Wasserbillig ( lb, Waasserbëlleg ) is a town in the commune of Mertert, in eastern

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 ...

. , Wasserbillig has 2,186 inhabitants, which makes it the largest town in Mertert. Wasserbillig is the administrative seat of the commune of Mertert.

Geography

Wasserbillig lies at the confluence of the rivers

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A ...

and

Sauer The Sauer (German and Luxembourgish, , ) or Sûre (French, ) is a river in Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. A left tributary of the Moselle, its total length is . Rising near Vaux-sur-Sûre in the Ardennes in southeastern Belgium, the Sauer ...

, which form the border with

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 ...

at the town. On the opposite side of the Moselle and linked by a car ferry lies

Oberbillig Oberbillig is a municipality in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The municipality is situated on the Moselle river, a situation reflected in the design of its coat of arms. There is a car ferry across the Moselle ...

, Germany; on the opposite side of the Sauer and linked by vehicle and rail bridges lies

Wasserbilligerbrück Langsur is a municipality in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mesenich Mesenich is a small German village belonging to the '' Ortsgemeinde'' of Langsur. It is located on the north of the verbandsgemeinde, near t ...

, Germany. Wasserbillig is the lowest settlement in Luxembourg, at above sea level.

History

Around 100 AD, there was already a town where Wasserbillig is situated which the Roman named Biliacum. This is also where the second part of Wasserbillig's name comes from (-''billig'' from ''Biliacum''). It was mainly a transloading harbour for goods coming down the Sauer or by cart. During the construction of the bridge over the Sauer in 1952, remnants of an old Roman bridge were found.

Prominent citizen

Prominent citizens of Wasserbillig include

Jacques Santer Jacques Santer (born 18 May 1937) is a Luxembourg politician who served as the 9th President of the European Commission from 1995 to 1999. He served as Finance Minister of Luxembourg from 1979 until 1989, and the 20th Prime Minister of Luxe ...

, born in the town in 1937, who served as

's Prime Minister and as

President of the European Commission The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...

Transport

The town's railway station is on the line between Luxemburg City and the German border, connecting east to Trier.

References

{{Authority control Mertert Towns in Luxembourg Germany–Luxembourg border crossings