Luxembourgers ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerger ) are a Germanic

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

and nation native to their nation state of Luxembourg, where they make up around half of the population. They share the culture of Luxembourg and speak Luxembourgish. Luxembourgers were, much like Austrians, historically considered to be a regional subgroup of

ethnic Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

and viewed themselves as such until the collapse of the German Confederation. Luxembourg became independent, while remaining in personal union with the Netherlands, after the signing of the

Treaty of London The Treaty of London or London Convention or similar may refer to: *Treaty of London (1358), established a truce between England and France following the Battle of Poitiers *Treaty of London (1359), which ceded western France to England *Treaty of ...

in 1839. The personal union proved short-lived as it was bilaterally and amicably dissolved in 1890.Cole (2011), p. 246 Legally, all citizens of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg are considered to be ''Luxembourgers'' per Luxembourgish law, although a distinct Germanic ethnolinguistic identification is vocally espoused and promoted. The corresponding adjective is "Luxembourgish".

Location

Map of the Luxembourger Diaspora in the World

Most ethnic Luxembourgers live in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, a small country in Europe between Germany, France, and Belgium, and are of

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

/ Gallo-Roman and Germanic ( Frankish) origin. Luxembourgish is the only native language of Luxembourgers (as taught by parents), although nearly all of them learn

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and German in school and are able to communicate in these two languages as well from an early age on. Despite the rather small number of Luxembourgers, there is a relatively large

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

, in Europe and elsewhere. Particularly, there are populations in the surrounding countries of Belgium, France, and Germany. For the most part, this is due to historic reasons, especially the three

Partitions of Luxembourg There have been three Partitions of Luxembourg between 1659 and 1839. Together, the three partitions reduced the territory of the Duchy of Luxembourg from to the present-day area of over a period of 240 years. The remainder forms parts of moder ...

, which led to former territories of Luxembourg being incorporated into each of the three surrounding countries. There are also significant populations in the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

, with the largest contingent being in the United States. Others migrated to Hungary along with Germans during the first phase of German eastward settlement in the 12th century. Transylvanian Saxons and

Banat Swabians The Banat Swabians are an ethnic German population in the former Kingdom of Hungary in Central-Southeast Europe, part of the Danube Swabians. They emigrated in the 18th century to what was then the Austrian Empire's Banat of Temeswar province, la ...

are the descendants of these settlers.

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* * {{Authority control Ethnic groups in Luxembourg Germanic ethnic groups

Location

See also

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