm on about 178 days with 0.1 mm or more. October (86.8 mm) and December (86.7 mm) are wettest and April (58.2 mm) driest, so no month gets less than two-thirds of the wettest month's amount.
- July, average high (WMO, 1981–2010)
- 23.2 °C
- January, average low (same period)
- −1.6 °C
- Precipitation in a year (sum of the monthly averages)
- about 897 mm
A capital of Europe
Many people come to work in Luxembourg City from nearby countries every day.
Some big offices of the European Union are in the city.
European institutions have been in Luxembourg City since 1952. Universalis says the government developed the Kirchberg plateau for them, and that it now holds the European Investment Bank, the European Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors, along with banks, culture and sports buildings.
The Kirchberg quarter had only 1,878 people in 1981 but an estimated 10,982 in 2026. Universalis also notes that many workers cross the border from neighboring regions to work in the capital each day.
Universalis (Christian Dessouroux) describes the old upper town and the Bourbon plateau as the business and tourist center, the station district as a shopping and residential area, and the lower town's old craft and industrial suburbs as now home to banks, restaurants, cafés and a cultural scene in fully restored streets.
It names the growing daily flows of cross-border workers and rising land prices among the city's main challenges.
- European institutions in the city
- since 1952
- On the Kirchberg plateau
- European Investment Bank, Court of Justice, Court of Auditors
- People in the Kirchberg quarter (2026 estimate)
- 10,982
Luxembourg City on the map
Find Luxembourg on the globe. It is a small country between Belgium, France and Germany. Its capital, Luxembourg City, is in the south!
The city sits on a rock above two river valleys.
Luxembourg City is in the south of the small country of Luxembourg, at about 49.6° north. The old town sits on a rocky outcrop where the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers meet.
Measured from Place Guillaume II, the City Hall's square, the Adolphe Bridge is about 0.4 kilometers to the southwest, the Bock Casemates about 0.5 kilometers to the east-northeast, and the central station about 1.2 kilometers to the south-southeast.
Luxembourg City lies at about 49.61° N and 6.13° E. Measured from Place Guillaume II (Wikidata points): the Adolphe Bridge 0.36 km southwest, the Bock Casemates 0.51 km east-northeast and Luxembourg railway station 1.22 km south-southeast.
The hero photo was taken on 16 September 2024 from the square, about 0.06 km south-southeast of Wikidata's point for Place Guillaume II (Commons camera location), facing the City Hall's front.
- Latitude
- about 49.6° north
- Longitude
- about 6.1° east
- Place Guillaume II to the central station
- about 1.2 km south-southeast
Amazing facts
-
Luxembourg City was once called the Gibraltar of the North because its walls were so strong!
In the 18th century, after the Austrians strengthened the fortress, Luxembourg City was called the "Gibraltar of the North".
UNESCO says the Austrians continued Vauban's work in the 18th century and created the "Gibraltar of the North".
-
Most people living in Luxembourg City come from other countries!
In 2026, about seven in every ten people living in Luxembourg City held the citizenship of another country.
City Population's 2026 estimate for the city gives 95,676 residents with a foreign citizenship and 42,020 with Luxembourg citizenship.
-
Under the city there are old tunnels made for soldiers long ago.
Wikidata dates the Bock Casemates, tunnels of the old defenses, to 1640.
Wikidata describes the Bock Casemates as a historic subterranean defense system, dated to 1640; UNESCO lists casemates among the fortress remains.
-
Some of Luxembourg City's trams run without wires overhead.
About 3.6 kilometers of Luxembourg City's 16.1-kilometer tram line have no overhead wires.
UrbanRail.Net lists the line as 16.1 km, 3.6 km of it without overhead line, including the sections to Place de l'Étoile and Gare Centrale.
Words to know
- fortress
- a large, strong place with thick walls, built to keep enemies out
- Grand Duchy
- a country ruled by a grand duke or grand duchess, like Luxembourg
- casemate
- a strong room or tunnel inside a fortress wall
- outcrop
- a big piece of rock that sticks up out of the ground
- citizenship
- officially belonging to a country, with its rights and duties
- city hall
- the building where a city's government works
Discovery challenge
-
What did people call Luxembourg City long ago because its walls were so strong?
What nickname did Luxembourg City's fortress get in the 18th century?
UNESCO says the Austrians' 18th-century work created what nickname for the fortress?
- The Gibraltar of the North
- The Venice of the North
- The Paris of the East
Show the answer
The Gibraltar of the North
The Gibraltar of the North!
The Gibraltar of the North.
The "Gibraltar of the North".
-
What was built on the rock first, long ago?
Luxembourg City grew around what, built in 963?
What did Count Siegfried build in 963 on the promontory above the Alzette and Pétrusse?
- A castle
- A bridge
- A railway station
Show the answer
A castle
A castle!
A castle.
A castle (fortified castle).
-
Where does Luxembourg City's tram line go to at one end?
Since March 2025, Luxembourg City's tram line reaches where?
Which 3.9 km tram extension opened on 2 March 2025?
- The seaside
- The airport
- The mountains
Show the answer
The airport
The airport!
Luxembourg Airport at Findel.
Luxexpo to Findel, Luxembourg Airport.
-
Who lives in Luxembourg City?
In 2026, about how many of every ten people in Luxembourg City held another country's citizenship?
In the 2026 estimate, about what share of Luxembourg City's 137,678 residents held a foreign citizenship?
- Hardly anyone with another citizenship
- About seven in ten hold another country's citizenship
- Only people born in the city
Show the answer
About seven in ten hold another country's citizenship
Lots of people from other countries!
About seven in ten.
About 69% (95,676).
-
Two rivers meet below Luxembourg City. Which is one of them?
Luxembourg City's old town stands where which two rivers meet?
UNESCO places the old city at the confluence of which two rivers?
- The Rhine and the Main
- The Alzette and the Pétrusse
- The Seine and the Marne
Show the answer
The Alzette and the Pétrusse
The Alzette and the Pétrusse!
The Alzette and the Pétrusse.
The Alzette and the Pétrusse.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Luxembourg City between Belgium, France and Germany.
- Explain why a steep rock above two rivers made a good place for a fortress.
- Describe how a fortress city became a center for European institutions.
- Read population tables that show citizenship as well as numbers.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Luxembourg City took down most of its fortress walls in 1867. Why might a city want to remove its walls, and what might it lose?
- Most people living in Luxembourg City hold another country's citizenship. What might be good about living in such an international city?
- Luxembourg City's tram runs some stretches without overhead wires. Why might a city not want wires in some places?
Try at home or in class
- Fortress model: build a town on a 'rock' of books or blocks with two 'rivers' around it, and decide where you would need walls.
- Bar chart: draw Luxembourg City's population in 1981, 2001, 2011, 2021 and 2026.
- Tram timeline: list the tram's openings from 2017 to 2025 and add up the lengths.
Key vocabulary: fortress, Grand Duchy, casemate, outcrop, citizenship, city hall
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Ville de Luxembourg: quarters (census 1981–2011, estimates 2021 and 2026) , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from Le Portail des Statistiques du Luxembourg and the Ville de Luxembourg
- City of Luxembourg: its Old Quarters and Fortifications , UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- Luxembourg, ville , Encyclopaedia Universalis (Christian Dessouroux)
- Ville de Luxembourg (official site) , Administration communale de la Ville de Luxembourg
- Luxembourg Tram , UrbanRail.Net (Robert Schwandl)
- World Weather Information Service: Luxembourg climatological information , World Meteorological Organization
- File:Luxembourg City Hall (54540726309).jpg (Pierre Blaché, 16 September 2024) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.