''Mir wëlle bleiwe wat mir sinn'' (;

Luxembourgish Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. As a standard form of th ...

for "We want to stay what we are"; archaic spelling ''Mir wölle bleiwe wat mir sin'') is the

national motto This article lists state and national mottos for the world's nations. The mottos for some states lacking general international recognition, extinct states, non-sovereign nations, regions, and territories are listed, but their names are not bold ...

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 ...

. The national motto is also translated into the other two official languages, French and German, although they do not have the status of a national language: "''Nous voulons rester ce que nous sommes''" ( French) and "''Wir wollen bleiben, was wir sind''" (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

). It refers to the ambition of the

Luxembourgish people Luxembourgers ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerger ) are a Germanic ethnic group 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. Luxembourg ...

to retain their

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

identity and sovereignty.

Origin and history

The phrase's origin can be traced back to ''De Feierwon'', a patriotic song written in 1859 to pay homage to the country's first international (cross-border) railway. Its chorus reads: :Kommt hier aus Frankräich, Belgie, Preisen, :Mir wellen iech ons Hémecht weisen, :Frot dir no alle Säiten hin, :Mir welle bleiwe wat mir sin. In English, this reads: :Come here from France, Belgium, Prussia, :we want to show you our fatherland :ask in all directions, :We want to stay what we are.

References

National mottos National symbols of Luxembourg {{Luxembourg-stub