CULTURE
Over a 400-year period, Luxembourg
Castle (Château de Luxembourg) was repeatedly attacked and
rebuilt by the Spaniards, Austrians, French, and Dutch, successively,
to become the strongest fortress in Europe after Gibraltar. One
such reinforcement was undertaken by the French military engineer
Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, who redesigned the city's
defensive fortifications after having orchestrated its siege in
1684 in the service of Louis XIV.
The Grand Ducal Palace (Palais
Grand-Ducal) is home to the royal family, heirs of William I (1772–1843),
king of The Netherlands and grand duke of Luxembourg (1815–40).
The palace dates from 1572, and later additions were made in 1895.
After renovations were completed in the 1990s, portions of the
palace were opened to the public.
The heart of the old town
is the Fish Market (Marché-aux-Poissons), around which
stand several 17th- and 18th-century buildings, including the
mansion housing the Luxembourg National Museum (National Museum
of History and Art). Um Bock, a 13th-century building and the
city's oldest, is also located at the Fish Market. Among the city's
other cultural institutions are the Jean-Pierre Pescatore Museum
(1966) of fine arts and the History Museum of the City of Luxembourg
(1996). At the town of Hamm 4 miles (6 km) to the east is a World
War II military cemetery with the graves of more than 5,000 U.S.
soldiers, including those of Brigadier General Edward Betts and
General George S. Patton, Jr.
