November 11, 2025 • 20 mins
A tiny country with two big symbols: we unpack why Luxembourg flies both a light-blue tricolor and a fierce red lion, and what each one really means. From medieval heraldry to river traffic on the Moselle, we trace how a civil ensign survived in a landlocked state and why the tricolor still fronts embassies while balconies and tattoos favor the lion. Along the way, we talk about color shades, Dutch influence, coat-of-arms logic, and the careful line a modern constitutional monarchy walks between dynastic memory and democratic identity.
We also open our bookshelves and get honest about the challenge of reading Luxembourg’s history in English. Emile Haag’s The Rise of Luxembourg stands as the rare, beautifully designed benchmark—even if the English edition is hard to find—while the French original remains available. For deeper dives in French or German, Gilbert Trausch’s landmark works and Michel Polfer’s concise surveys deliver clarity and credible sourcing. If you’re starting out in English, we flag approachable titles like Luxembourg America and The Clogshaped Duchy, with clear caveats about dryness, missing citations, and production quality. We share tips to dodge AI-generated “history” books and point to regional reads that make the borderland world come alive: Graham Robb’s The Discovery of France for everyday life and technology’s impact, and Simon Winder’s Lotharingia for a witty, sweeping portrait of the zone between French and German spheres—Luxembourg included.
By the end, you’ll see why the tricolor and the red lion aren’t rivals but a matched set: one speaks for the state, the other for the people. Find our complete reading list and links on our site, then tell us which flag you’d fly at home. If you enjoyed the show, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review to help others discover Back to Luxembourg.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:03):
Welcome to Back to Luxembourg, a podcast by
American Luxembourgers about theGrand Duchy of Luxembourg and
its people from the Moselle tothe Mississippi.
I'm Matthew Foster.
SPEAKER_02 (00:11):
And I'm Rebecca Seymours.
It's Tuesday, November 11, 2025.
And on this episode, we'retalking about the history and
symbolism of Luxembourg's flags.
SPEAKER_01 (00:20):
Then I'll talk about our favorite English language
books about Luxembourg's historyand culture.
So come along as we go spec upLight's a bush.
Back to Luxembourg.
When we were in Luxembourg justa few weeks ago, the place was
filled with flags.
Luxembourgers do seem to reallylike flying their flag.
Yes.
But like this was next level.
Yes.
(00:40):
Like it was just kind ofeverywhere.
SPEAKER_02 (00:41):
It was everywhere.
SPEAKER_01 (00:42):
Yep.
Ultimately three differentflags.
Right.
So there is the red, white, andblue flag.
Yep.
Then there is the red, white,and blue flag that had that has
Guillaume's monogram.
Yeah.
Monogram.
And then there is the red lionflag.
So that's the white and bluestriped one with the two-tailed
red lion with a crown facingleft.
(01:03):
Left.
Yep.
And so those are so those arethe flags that were just kind of
everywhere.
Yep.
One thing that I have kind ofnoticed is that people don't
really know why Luxembourg hasbasically two flags.
SPEAKER_02 (01:16):
And I think not only don't know why, but don't
realize it.
Like, and I would venture toguess, and I guess I don't know,
because like obviously thetri-color flag, I think you see
more as like the official flag.
SPEAKER_00 (01:27):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (01:28):
Right.
But people who travel toLuxembourg or us or who get into
whatever tend to, I think, likethe lion flag.
SPEAKER_00 (01:36):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (01:37):
Which makes sense to me.
You know, it's kind of it'sinteresting, it's different.
It's, you know what I mean?
Yeah.
But then they're like, wait,that's the official one, or is
this the official one?
And to be like, they're both sothey're yeah, they're both
official.
SPEAKER_01 (01:48):
So because I do like vexillology, which is the study
of flags.
And so the the big difference isthat nerd alert.
Yeah.
Bad nerd alert.
Like, yeah.
13 out of 10.
So the red, white, and blueflag, the tricolor flag is the
is is the state flag, meaningthat it is representative of
(02:11):
Luxembourg as a politicalentity.
Right.
And that the the red lion flagis officially defined as the
civil ensign.
Right.
And there is a whole historyabout like how civil ensigns
were differentiated.
Basically, what it is is thatcivil ensigns were back in the
day when flags were put onships, that civil ensigns were
(02:32):
used by civilian-owned ships.
So it was a way of identifyingthe country of origin, but also
signaling this is not navalvessel, this is not an official,
this is not a boat on officialbusiness.
Right.
And so most countries had for avery long time, the seafaring
countries, anyway, had for avery long time two different
flags.
So they would have the stateflag and then they would have
(02:53):
the civil flag.
As technology developed over the20th century, most countries
stopped using the system becausethere are much more reliable
ways of identifying who ownswhat now, you know.
And so, but Luxembourg has sortof like kept this.
The actual symbol of the redlion and the the striped
background has his historicalroots in the Noble House of
(03:15):
Luxembourg, which is a noblehouse that was the first noble
house of Luxembourg.
It is now extinct.
That's not who's in chargeanymore, but that was their coat
of arms.
And nobody really knows what theintent of the symbolism was with
all of that.
But this red lion, two tails,facing left, crown, standing on
its hind legs, stripeybackground, that has been around
(03:38):
for almost a thousand years.
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (03:40):
I'm very fascinated by you saying it's like naval
exploring, given that it's alionlocked country.
SPEAKER_01 (03:46):
Yeah.
So now the thing is that theflag of the Netherlands and the
flag of Luxembourg are basicallyidentical.
Right.
Both are red, white, and blue,horizontal stripes, equal width.
Luxembourg's colors, the red andthe blue, are lighter in shade.
So it's kind of sky blue insteadof dark blue, like the
(04:07):
Netherlands.
It is true that Luxembourg doesnot have ready access to the
sea.
Yeah.
But it does have access to theMoselle River and then to the
Rhine.
And so apparently, and uh I hopeI'm getting this story right.
But basically, what it was isthat they were like flying the
Luxembourg flag.
Okay.
But you couldn't readilyidentify that.
(04:27):
Oh, sure.
So it was kind of confused withthe Dutch flag.
SPEAKER_02 (04:30):
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
SPEAKER_01 (04:31):
And so you're like, well, let's let's use the let's
use the lion.
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
It was all tied to likeseafaring.
Yeah.
And that the first country thathad like what we would consider
a modern flag was theNetherlands.
Yep.
And that the colors were orange,white, and blue.
Okay.
And that they ditched orange,even though that's still their
national color, and it, but it'snot on their flag, because
(04:54):
orange as a dye was not verylight fast in the 1400s or
whatever it is.
So they were like, well, it'lljust change it to red.
But they did keep orange becauseit's a house of orange, it's the
royal family.
And so they did that.
But like the Dutch tri-color,because it is so simple to sew
and it's so easy to manufacture,uh, was massively influential,
(05:16):
which is why almost all Europeancountries have tricolors of
sorts, some sort or or twocolors.
And so I think that that's partof it too, where it's just like,
well, it's just much easier tomanufacture this stripey flag as
opposed to.
SPEAKER_02 (05:30):
Yep.
The red lion flag is veryreminiscent of like a coat of
arms, right?
SPEAKER_00 (05:36):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (05:36):
And historically, I mean, there's a connection with
that with flags, right?
Because that way back in theday, that was what you did is
you were the like you carriedthe coat of arms for whatever
you were defending, whateverfamily or whatever household you
were a vassal for.
You know what I mean?
Like, and so I can see a littlebit that it being that that
(05:58):
partly being why it's persisted,but also why it won't become the
official flag as like yeah, youknow, change like from history,
something more modern.
But but I don't I don't know ifthere's any truth in that.
SPEAKER_01 (06:11):
No, I mean, I think that there is, uh, just because
like with the Red Lion, becausethat motif is actually used in
like several neighboring places,like Limburg and Hesse in in
Germany and stuff like that.
And then the Red Lion, likethat, that flag is also used by
the province of Luxembourg, yep,in in Belgium.
(06:33):
And yeah, and I think thatthat's that's probably true.
It's too reminiscent of themonarchy, it's too closely tied
to like uh the the the monarchythat it doesn't really represent
Luxembourg as a constitutionalmonarchy, right?
But one thing that I do findalso extremely interesting about
the the Grand Ducal family isthat you know that they're not
(06:54):
house of Luxembourg, right?
They're house of Nassau.
Right.
And but over the generations,and I haven't seen any of
Guillaume's like coat of arms oranything like that, but they've
been adding more and moreLuxembourgish elements to like
their family's crest and thingslike that over the generations.
Yeah.
Because like every new GrandDuke can change it a little bit
(07:16):
if he wishes or if she wishes,it's a Grand Duchess, and that
they've been adding more andmore Luxembourgish elements to
it.
So I will be really curious,like and I haven't seen it yet,
but I'll be really, reallycurious to see if Guillaume has
made any of those updates or ifhe will make any of those
updates.
Yeah.
Because like they still want tolike make sure that they're, you
(07:36):
know, honoring their ownfamilies about like you know,
the House of Nassau and BourbonParma, et cetera, et cetera.
But but there's also arecognition, of course, in the
Grand Ducal family that they'rethe heads of state of
Luxembourg.
SPEAKER_02 (07:50):
Yeah.
And I would venture to guess newthe new Duke Guillaume, that's
probably more of a focus for himthan historically has been.
Like it's probably been, youknow, I think what you're saying
makes sense little by littleadding it in.
But given kind of what his focuswas and what you know what I
mean, it was very focused onlike Luxembourg and like kind of
(08:12):
being more connected with thepeople.
I could see him add more likecountry specific things rather
than kind of royal family stuff.
SPEAKER_01 (08:21):
Yeah, you know.
Because that red lion, I mean,everyone is attached to it.
Yep.
I mean, that's that is thesymbol of Luxembourg, I think,
if you were to ask most people.
There have been movementsthroughout Luxembourg's history
to ditch the tricolor and adoptthe the red lion flag as the
official flag, as the soleofficial flag.
(08:41):
The idea, I think, has broadsupport publicly, but it's never
gotten much of anywhere in thechamber of deputies, because it
would be a pain.
SPEAKER_02 (08:50):
Right, right.
Because I mean, if you lookaround most official buildings,
everything has the tricolorflag, right?
SPEAKER_01 (08:59):
If if only one flag is being flown, it's going to be
the tri-color.
Yeah.
Uh on an official buildinganyway, or you know, outside the
United Nations or something.
Right.
But I think that mostLuxembourgers, like I think that
if they were to fly a flag,right, they would fly the red
line.
I agree.
But I also really like the ideathat there's a flag that
represents Luxembourg as apolitical entity, right?
(09:21):
And then one that represents thepeople.
Right.
And that they're not the sameflag.
SPEAKER_02 (09:26):
When I asked my Luxembourgish family, I said, I
think I want to get a tattoo ofLuxembourg.
What should I get?
They all were like, root delouf.
Yeah.
You know, and I was like, oh,okay.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (09:36):
Yeah.
That and it's it's kind of it'sa little, it's a little
challenging to say.
SPEAKER_02 (09:41):
Like I don't say it well.
Yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (09:43):
Rod Leif.
SPEAKER_02 (09:45):
That's it.
SPEAKER_01 (09:46):
Honestly, we will get this someday.
We will.
We promise.
We're we're we're working on it.
SPEAKER_02 (09:50):
We're working, I'm trying.
SPEAKER_01 (10:06):
As a non-fiction reader and researcher, I've
tried to dive into the historyof Luxembourg.
But let me tell you, finding agood book about Luxembourg's
history in English is anabsolute quest.
You'd think that it would beeasy.
It's a modern, wealthy Europeancountry.
But the reality is that thequality availability and expense
of these books have led me downsome strange paths.
(10:28):
It's not a problem unique toLuxembourg.
I mean, if you try to find ahistory of Belgium, you're going
to run into the same problems,but this is my problem, and I
want to share my findings withyou.
I've noticed a few consistentissues across a lot of the books
that I've managed to get myhands on.
First is that a lot of thesebooks tend to be a little too
positive.
They present everything andeveryone in the best possible
(10:49):
light and avoid complex oruncomfortable issues.
I'm trying to avoid those inthis list.
The second major frustration isthe physical quality of the
books themselves.
Most of them are not super welldesigned or edited, and even
those released by properpublishing companies often have
noticeable misspellings orerrors.
The reproduction of a lot of theimages isn't great, and because
(11:11):
there aren't a lot of copiesavailable, and this is a tiny
market, some of the books getreally expensive.
But the biggest hurdle I facedas an English speaker is the
language barrier.
If you genuinely want to readthe best history of Luxembourg,
the single best thing you can dois learn French.
The top tier books are availablein French, sometimes German,
(11:32):
sometimes in Luxembourgish, andonly rarely in English or
Portuguese.
I do quite a bit of reading inFrench, but I know that's not
really an option for most peoplewho are listening to this
podcast.
So let's talk about the booksthemselves.
Starting with the closest thingto a gold standard that exists
in English.
The Rise of Luxembourg fromIndependence to Success by Emile
Hague.
(11:53):
And this was published in 2021.
That was the fourth editionpublished by Ernster, which is
the big bookseller inLuxembourg.
And it is a beautiful book.
It is wonderfully written, andcrucially, it is beautifully
designed.
It's the highest quality historyof Luxembourg I have found
available in English.
The only tragedy is that it iscurrently out of print.
(12:13):
I know at least two of theclerks who I've talked to at the
all-English Ernster bookstore inLuxembourg City, and I all think
that it should be reprinted, butI don't know how much poll we
actually have.
Fortunately, there is the Frenchoriginal, which is uneussite
originale, that is still inprint.
And so if you do read French, Iwould highly recommend picking
up a copy of that next timeyou're in Luxembourg City or
(12:34):
looking for it online.
And if you do speak French orGerman, there are two books that
I think are really, really greatthat are both written by a
historian, Gilbert Rausch, whois sort of Luxembourg's
historian par excellence.
He sadly passed away in 2016,but his works are still very
monumental.
And then for shorter options inFrench or German, there's Michel
(12:55):
Poly's Histoire du LuxembourgGeschichte Luxembourg, which is
a most more concise book.
I'm pretty sure that it's usedas kind of an introductory
textbook.
They're short books, but thehistory is really solid.
So if you speak French orGerman, I'd get one of those.
On the other hand, if you wantmore accessible titles, you
might find in English.
These are books that I wouldrecommend as an introduction to
(13:18):
Luxembourg, but they do comewith some caveats.
The first is Luxembourg America,19th, 20th, and 21st centuries
by the Roots and LeavesAssociation.
This was published in 2015 bythe Luxembourg American Cultural
Center in Belgium, Wisconsin.
It is a decent read.
It is divided into three partsthe basics of Luxembourg's
history and geography, and thenthe rest is about the
(13:39):
Luxembourger American experienceand focuses on the area around
the museum in Wisconsin.
This is not a particularlyin-depth book, but it is a good
introduction to the basics ofthe country's modern makeup.
Honestly, I think that thiswould be a perfect book for
someone doing a report on theirLuxembourgish heritage for
fifth-grade social studies classor something.
(14:00):
That kind of parade of NationsDay where you put on your little
peasant outfit and say moyen andhand out Knittelin.
So go get your A kids.
A good companion book to theRoots and Leaves Association's
book might be Luxembourg, TheClogshaped Duchy, a
chronological history ofLuxembourg from the Celts to the
Present Day by Andrew Reid.
(14:21):
And this was published in 2005.
And while it is a nice companionto the Luxembourg-America book,
the writing is exceedingly dry.
The facts are presented strictlyin chronological order, which
does not make for the mostengaging read.
What's more concerning to me isthat there are no illustrations
or maps, and critically nobibliography or citations.
And that is a little suspect.
(14:43):
I honestly would have assumedthat this book was written by AI
if it hadn't been published 20years ago.
And that brings me to a bigwarning.
There are several books onlinethat are AI written, like The
History of Luxembourg fromFrankish Empire to European
Union, which is one of the tophits on Amazon.
Be careful to avoid this AIslop, especially on a platform
(15:03):
like Amazon, and especiallyanything that's self-published.
Finally, there is an older workthat was published in 1995 that
I see a lot of used copiesonline.
That is The Grand Duchy ofLuxembourg: The Evolution of
Nationhood by James Newcomer.
Newcomer was an American soldierwho helped liberate Luxembourg
in World War II and fell in lovewith the country.
He wrote books about Luxembourg,and they were deeply appreciated
(15:26):
in Luxembourg at the time.
He was even made commander ofthe Order of Merit by the Grand
Duke.
But Newcomer was not ahistorian.
He was an English professor, andhe is not exactly forthright
about that in his books.
I found a lot of outdatedscholarship and a lot of
editorializing, a lot of whichis not exactly flattering 30
(15:47):
years on.
So although this book isrelatively easy to get your
hands on, I would read it with abig, big grain of salt.
There are two categories ofnonfiction books that I want to
mention, even though they arenot straight-up histories of
Luxembourg.
The first category is modernlooks of the countries.
And if you're looking for that,you have to check out Mike
(16:08):
McQuaid's books, An American inLuxembourg, An American Still in
Luxembourg, published in 2017and 2023.
Now, McQuaid is a YouTube guyand a writer, an American from
Seattle who ended up inLuxembourg, acquired
citizenship, even having to takethe Spochen test to do it.
His books are definitely aboutday-to-day expat life, and they
offer great insight into theculture of the modern country.
(16:31):
They're absolutely entertainingbooks, but as you expect, they
are not exactly meaty when itcomes to the history of
Luxembourg, and that's finebecause that's not what they
promise.
The second category are booksthat are not specifically about
Luxembourg, but in my view, theydo an excellent job telling the
story of the greater regionbetween France and Germany.
Both are written for a very wideaudience.
(16:53):
They're serious about thehistory, but they are not dry,
and they're written in friendly,approachable voices.
The first is The Discovery ofFrance: Historical Geography by
Graham Robb, written in 2007.
And this book does a terrificjob of explaining how the
technology available to peoplein different historical eras
really affected how they lived,and not just the nobility, but
(17:14):
common people.
It makes it a lot easier toimagine everyday life in these
time periods, which most booksmiss because they're focused on
political decision making andlarge historical events, like
who's marrying whom and whichduke is trying to assassinate
which bishop.
For a lot of people who areLuxembourger Americans, we
really want to know more aboutlike how our ancestors lived.
(17:37):
And this book actually does apretty good job of that.
So I would really recommend itfor that.
And finally, there is one bookthat is the third in a trilogy
on the history of the Germanicpeoples, and that is Lutherania,
a personal history of Europe'sLost Country by Simon Windner.
Now, the title is a reference tothe historical region that
includes Luxembourg, and it alsoincludes everything from
(18:00):
Flanders through Alonia andElsays Lorraine and Zaarland and
parts of Switzerland and Italy,everything between the German
and the French-speaking worlds.
And I found this book to beextremely charming and
incredibly amusing.
The author is witty, but stillproduces a really solid
historical work and an accountof the region.
(18:22):
And he has an enthusiasm for thehistory that is extremely
infectious.
And Wintner has this greatpassage where he refers to
Luxembourg as a coelacanth, aliving fossil or an anachronism,
but one that personifies thepersistence and the stubbornness
of the people from this area whohad to be persistent and
stubborn to survive.
So that's my bookshelf and myrecommendations.
(18:43):
If you decide to dive into thehistory of Luxembourg, prepare
for a little bit of a challenge,maybe learn some French, and
hopefully this guide will helpyou avoid the dry or outdated
stuff.
You can find complete detailsabout all of these books on our
website, bactu.lu, along withlinks to some of the books that
I highly recommend.
I really encourage you to checkthem out, and if you do, happy
(19:06):
reading!
SPEAKER_02 (19:19):
Next time on Back to Luxembourg, we'll have some
friends stop by to try a few ofour Luxembourg-inspired
Thanksgiving dishes.
SPEAKER_01 (19:26):
And now that the holidays are starting, we'll
talk about Luxembourg'sChristmas time traditions.
SPEAKER_02 (19:30):
Look for that episode on Tuesday, November
25th, 2025.
For more from Back to Luxembourgand to get in touch, visit our
website at back2.lu.
SPEAKER_01 (19:41):
If you like the episode, please subscribe and
write a review on the podcastservice of your choice.
SPEAKER_02 (19:46):
Thanks for listening.
I'm Rebecca Seymours.
SPEAKER_01 (19:48):
And I'm Matthew Foster.
Until next time, Abiento, YeshBeta, and of course, Addie.
Welcome to Back to Luxembourg, a podcast by
American Luxembourgers about theGrand Duchy of Luxembourg and
its people from the Moselle tothe Mississippi.
I'm Matthew Foster.
SPEAKER_02 (00:11):
And I'm Rebecca Seymours.
It's Tuesday, November 11, 2025.
And on this episode, we'retalking about the history and
symbolism of Luxembourg's flags.
SPEAKER_01 (00:20):
Then I'll talk about our favorite English language
books about Luxembourg's historyand culture.
So come along as we go spec upLight's a bush.
Back to Luxembourg.
When we were in Luxembourg justa few weeks ago, the place was
filled with flags.
Luxembourgers do seem to reallylike flying their flag.
Yes.
But like this was next level.
Yes.
(00:40):
Like it was just kind ofeverywhere.
SPEAKER_02 (00:41):
It was everywhere.
SPEAKER_01 (00:42):
Yep.
Ultimately three differentflags.
Right.
So there is the red, white, andblue flag.
Yep.
Then there is the red, white,and blue flag that had that has
Guillaume's monogram.
Yeah.
Monogram.
And then there is the red lionflag.
So that's the white and bluestriped one with the two-tailed
red lion with a crown facingleft.
(01:03):
Left.
Yep.
And so those are so those arethe flags that were just kind of
everywhere.
Yep.
One thing that I have kind ofnoticed is that people don't
really know why Luxembourg hasbasically two flags.
SPEAKER_02 (01:16):
And I think not only don't know why, but don't
realize it.
Like, and I would venture toguess, and I guess I don't know,
because like obviously thetri-color flag, I think you see
more as like the official flag.
SPEAKER_00 (01:27):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (01:28):
Right.
But people who travel toLuxembourg or us or who get into
whatever tend to, I think, likethe lion flag.
SPEAKER_00 (01:36):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (01:37):
Which makes sense to me.
You know, it's kind of it'sinteresting, it's different.
It's, you know what I mean?
Yeah.
But then they're like, wait,that's the official one, or is
this the official one?
And to be like, they're both sothey're yeah, they're both
official.
SPEAKER_01 (01:48):
So because I do like vexillology, which is the study
of flags.
And so the the big difference isthat nerd alert.
Yeah.
Bad nerd alert.
Like, yeah.
13 out of 10.
So the red, white, and blueflag, the tricolor flag is the
is is the state flag, meaningthat it is representative of
(02:11):
Luxembourg as a politicalentity.
Right.
And that the the red lion flagis officially defined as the
civil ensign.
Right.
And there is a whole historyabout like how civil ensigns
were differentiated.
Basically, what it is is thatcivil ensigns were back in the
day when flags were put onships, that civil ensigns were
(02:32):
used by civilian-owned ships.
So it was a way of identifyingthe country of origin, but also
signaling this is not navalvessel, this is not an official,
this is not a boat on officialbusiness.
Right.
And so most countries had for avery long time, the seafaring
countries, anyway, had for avery long time two different
flags.
So they would have the stateflag and then they would have
(02:53):
the civil flag.
As technology developed over the20th century, most countries
stopped using the system becausethere are much more reliable
ways of identifying who ownswhat now, you know.
And so, but Luxembourg has sortof like kept this.
The actual symbol of the redlion and the the striped
background has his historicalroots in the Noble House of
(03:15):
Luxembourg, which is a noblehouse that was the first noble
house of Luxembourg.
It is now extinct.
That's not who's in chargeanymore, but that was their coat
of arms.
And nobody really knows what theintent of the symbolism was with
all of that.
But this red lion, two tails,facing left, crown, standing on
its hind legs, stripeybackground, that has been around
(03:38):
for almost a thousand years.
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (03:40):
I'm very fascinated by you saying it's like naval
exploring, given that it's alionlocked country.
SPEAKER_01 (03:46):
Yeah.
So now the thing is that theflag of the Netherlands and the
flag of Luxembourg are basicallyidentical.
Right.
Both are red, white, and blue,horizontal stripes, equal width.
Luxembourg's colors, the red andthe blue, are lighter in shade.
So it's kind of sky blue insteadof dark blue, like the
(04:07):
Netherlands.
It is true that Luxembourg doesnot have ready access to the
sea.
Yeah.
But it does have access to theMoselle River and then to the
Rhine.
And so apparently, and uh I hopeI'm getting this story right.
But basically, what it was isthat they were like flying the
Luxembourg flag.
Okay.
But you couldn't readilyidentify that.
(04:27):
Oh, sure.
So it was kind of confused withthe Dutch flag.
SPEAKER_02 (04:30):
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
SPEAKER_01 (04:31):
And so you're like, well, let's let's use the let's
use the lion.
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
It was all tied to likeseafaring.
Yeah.
And that the first country thathad like what we would consider
a modern flag was theNetherlands.
Yep.
And that the colors were orange,white, and blue.
Okay.
And that they ditched orange,even though that's still their
national color, and it, but it'snot on their flag, because
(04:54):
orange as a dye was not verylight fast in the 1400s or
whatever it is.
So they were like, well, it'lljust change it to red.
But they did keep orange becauseit's a house of orange, it's the
royal family.
And so they did that.
But like the Dutch tri-color,because it is so simple to sew
and it's so easy to manufacture,uh, was massively influential,
(05:16):
which is why almost all Europeancountries have tricolors of
sorts, some sort or or twocolors.
And so I think that that's partof it too, where it's just like,
well, it's just much easier tomanufacture this stripey flag as
opposed to.
SPEAKER_02 (05:30):
Yep.
The red lion flag is veryreminiscent of like a coat of
arms, right?
SPEAKER_00 (05:36):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (05:36):
And historically, I mean, there's a connection with
that with flags, right?
Because that way back in theday, that was what you did is
you were the like you carriedthe coat of arms for whatever
you were defending, whateverfamily or whatever household you
were a vassal for.
You know what I mean?
Like, and so I can see a littlebit that it being that that
(05:58):
partly being why it's persisted,but also why it won't become the
official flag as like yeah, youknow, change like from history,
something more modern.
But but I don't I don't know ifthere's any truth in that.
SPEAKER_01 (06:11):
No, I mean, I think that there is, uh, just because
like with the Red Lion, becausethat motif is actually used in
like several neighboring places,like Limburg and Hesse in in
Germany and stuff like that.
And then the Red Lion, likethat, that flag is also used by
the province of Luxembourg, yep,in in Belgium.
(06:33):
And yeah, and I think thatthat's that's probably true.
It's too reminiscent of themonarchy, it's too closely tied
to like uh the the the monarchythat it doesn't really represent
Luxembourg as a constitutionalmonarchy, right?
But one thing that I do findalso extremely interesting about
the the Grand Ducal family isthat you know that they're not
(06:54):
house of Luxembourg, right?
They're house of Nassau.
Right.
And but over the generations,and I haven't seen any of
Guillaume's like coat of arms oranything like that, but they've
been adding more and moreLuxembourgish elements to like
their family's crest and thingslike that over the generations.
Yeah.
Because like every new GrandDuke can change it a little bit
(07:16):
if he wishes or if she wishes,it's a Grand Duchess, and that
they've been adding more andmore Luxembourgish elements to
it.
So I will be really curious,like and I haven't seen it yet,
but I'll be really, reallycurious to see if Guillaume has
made any of those updates or ifhe will make any of those
updates.
Yeah.
Because like they still want tolike make sure that they're, you
(07:36):
know, honoring their ownfamilies about like you know,
the House of Nassau and BourbonParma, et cetera, et cetera.
But but there's also arecognition, of course, in the
Grand Ducal family that they'rethe heads of state of
Luxembourg.
SPEAKER_02 (07:50):
Yeah.
And I would venture to guess newthe new Duke Guillaume, that's
probably more of a focus for himthan historically has been.
Like it's probably been, youknow, I think what you're saying
makes sense little by littleadding it in.
But given kind of what his focuswas and what you know what I
mean, it was very focused onlike Luxembourg and like kind of
(08:12):
being more connected with thepeople.
I could see him add more likecountry specific things rather
than kind of royal family stuff.
SPEAKER_01 (08:21):
Yeah, you know.
Because that red lion, I mean,everyone is attached to it.
Yep.
I mean, that's that is thesymbol of Luxembourg, I think,
if you were to ask most people.
There have been movementsthroughout Luxembourg's history
to ditch the tricolor and adoptthe the red lion flag as the
official flag, as the soleofficial flag.
(08:41):
The idea, I think, has broadsupport publicly, but it's never
gotten much of anywhere in thechamber of deputies, because it
would be a pain.
SPEAKER_02 (08:50):
Right, right.
Because I mean, if you lookaround most official buildings,
everything has the tricolorflag, right?
SPEAKER_01 (08:59):
If if only one flag is being flown, it's going to be
the tri-color.
Yeah.
Uh on an official buildinganyway, or you know, outside the
United Nations or something.
Right.
But I think that mostLuxembourgers, like I think that
if they were to fly a flag,right, they would fly the red
line.
I agree.
But I also really like the ideathat there's a flag that
represents Luxembourg as apolitical entity, right?
(09:21):
And then one that represents thepeople.
Right.
And that they're not the sameflag.
SPEAKER_02 (09:26):
When I asked my Luxembourgish family, I said, I
think I want to get a tattoo ofLuxembourg.
What should I get?
They all were like, root delouf.
Yeah.
You know, and I was like, oh,okay.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (09:36):
Yeah.
That and it's it's kind of it'sa little, it's a little
challenging to say.
SPEAKER_02 (09:41):
Like I don't say it well.
Yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (09:43):
Rod Leif.
SPEAKER_02 (09:45):
That's it.
SPEAKER_01 (09:46):
Honestly, we will get this someday.
We will.
We promise.
We're we're we're working on it.
SPEAKER_02 (09:50):
We're working, I'm trying.
SPEAKER_01 (10:06):
As a non-fiction reader and researcher, I've
tried to dive into the historyof Luxembourg.
But let me tell you, finding agood book about Luxembourg's
history in English is anabsolute quest.
You'd think that it would beeasy.
It's a modern, wealthy Europeancountry.
But the reality is that thequality availability and expense
of these books have led me downsome strange paths.
(10:28):
It's not a problem unique toLuxembourg.
I mean, if you try to find ahistory of Belgium, you're going
to run into the same problems,but this is my problem, and I
want to share my findings withyou.
I've noticed a few consistentissues across a lot of the books
that I've managed to get myhands on.
First is that a lot of thesebooks tend to be a little too
positive.
They present everything andeveryone in the best possible
(10:49):
light and avoid complex oruncomfortable issues.
I'm trying to avoid those inthis list.
The second major frustration isthe physical quality of the
books themselves.
Most of them are not super welldesigned or edited, and even
those released by properpublishing companies often have
noticeable misspellings orerrors.
The reproduction of a lot of theimages isn't great, and because
(11:11):
there aren't a lot of copiesavailable, and this is a tiny
market, some of the books getreally expensive.
But the biggest hurdle I facedas an English speaker is the
language barrier.
If you genuinely want to readthe best history of Luxembourg,
the single best thing you can dois learn French.
The top tier books are availablein French, sometimes German,
(11:32):
sometimes in Luxembourgish, andonly rarely in English or
Portuguese.
I do quite a bit of reading inFrench, but I know that's not
really an option for most peoplewho are listening to this
podcast.
So let's talk about the booksthemselves.
Starting with the closest thingto a gold standard that exists
in English.
The Rise of Luxembourg fromIndependence to Success by Emile
Hague.
(11:53):
And this was published in 2021.
That was the fourth editionpublished by Ernster, which is
the big bookseller inLuxembourg.
And it is a beautiful book.
It is wonderfully written, andcrucially, it is beautifully
designed.
It's the highest quality historyof Luxembourg I have found
available in English.
The only tragedy is that it iscurrently out of print.
(12:13):
I know at least two of theclerks who I've talked to at the
all-English Ernster bookstore inLuxembourg City, and I all think
that it should be reprinted, butI don't know how much poll we
actually have.
Fortunately, there is the Frenchoriginal, which is uneussite
originale, that is still inprint.
And so if you do read French, Iwould highly recommend picking
up a copy of that next timeyou're in Luxembourg City or
(12:34):
looking for it online.
And if you do speak French orGerman, there are two books that
I think are really, really greatthat are both written by a
historian, Gilbert Rausch, whois sort of Luxembourg's
historian par excellence.
He sadly passed away in 2016,but his works are still very
monumental.
And then for shorter options inFrench or German, there's Michel
(12:55):
Poly's Histoire du LuxembourgGeschichte Luxembourg, which is
a most more concise book.
I'm pretty sure that it's usedas kind of an introductory
textbook.
They're short books, but thehistory is really solid.
So if you speak French orGerman, I'd get one of those.
On the other hand, if you wantmore accessible titles, you
might find in English.
These are books that I wouldrecommend as an introduction to
(13:18):
Luxembourg, but they do comewith some caveats.
The first is Luxembourg America,19th, 20th, and 21st centuries
by the Roots and LeavesAssociation.
This was published in 2015 bythe Luxembourg American Cultural
Center in Belgium, Wisconsin.
It is a decent read.
It is divided into three partsthe basics of Luxembourg's
history and geography, and thenthe rest is about the
(13:39):
Luxembourger American experienceand focuses on the area around
the museum in Wisconsin.
This is not a particularlyin-depth book, but it is a good
introduction to the basics ofthe country's modern makeup.
Honestly, I think that thiswould be a perfect book for
someone doing a report on theirLuxembourgish heritage for
fifth-grade social studies classor something.
(14:00):
That kind of parade of NationsDay where you put on your little
peasant outfit and say moyen andhand out Knittelin.
So go get your A kids.
A good companion book to theRoots and Leaves Association's
book might be Luxembourg, TheClogshaped Duchy, a
chronological history ofLuxembourg from the Celts to the
Present Day by Andrew Reid.
(14:21):
And this was published in 2005.
And while it is a nice companionto the Luxembourg-America book,
the writing is exceedingly dry.
The facts are presented strictlyin chronological order, which
does not make for the mostengaging read.
What's more concerning to me isthat there are no illustrations
or maps, and critically nobibliography or citations.
And that is a little suspect.
(14:43):
I honestly would have assumedthat this book was written by AI
if it hadn't been published 20years ago.
And that brings me to a bigwarning.
There are several books onlinethat are AI written, like The
History of Luxembourg fromFrankish Empire to European
Union, which is one of the tophits on Amazon.
Be careful to avoid this AIslop, especially on a platform
(15:03):
like Amazon, and especiallyanything that's self-published.
Finally, there is an older workthat was published in 1995 that
I see a lot of used copiesonline.
That is The Grand Duchy ofLuxembourg: The Evolution of
Nationhood by James Newcomer.
Newcomer was an American soldierwho helped liberate Luxembourg
in World War II and fell in lovewith the country.
He wrote books about Luxembourg,and they were deeply appreciated
(15:26):
in Luxembourg at the time.
He was even made commander ofthe Order of Merit by the Grand
Duke.
But Newcomer was not ahistorian.
He was an English professor, andhe is not exactly forthright
about that in his books.
I found a lot of outdatedscholarship and a lot of
editorializing, a lot of whichis not exactly flattering 30
(15:47):
years on.
So although this book isrelatively easy to get your
hands on, I would read it with abig, big grain of salt.
There are two categories ofnonfiction books that I want to
mention, even though they arenot straight-up histories of
Luxembourg.
The first category is modernlooks of the countries.
And if you're looking for that,you have to check out Mike
(16:08):
McQuaid's books, An American inLuxembourg, An American Still in
Luxembourg, published in 2017and 2023.
Now, McQuaid is a YouTube guyand a writer, an American from
Seattle who ended up inLuxembourg, acquired
citizenship, even having to takethe Spochen test to do it.
His books are definitely aboutday-to-day expat life, and they
offer great insight into theculture of the modern country.
(16:31):
They're absolutely entertainingbooks, but as you expect, they
are not exactly meaty when itcomes to the history of
Luxembourg, and that's finebecause that's not what they
promise.
The second category are booksthat are not specifically about
Luxembourg, but in my view, theydo an excellent job telling the
story of the greater regionbetween France and Germany.
Both are written for a very wideaudience.
(16:53):
They're serious about thehistory, but they are not dry,
and they're written in friendly,approachable voices.
The first is The Discovery ofFrance: Historical Geography by
Graham Robb, written in 2007.
And this book does a terrificjob of explaining how the
technology available to peoplein different historical eras
really affected how they lived,and not just the nobility, but
(17:14):
common people.
It makes it a lot easier toimagine everyday life in these
time periods, which most booksmiss because they're focused on
political decision making andlarge historical events, like
who's marrying whom and whichduke is trying to assassinate
which bishop.
For a lot of people who areLuxembourger Americans, we
really want to know more aboutlike how our ancestors lived.
(17:37):
And this book actually does apretty good job of that.
So I would really recommend itfor that.
And finally, there is one bookthat is the third in a trilogy
on the history of the Germanicpeoples, and that is Lutherania,
a personal history of Europe'sLost Country by Simon Windner.
Now, the title is a reference tothe historical region that
includes Luxembourg, and it alsoincludes everything from
(18:00):
Flanders through Alonia andElsays Lorraine and Zaarland and
parts of Switzerland and Italy,everything between the German
and the French-speaking worlds.
And I found this book to beextremely charming and
incredibly amusing.
The author is witty, but stillproduces a really solid
historical work and an accountof the region.
(18:22):
And he has an enthusiasm for thehistory that is extremely
infectious.
And Wintner has this greatpassage where he refers to
Luxembourg as a coelacanth, aliving fossil or an anachronism,
but one that personifies thepersistence and the stubbornness
of the people from this area whohad to be persistent and
stubborn to survive.
So that's my bookshelf and myrecommendations.
(18:43):
If you decide to dive into thehistory of Luxembourg, prepare
for a little bit of a challenge,maybe learn some French, and
hopefully this guide will helpyou avoid the dry or outdated
stuff.
You can find complete detailsabout all of these books on our
website, bactu.lu, along withlinks to some of the books that
I highly recommend.
I really encourage you to checkthem out, and if you do, happy
(19:06):
reading!
SPEAKER_02 (19:19):
Next time on Back to Luxembourg, we'll have some
friends stop by to try a few ofour Luxembourg-inspired
Thanksgiving dishes.
SPEAKER_01 (19:26):
And now that the holidays are starting, we'll
talk about Luxembourg'sChristmas time traditions.
SPEAKER_02 (19:30):
Look for that episode on Tuesday, November
25th, 2025.
For more from Back to Luxembourgand to get in touch, visit our
website at back2.lu.
SPEAKER_01 (19:41):
If you like the episode, please subscribe and
write a review on the podcastservice of your choice.
SPEAKER_02 (19:46):
Thanks for listening.
I'm Rebecca Seymours.
SPEAKER_01 (19:48):
And I'm Matthew Foster.
Until next time, Abiento, YeshBeta, and of course, Addie.
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