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General Information
Area 2586 sq km (999 sq miles). Population 448,300 (official estimate 2003). Population Density 173.4 per sq km. Capital Luxembourg-Ville. Population: 78,300 (official estimate 2003). Geography The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg shares borders to the north and west with Belgium, to the south with France and to the east with Germany. One-third of the country is made up of the hills and forests of the Ardennes, while the rest is wooded farmland. In the southeast is the rich wine-growing valley of Moselle. The capital, Luxembourg-Ville, is built on a rock overlooking the Alzette and Petrusse valleys. Government Constitutional monarchy. Luxembourg is a founding member of the European Union and the only Grand Duchy in the world. Head of State: Grand Duke Henri since 2000. Head of Government: Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker since 1994. Language Ltzeburgesch, a German-Moselle-Frankish dialect, became the officially recognised national language in 1984. French and German are generally used for administrative and commercial purposes. Many Luxembourgers also speak English. Religion Around 88 per cent Roman Catholic, with Protestant, Anglican and Jewish minorities. Time GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October). Electricity 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Communications Telephone Full IDD is available. Country code: 352 (no area codes). Outgoing international code: 00. International phones have a yellow sign showing a telephone dial with a receiver in the centre. Mobile telephone GSM 900 and 1800 networks. Network operators are P & T Luxembourg (website: www.luxgsm.lu), Tango SA (website: www.tango.lu) and Vox Mobile (website: www.vox.lu). Fax There is a fax booth at the Luxembourg-Ville main post office. Faxes may be sent to a central number (491 175) for delivery by express mail within Luxembourg. Internet Internet and e-mail services are available in Internet cafes. ISPs include Visual Online Sarl (website: www.vo.lu). Telegram There are facilities at the post office at 25 rue Aldringen, Luxembourg-Ville, and in all major towns. Hotels often allow guests to use their facilities. Post Post to other European destinations takes two to four days. There are poste restante facilities throughout the country. Prospective recipients must first register for a PO Box. Mail will be held for up to one month. Post office hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1200 and 1330-1700. The Luxembourg-Ville main office (opposite the railway station) is open Mon-Fri 0600-1900, Sat 0600-1200. Smaller offices may open for only a few hours. Telephone 49911 for details. Press There are several daily newspapers including the Ltzebuerger Journal, Luxemburger Wort, Tageblatt/Zeitung fir Letzebuerg and Zeitung vum Ltzeburger Vollek. There is one weekly English-language newspaper, The Luxembourg News. Radio BBC World Service (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice) and Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov) can be received. From time to time the frequencies change and the most up-to-date can be found online. |
