Throughout its history, Luxembourg has been the object of military invasions because of its strategic position in central Europe wedged between the three powerhouses of France, Germany, and the Hapsburg possessions in Austria and Spain. As a result, Luxembourg city and its fortifications - at one time the most extensive in Europe - have been invaded and conquered by France, Spain, Austria, and Prussia. It was used by Napoleon as a staging ground for his European conquests. After his defeat, the Congress of Vienna in 1815 gave Luxembourg to William of Orange, the King of the Netherlands, during the realignment of Europe in order to compensate him for the loss of his home territoriy of Nassau in Germany. As a result, Luxembourg became associated for the first time with the Netherlands. It was established as a Grand Duchy under the personal rule of William and governed by the Netherlands as the 18th Province of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. However, because it had been disputed by Prussia during the negotiations at the Congress of Vienna, it also became part of the German Confederation and allowed to be garrisoned by Prussian troops to guard against any more French molestation.
In 1830, Luxembourg participated in the Belgian Revolution against the Dutch. After Belgium became independent, Luxembourg too gained some semblance of autonomy but at a great price to its territorial integrity. A great majority of the Grand Duchy's territory was partioned between Belgium and the Netherlands and the rest became independent though it continued to be ruled by the Dutch king as the Grand Duke. As a result, Luxembourg shared a monarch with the Dutch though it was no longer governed as a part of the Dutch state. This odd political arrangment continued until 1890 when King William III died without a male heir. Though the Dutch throne passed to his daughter Wilhelmina, Luxembourg's law did not allow the succession of the Grand Duke's title to females. The solution was that the Grand Duchy passed away from the Dutch throne and became entirely indendent as a possession of the House of Nassau-Weilburg headed by Grand Duke Adoph. The country has been ruled by this family ever since in spite of its subsequent invasion twice at the hand of the Germans, once during World War I and once again by the Third Reich during World War II.
Many people assume that the flag of Luxembourg is so similar to that of the Netherlands because of its close association with the Dutch monarchy. However, this is simply coincidental. The colors of Luxumbourg were first used during the Belgian Revolution when an adaptation of the arms of the Belgian province of Limburg (featuring a red rampant lion) were placed over a field of blue and white (or silver) stripes. The colors of red, white, and blue have been considered to be the national colors of Luxembourg ever since. During the 1840s, a simplified flag of horizontal red, white, and blue stripes were designed and used, but this design did not become official until 1972. In order to differentiate Luxembourg's flag from the Dutch flag, the 1972 legislation specified for the first time that the blue used on the Luxembourger flag should be a light sky blue in opposition to the darker shade of blue used on the Dutch flag.. Later, this color was identified as Pantone 299. However, there is still concern that the tlag is too similar to Holland's flag. There appears to be more than just lukewarm support for replacing the current flag with the civil ensign of Luxembourg which, as it has been pointed out by its proponents, is more historically significant since it is the same flag that was used by the Luxembourgers during the 1830 uprising against Holland. |
