Luxembourg History Podcast

Today, we’re looking at some of the lesser-known aspects of Luxembourgish history and culture. We’ll start off with an investigation of folk dancing in the Grand Duchy, before finding out about Luxembourg’s one-time calendar.

Today, we’re taking a belated look at Luxembourg’s female political pioneers. We’ll investigate how the Grand Duchy’s women secured the right to vote in the aftermath of the First World War, before turning to examine the lives of the country’s first female deputy and its first female minister.

Today, we’re looking at one of Luxemborug's most important historical figures, and the tradition he created which has continued to this day. We’ll explore John the Blind's life and how he became mythologised as a national hero, before turning to the history of the Schueberfouer down to the present day.

Did you know that Luxembourg has a rich tradition of fables and fairy tales? Today, we’re delving into two of Luxembourg’s most famous literary works: Michel Rodange’s Renert, and D’Maus Kätti by August Liesch. We’ll explore the stories they tell, the meanings behind them and the impact they have had on the development of Luxembourg’s cultural scene.

Today, we’re concluding our look the history of Luxembourg’s participation at the Olympic Games. We’ll cover the exploits of the most successful Olympic artist of all time, the unknown story of Mary Meyers, and Luxembourg’s participation in a competition perhaps more suited to its size – the Games of the Small States of Europe.

Today, it’s the first episode of a double-header exploring the history of Luxembourg’s participation at the Olympic Games from 1900 to the modern day. To kick things off, we’ll be looking at a Luxembourger who won the marathon at the Paris 1900 Olympics; the life of Josy Barthel, arguably the Grand Duchy’s most famous athlete; and a naturalised Luxembourger who almost, but never quite, won gold at the Winter Olympics.

Today, we’re going to recount the tale of Loschbour Man, the oldest human skeleton ever discovered in the Grand Duchy. We’re going back deep in time – around 8,000 years, to be precise – to a time when humans were on the brink of a new age, and the first documented Luxembourger would be tragically left behind.

In the second episode of our double-header on Nazi Gauleiter Gustav Simon, we’re going to try to shed new light on his mysterious death. Now in case you missed it, last week we investigated the remarkable tale of Captain Hanns Alexander, a Jewish refugee from Berlin in the service of the British Army, and his hunt through occupied Germany in December 1945 for the hidden war criminal Gustav Simon. Today, we conclude this fascinating story with a deeper look at Captain Alexander’s role in Simon’s alleged suicide in a German prison.

The Luxembourg History Podcast is back with a bang! Today, we’re kicking things off with the first episode of a double-header looking at the remarkable tale of the capture and mysterious death of the former Nazi Gauleiter of Luxembourg, Gustav Simon, in the winter of 1945. In this episode, we’ll start off with the dramatic investigation that led to British Captain Hanns Alexander’s discovery of Simon near Paderborn in December 1945.

Today, we’re concluding our long-running focus on Luxembourg before the Grand Duchy. We’ll look at life in the early County of Luxembourg; delve into how Luxembourg was governed at the local level; and explore whether the 18th century really was a Golden Age for Luxembourg. We hope you enjoy the podcast.

Here at the Luxembourg History Podcast, we never want to upset you... but welcome to the penultimate episode of our first series. Today, we’re taking a look at the Habsburg Dukes and Duchesses of Luxembourg. We’ll cover how Luxembourg fell into Habsburg hands; how the Spanish Habsburgs suffered terribly from inbreeding; and how the Austrian Habsburgs could do everything but produce male heirs.

The nickname 'Gibraltar of the North' doesn't sound all that impressive these days, but back in the 18th century... ...it was about as fine a compliment as you could possibly give. Today on the LHP, we’re seeking to explain why Luxembourg became such a strategically important military fortress in early modern history. We’ll look into the origins of the Habsburg conflict with France, explore how the Duchy fared during two centuries of warfare, and end with a look at Louis XIV’s occupation of Luxembourg.

Anyone else like the sound of Luxembourg ruling Europe? At the LHP, we certainly do. That's right - today, we’re looking at the dramatic rise and fall of the House of Luxembourg. We’ll examine how the orphaned Henry VII ended up becoming Holy Roman Emperor, how the House reached its apogee of power under Charles IV, and how it all fell apart during the reign of the mighty Sigismund, leading to Luxembourg’s take-over by the great dynasties of Europe.

Today, we’re going right back to the start, to explore medieval Luxembourg. We'll investigate Luxembourg before Luxembourg, hear about some of the myths surrounding the founding of the castle in 963, and tell some of the more interesting stories of the early County of Luxembourg.

Today, we’re looking at the history of religion in Luxembourg. We’ll look at the origins of Christianity in the Grand Duchy, tell the stories of Luxembourg’s patron saints, and discover how religion has evolved in the Grand Duchy up to the present day.

Revolutions, a coup d'état, the Treaty of Vienna and the man behind Place Guillaume II - this episode of the Luxembourg History Podcast really has it all.

Today, after a series of episodes on Luxembourg's most famous emigrants, we’re turning the tables and looking at the story of immigration to Luxembourg. We’ll look at the first modern wave of immigration in the late 19th century, hear aboutIt the arrival of the Portuguese in the 1970s, and delve into government statistics to find out more about recent changes in the Grand Duchy’s demographics.

Today, we’re returning to Chicago, to continue our study of the impact of Luxembourg’s emigrants to the United States. We’ll be looking in depth at the lives of four individuals of Luxembourgish descent: a police officer, a rabbi, a tennis player, and the man behind US Flag Day.

Today, in keeping with last week's theme of emigration from the Grand Duchy, we're focusing on the lives of arguably the most famous Luxembourg-American, Edward Steichen, and the contrasting destinies of two Marys of Luxembourgish descent.

Today, we’re exploring a new theme, focusing on the history of Luxembourgish emigration. We’ll look at why in the 19th century, Luxembourgers left the Grand Duchy in great numbers; how their expeditions to South America largely failed; and how many did eventually come to settle in the United States, creating a Luxembourg-American community which exists to this day.

Today on the Luxembourg History Podcast, we’re looking at Luxembourg and the French Revolution. We'll cover the Siege of Luxembourg by French revolutionary forces, life and rebellion under the French occupation, and the impact of Napoleon's endless wars.

Today, we’re concluding our look at Luxembourg and the Second World War. We’ll look at how Luxembourg was liberated, zoom in on the events of Liberation Day in the outskirts of the capital, and hear how parts of Luxembourg were re-occupied by the Nazis during the Battle of the Bulge.

This week, we’re looking into the Nazi occupation of Luxembourg, from May 1940 to September 1944. We’ll talk about the absorption of Luxembourg into the German Reich, collaboration and resistance, the deportation of the Jews, and the darkest day in Luxembourg’s history.

This week's episode covers how Grand Duchess Charlotte became an icon of resistance in the wake of the German invasion in 1940, how her son Jean was present at the liberation of Luxembourg, and we’ll also delve into the tragic story of Charlotte’s sisters, one of whom would end up in a Nazi concentration camp.

This week, we'll be following on from our second episode on Luxembourg during the First World War, looking at the abdication crisis of 1918-19.

Luxembourg was actually the first country to be invaded by Germany in 1914, although things didn’t exactly go to plan for the Germans.

The first episode of Luxembourg History podcast goes all the way back to the birth of Luxembourg as the world's only remaining Grand Duchy.

Join us at the Luxembourg History Podcast as we uncover hidden gems in the history of the world’s last Grand Duchy