卢森堡

正式名称卢森堡大公国(Grand Duchy of Luxembourg)

欧洲西部国家。面积2,586平方公里。人口约444,000(2001)。首都︰卢森堡。大部分人口是法国人和德国人。语言︰卢森堡语、法语和德语。宗教:天主教新教路德宗)和犹太教(少数)。货币︰欧元(euc)。卢森堡长82公里,宽56公里,全境分为两个区:北部是欧士林(Oesling)区,占国土面积1/3,为亚耳丁山脉向东延伸的余脉,形成一片深谷切割的高原;其余部分为庞沛(Bon Pays)区,亦称嘉特兰(Gutland),是一座绵延起伏的高原。经济主要以重工业、国际贸易和银行业为基础,个人所得居世界第二位(仅次於瑞士)。政府形式为君主立宪政体,两院制。国家元首为大公,政府首脑是总理。

在罗马征服时期(西元前57~西元前50年),卢森堡地区即有比利时族的特雷维里人(Treveri)居住。西元400年後,日耳曼族入侵,该地区後被并入查理曼的帝国。1354年成为公爵领地,1441、1447年分别被割让予勃艮地的王室和哈布斯堡王朝。16世纪中叶,卢森堡又成为西属尼德兰的一部分。1815年的维也纳会议使卢森堡成为大公国,并将其授予尼德兰。1830年的一次起义之後,卢森堡的西部成为比利时的一部分,其余部分仍处於尼德兰的统治之下。1867年欧洲列强保证卢森堡中立及独立。19世纪後期,卢森堡利用其铁矿蕴藏建立庞大的钢铁工业。两次世界大战期间,卢森堡都被德国入侵并占领。第二次世界大战後,卢森堡放弃中立,於1949年加入北大西洋公约组织,1944年加入比荷卢经济联盟,1957年加入欧洲经济共同体。现为欧洲联盟的会员国,经济持续发展。

Luxembourg

Country, western Europe. Area: 998 sq mi (2,586 sq km). Population (2000 est.): 439,000. Capital: Luxembourg. Most of the population is ethnically French or German. Languages: Luxembourgian, French, German. Religions: Roman Catholicism, Protestantism (Lutheranism), Judaism (a small minority). Monetary unit: euro. At 51 mi (82 km) long and 35 mi (56 km) wide, it is divided into two regions: the Oesling, an extension of the Ardennes Mountains in the northern third of the country consisting of a high plateau dissected by river valleys; and the Bon Pays, or Gutland, a rolling plateau that occupies the rest of the country. Luxembourg's economy is largely based on heavy industry and international trade and banking, and its per capita income is the second highest in the world (after Switzerland). It is a constitutional monarchy with two legislative houses; its chief of state is the Grand Duke, and the head of government is the prime minister. At the time of Roman conquest (57-50 BC), the Luxembourg area was inhabited by a Belgic tribe, the Treveri. After AD 400, Germanic tribes invaded the region. It later came under Charlemagne's empire. Made a duchy in 1354, it was ceded to the house of Burgundy in 1441 and to the Habsburgs in 1477. In the mid-16th century it became part of the Spanish Netherlands. The Congress of Vienna in 1815 made it a grand duchy and awarded it to the Netherlands. After an uprising in 1830, its western portion became part of Belgium, while the remainder was held by the Netherlands. In 1867 the European powers guaranteed the neutrality and independence of Luxembourg. In the late 19th century it built a great steel industry by exploiting its extensive iron-ore deposits. It was invaded and occupied by Germany in both world wars. Following World War II, it abandoned its neutrality by joining NATO in 1949. It joined the Benelux Economic Union in 1944 and the European Economic Community in 1957. A member of the European Union, its economy has continued to expand.

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