Troisvierges (; ; ) is a commune with town status in northern

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, in the canton of Clervaux. Troisvierges is both the northernmost and highest commune of Luxembourg, as the two highest hills in the country, the Kneiff (560 m) and

Buurgplaatz Buurgplaatz (alternate names: Buergplaatz, Burrigplatz, Burgplatz, Buergplaz zu Huldang) is a hill in the commune of Troisvierges, in northern Luxembourg. The summit lies within the Éislek region at . In 1952 the Institut national de l'inform ...

(559 m), are located in the commune. , the town of Troisvierges, which lies in the south of the commune, has a population of 1,941. Other towns within the commune include Basbellain, Drinklange, Hautbellain, Huldange, and Wilwerdange. Until 28 December 1908, the commune was known as "Basbellain", after its former administrative centre. On that date, the administrative centre was moved from Basbellain to Troisvierges. The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

granted to Troisvierges in 1982 shows three virgins, representing Faith, Hope and Charity; a mountain, for the Oesling region; a stylised

papal cross The papal cross is a Christian cross, which serves as an emblem for the office of the Pope in ecclesiastical heraldry. It is depicted as a staff with three horizontal bars near the top, in diminishing order of length as the top is approached. ...

from the oldest known document naming the place; and a railway and wheel, for the importance of the railway in the town's development.

History

The first known reference to the place was made in 1353 under its German name Ulflingen. The French name Troisvierges was adopted in the 17th century when Walloon pilgrims started using it to refer to the three virgins Saint Fides, Saint Spes and Saint Caritas. The Franciscan church of Troisvierges was built in 1658. By 1900, most of the local population were railway and customs employees. There were some 1,550 inhabitants in 1910. Troisvierges is known for being the site of the start of hostilities on the Western Front in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. On 1 August 1914, German soldiers of the 69th Infantry Regiment disembarked at the town's

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

, violating the terms of Germany's use of the railways and hence violating Luxembourg's neutrality. This began a four-year occupation of Luxembourg by German forces.

Notable people

* Nicolas Adames (1813-1887), the first Bishop of Luxembourg. * Pierre Prüm (1886–1950), politician and jurist, 14th

Prime Minister of Luxembourg The prime minister of Luxembourg (; ; ) is the head of government of Luxembourg. The prime minister leads the executive branch, chairs the Cabinet and appoints its ministers. Since 1989, the title of ''Prime Minister'' has been an official one, ...

, 1925/1926. * Albert Neumann (1899–1976), a Luxembourgish gymnast, competed at the 1924 and

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...

* Jean-Pierre Schmitz (1932–2017), a Luxembourgish professional road bicycle racer.

Population

Twin towns — sister cities

Troisvierges is a member of the ''Charter of European Rural Communities'', a

town twinning A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

association across the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, alongside with: * Bienvenida, Spain * Bièvre, Belgium * Bucine, Italy *

Cashel Cashel (an Anglicised form of the Irish language word ''Caiseal'', meaning "stone fort") may refer to: Places in Ireland *Cashel, County Tipperary **The Rock of Cashel, an ancient, hilltop fortress complex for which Cashel is named ** Archbishop ...

, Ireland * Cissé, France * Desborough, England, United Kingdom * Esch, Netherlands * Hepstedt, Germany * Ibănești, Romania * Kandava, Latvia *

Kannus Kannus is a town and municipality of Finland. It is situated in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of , of which is water. The populatio ...

, Finland * Kolindros, Greece * Lassee, Austria * Medzev, Slovakia * Moravče, Slovenia *

Næstved Næstved () is a town in Næstved Municipality, the municipality of the same name, located in the southern part of the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand in Denmark. Næstved has several adult education centers, five Primary education, elemen ...

, Denmark * Nagycenk, Hungary *

Nadur Nadur () is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit of Malta, located in the eastern part of the island of Gozo. Nadur is built on a plateau and is one of the largest localities in Gozo. Known as the 'second city', it spreads along a h ...

, Malta * Ockelbo, Sweden *

Pano Lefkara Pano Lefkara () is a village on the island of Cyprus famous for its lace, known as lefkaritika in (Greek: λευκαρίτικα) and silver handicrafts. The village takes its name from the white of its silica and limestone: Lefkara is derived fro ...

, Cyprus * Põlva, Estonia *

Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...

, Portugal * Slivo Pole, Bulgaria * Starý Poddvorov, Czech Republic *

Strzyżów Strzyżów is a town in Strzyżów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland, along the Wisłok river valley. Strzyżów is one of the towns within the Strzyżowsko-Dynowskie Foothill, located south-east of Kraków and 30 km from Rzeszó ...

, Poland * Tisno, Croatia *

Žagarė Žagarė (, see also #Etymology, other names) is a city located in the Joniškis district, northern Lithuania, close to the border with Latvia. It has a population of about 2,000, down from 14,000 in 1914, when it was the 7th largest city in Lith ...

, Lithuania

Images

Image:Troisvierges, stadhuis foto2 2011-06-03 13.17.JPG, Troisvierges townhall File:Eglise Saint-André Troisvierges 01.JPG, St Andrew's church File:Eglise Saint-André Troisvierges 03.JPG, Interior of St Andrew's church File:Eglise Saint-André Troisvierges 06.JPG, Altar of the Three Virgins, St Andrew's church

References

External links

* {{Authority control Communes in Clervaux (canton) Towns in Luxembourg