FUN WITH MAPS – ISSUE 2023-117 DAILY FEATURE:

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (June 23, 2023) – In today’s edition of Fun with Maps from Steve Kovacs, we celebrate the National Day of a well-kept secret country.     

Small but Potent

One of the most influential European nations many don’t know much about. 

It is Luxembourg.

This grand duchy is a founding member of the EU and its ultimate predecessor, the Benelux trading group.  It has one of the four European Union permanent seats. 

Luxemburg became a sovereign nation in 963.  As common in Europe, it was occupied and became part of other nations from time to time since then.  Today’s country has only 660,000 people but boasts one of the largest Gross Domestic Product output in the world.

Today is Luxemburg’s National Day.

This magnificent view of Luxembourg City, the capital, is by Braun and Hogenberg from 1581.  The German pair, Braun and Hogenberg created several hundred city views which were published in their Atlas of city views, Civitates Orbis Terrarum. It was groundbreaking for the time and remains one of the most important Atlases ever published.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.