The Grünewald () is a

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

in central

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, most of which is owned by the national government. At 3,734 hectares in size, it is the largest forest in Luxembourg, stretching through the communes of

Luxembourg City Luxembourg (; ; ), also known as Luxembourg City ( or ; ; or ), is the capital city of Luxembourg and the Communes of Luxembourg, country's most populous commune. Standing at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers in southern Luxe ...

, Niederanven, Steinsel, Walferdange,

Lorentzweiler Lorentzweiler () is a commune and small town in central Luxembourg, in the canton of Mersch. It is mostly situated in the Alzette valley, and includes a small portion of the Gréngewald forest. , the town of Lorentzweiler, which lies in the ce ...

, Junglinster and Sandweiler; the centre of the forest is situated north-east of central Luxembourg City. As a result of its proximity to Luxembourg's

capital city A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...

, it is a popular destination for tourism, leisure, and hospitality. Within the Grünewald are the

sources Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute ...

of the

Black Ernz The Black Ernz (, , ) is a river flowing through Luxembourg, joining the Sauer at Grundhof. It flows through the towns of Junglinster and Mullerthal Little Switzerland (, , ) is a nickname for a region in the east of Luxembourg, bestowed up ...

and the

White Ernz The White Ernz (, , ) is a river flowing through Luxembourg, joining the Sauer at Reisdorf. It flows through the towns of Larochette Larochette (; Luxembourgish: ''Fiels'', German: ''Fels'') is a commune and town in central Luxembourg, in t ...

History

The Grünewald is held in great affection by the Luxembourgish people, dating back to the formation of the country in the 1840s. In 1846, the government proposed selling the 6.69 square kilometres (1650

acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

s) remaining of the forest to raise money for economic development. The forest was bought by Baron Ziegesar for 530,000 Dutch guilders, and presented to

Grand Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. The title is used in some current and former independent monarchies in Europe, particularly: * in ...

William II. In grand ducal possession, the Grünewald's territory was expanded greatly by a series of acquisitions. In 1890, however, the end of the

personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...

between the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and Luxembourg meant the owner of the Grünewald was no longer the Luxembourgish sovereign, but Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. The following year Grand Duke Adolphe bought the forest, by now 24.43 km² (6,037 acres) in size, from the Dutch crown for 2,788,798

francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' ( King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centur ...

. Over the following 35 years, the territory was augmented further by a series of separate purchases; during the same period, some areas of the Grünewald were sold off. Due to financial hardship at the height of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, in 1934,

Grand Duchess Charlotte Charlotte (''Charlotte Adelgonde Elisabeth Marie Wilhelmine''; 23 January 1896 – 9 July 1985) was List of monarchs of Luxembourg, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg from 14 January 1919 until her abdication on 12 November 1964. Her reign is the long ...

sold much of the Grünewald, together with Berg Castle, to the Luxembourgish government. Of the total price tag for the two properties of 40 M francs, 20 M was denoted for the Grünewald; this was seen to have undervalued the forest (as it did the castle), as it had been assessed by the government as being worth 25 M francs. The sale included 7.76 km² (1,920 acres) of the forest, leaving 10 km² (2,500 acres) in the hands of the Grand Duchess.

Urban legend Urban legend (sometimes modern legend, urban myth, or simply legend) is a genre of folklore concerning stories about an unusual (usually scary) or humorous event that many people believe to be true but largely are not. These legends can be e ...

has it that Charlotte's husband, Prince Félix, lost the Grünewald at a casino, but this is false; the revenue went to pay for the upkeep of the grand-ducal household, and was not spent on personal consumption, let alone gambling losses. Since 1934, the size of the Grünewald has fallen, mostly as a result of expansion of Luxembourg City and the construction of numerous roads in and around the area.

Gallery

File:Porte du Grünewald.jpg, ''Porte du Grünewald'' (Gate to Grünewald) in Luxembourg City File:Junglinster, Grünewald, Kriibseweier (108).jpg, A pond in the woods File:Steinsel, Grünewald, Dujangsbrak (101).jpg, Winter File:Steinsel, Luxembourg - panoramio (12).jpg, Rocky outcrops File:Steinsel, Grünewald, Geeschterhaischen (102).jpg, Ruins File:Grünewald, Niederanven, Pavillon Adolphe (101).jpg, An old pavilion File:SchetzelGréngewald01.jpg, Catholic heritage site File:Grunewald Rendez-vous Jan 2013.jpg, Lieu-dit ''Rendez-vous''

Footnotes

External links

Niederanven Walferdange Steinsel Geography of Luxembourg Forests of Luxembourg {{Luxembourg-geo-stub