The tiny country Luxemburg got its name from
a castle, which dates back to the Roman Empire. The castle became the
residence of the counts of the Ardennes 963, which from 1083 was called the
county of Luxemburg. Its count Henri VII was elected to German king 1308 and
his dynasty became one of Europe's most powerful houses, among others were
Bohemia and Hungary part of the Luxemburg dynasty's possessions. It was
during this time Luxemburg was elevated to a duchy (1354). Because of
Wenceslas II's financial difficulties was Luxemburg pawned 1388. The rulers
of Luxemburg styled themselves as dukes but Wenceslas and his descendants
continued to use the title duke of Luxemburg. This meant that there were two
kind of Luxemburg dukes during the period 1388-1457, hereditary dukes (duc héréditaire)
and actual regents (duc par engagère). Luxemburg became a part of the
Burgundian lands 1457 and shared their fate until the Belgian revolt 1830.
The French speaking part of Luxemburg joined Belgium as a province while the smaller German speaking part became
an independent state in a personal union with The Netherlands. The union was
dissolved 1890 due to different succession laws. Before that had Luxemburg
been elevated to a grand duchy at the congress in Vienna 1814.
Guillaume I
Guillaume II
Guillaume III
Adolphe
Guillaume IV
Marie Adelaide
Charlotte
()
1964-2000
2000-
House of Bourbon
Jean
Henri
* = Henri V was duke of Limburg 1226-1247.
** = Wenceslas I was married with Johanna who was duchess of Brabant and Limburg.
*** = Elizabeth's husband Antoine who was duke of Brabant and Limburg had the
title count of Luxemburg 1411-1415. After 1443 was Philippe the Good
the real regent of Luxemburg.
= 
= 
=