Developing independence (1815 – 1890)

The three Partitions of Luxembourg

Luxembourg remained more or less under French rule until the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, when the Congress of Vienna gave formal autonomy to Luxembourg. The Prussians had already in 1813 managed to wrest lands from Luxembourg, to strengthen the Prussian-possessed Duchy of Julich. The Bourbons of France held a strong claim to Luxembourg, the Emperor of Austria on the other hand had controlled the duchy until the revolutionary forces had joined it to the French republic (he reportedly was not enthusiastic about regaining Luxembourg and the Low Countries, being more interested in the Balkans). The King of Prussia held the claim of the senior heiress, Anna. An additional claimant emerged, William VI, Prince of Orange who now ruled the Netherlands, and whose mother and wife were descendants of the Prussian royal family and thus also descendants of both daughters of the last Luxembourg heiress. Prussia and Orange-Nassau made the following exchange deal: Prussia received the ancestral lands of Nassau in Central Germany (Dillenburg, Dietz, Siegen, Hadamar, Beilstein); the Prince of Orange in turn received Luxembourg.

Luxembourg, somewhat diminished in size (as the medieval lands had been slightly reduced by the French and Prussian heirs), was augmented in another way through the elevation to the status of grand duchy and placed under the rule of William I of the Netherlands. This was the first time that the duchy had a monarch who had no claim to inheritance of the medieval patrimony (as lineages through his mother and wife had a better entitled claimant, the Prussian king himself). However, Luxembourg's military value to Prussia prevented it from becoming a part of the Dutch kingdom. The fortress, ancestral seat of the medieval Luxembourgers, was taken over by Prussian forces, following Napoleon's defeat, and Luxembourg became a member of the German Confederation with Prussia responsible for its defense.

In July 1819 a contemporary from Britain visited Luxembourg: his journal offers some insights. Norwich Duff writes that "Luxembourg is considered one of the strongest fortifications in Europe, and … it appears so. It is situated in Holland [then as now used by English speakers as shorthand for The Netherlands] but by treaty is garrisoned by Prussians and 5000 of their troops occupy it under a Prince of Hesse. The civil government is under the Dutch and the duties collected by them. The town is not very large but the streets are broader than [in] the French towns and clean ands the houses are good.....[I] got the cheapest of hot baths here at the principal house I ever had in my life: one franc.

"Much of the Luxembourgish population joined the Belgian revolution against Dutch rule. Except for the fortress and its immediate vicinity Luxembourg was considered a province of the new Belgian state from 1830 to 1839. By the Treaty of London in 1839 the status of the grand duchy was confirmed as sovereign and in personal union to the king of the Netherlands. In turn, the predominantly French speaking part of the duchy was ceded to Belgium as the province de Luxembourg. This loss left the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg a predominantly German state, although French cultural influence remained strong. The loss of Belgian markets also caused painful economic problems for the state. Recognizing this, the grand duke integrated it into the German Zollverein in 1842. Nevertheless, Luxembourg remained an underdeveloped agrarian country for most of the century. As a result of this about one in five of the inhabitants emigrated to the United States between 1841 and 1891.

It was not until 1867 that Luxembourg's independence was formally ratified, after a turbulent period which even included a brief time of civil unrest against plans to annex Luxembourg to Belgium, Germany or France. The crisis of 1867 almost resulted in war between France and Prussia over the status of Luxembourg. The issue was resolved by the second Treaty of London which guaranteed the perpetual independence and neutrality of the state. The fortress walls were pulled down and the Prussian garrison was withdrawn.

Famous visitors to Luxembourg in the 18th and 19th centuries included the German poet Goethe, the French writers Emile Zola and Victor Hugo, the composer Franz Liszt, and the English painter Joseph Mallord William Turner.