The Oesling or Ösling () is a region covering the northern part of both the

Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

and Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm, within the greater

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

area that also covers parts of

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The Oesling covers 32% of the territory of Luxembourg; to the south of the Oesling lies the Gutland (literally "Good Land"), which covers the remaining 68% of the Grand Duchy as well as the southern part of the Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm.

Features

The region is characterised by hills and large

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

forests. Almost all of Luxembourg's tallest hills are in the Oesling, particularly in the north and north-west, near the borders with Belgium and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. Its main hill chains are cut by scenic river valleys, most notable those of the Clerve, Our, upper Sauer, and Wiltz.

Towns and villages

The Oesling is sparsely populated, with few larger towns;

Clervaux Clervaux (; lb, Clierf or (locally) ; german: Clerf) is a commune and town in northern Luxembourg, administrative capital of the canton of Clervaux. The town's arms, granted in 1896, show three blackbirds on a gold ground in the chief of a red ...

, Vianden and Wiltz are the largest ones in the Luxembourgish part of the Oesling, of which only Wiltz has a population of over 6,000 people. The area is known for its hill-side villages, which rely upon the visitors that the tourist season brings.

History

In the late 18th century, a popular, rural rising against the French Revolutionary forces was centered upon the Oesling area. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

was partly fought in the region in late 1944 and early 1945.

Regionalist pressures

In the 2004 legislative election, the

Free Party of Luxembourg The Free Party of Luxembourg ( lb, Fräi Partei Lëtzebuerg), abbreviated as FPL, was a political party in Luxembourg. Foundation and 2004 elections Founded in 2003, it emerged onto the political scene in the run-up to the 2004 legislative e ...

, a small regionalist party based in the Oesling and led by local personality

Jean Ersfeld Jean Ersfeld (born c.1953) is a politician from Luxembourg. Background and political stances He founded the Free Party of Luxembourg (FPL) in 2003 and led it in Luxembourg's legislative elections in 2004. None of the FPL's candidates, includ ...

, offered candidates, but none were elected. The party had difficulty in continuing to organize after the election. Landscapes of Rhineland-Palatinate Regions of Luxembourg Regions of the Eifel Ardennes {{Luxembourg-geo-stub