Grand Ducal Palace of Luxembourg
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The Grand Ducal Palace of Luxembourg City is a Renaissance building of the sixteenth century and the city residence of the Grand Duke, Head of State of Luxembourg. It lies at the heart of old town, not far from Place Guillaume. It was built in 1572 completed in 1573 and became the Town Hall. In 1741, the Town Hall became the headquarters of the Three States. In 1795 he became the seat of the Prefecture of the Department of Forestry. In 1817, the Town Hall becomes the Government's Hall where lives and works the Governor of the King. Finally in 1890, the Grand Duke Adolphe uses the palace in exclusity and the palace became the residence of the sovereign of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
A very cloudy day in Luxembourg just before rain starts.
Europe is generally agreed to be the birthplace of western culture, including such legendary innovations as the democratic nation-state, football and tomato sauce.
The word Europe comes from the Greek goddess Europa, who was kidnapped by Zeus and plunked down on the island of Crete. Europa gradually changed from referring to mainland Greece until it extended finally to include Norway and Russia.
Don't be confused that Europe is called a continent without looking like an island, the way the other continents do. It's okay. The Ural mountains have steadily been there to divide Europe from Asia for the last 250 million years. Russia technically inhabits "Eurasia".
Europe is presently uniting into one political and economic zone with a common currency called the Euro. The European Union originated in 1993 and is now composed of 27 member states. Its headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium.
Do not confuse the EU with the Council of Europe, which has 47 member states and dates to 1949. These two bodies share the same flag, national anthem, and mission of integrating Europe. The headquarters of the Council are located in Strasbourg, France, and it is most famous for its European Court of Human Rights.
In spite of these two bodies, there is still no single Constitution or set of laws applying to all the countries of Europe. Debate rages over the role of the EU in regards to national sovereignty. As of January 2009, the Lisbon Treaty is the closest thing to a European Constitution, yet it has not been approved by all the EU states.
Text by Steve Smith.
