This page was last updated on 5/15/01.  The essay below has been published in the Bulletin Linguistique et Ethnologique de l'Institut Grand-Ducal, edited by Jean Ensch (Fascicule 29, 1999. 12-31). To see photographs of Midwestern sites mentioned in this essay, click on:  http://krypton.mankato.msus.edu/~susanna/photogra.htm  

Reflections of Luxembourg in the Rural Midwestern United States

What is characteristically Luxembourgian, then, is not spread out like a carpet for a historian to walk on for hundreds and hundreds of years through time. Rather, it is there like the warp beneath the nap, to be felt for and found by searching fingers. Or it is like an undergrowth, unperceived beneath the obvious trees, but rooted as the trees themselves (4).

-- James Newcomer, The Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg: The Evolution of Nationhood, 963 A.D. to 1983

How does a cultural identity originate, and how does it evolve? As we know, over the centuries certain values and beliefs become the cornerstones of a cultural ethos that reflects a people's struggle to survive, prosper, and develop a cultural identity. Such has been the case in Luxembourg, where certain symbols, traditions, texts, and aspects of material culture have been interwoven into its metaculture. As James Newcomer observes, the pattern of Luxembourg's metaculture is not always readily apparent, yet it is always present, not only in Luxembourg itself but also in Midwestern American towns first settled by Luxembourgish immigrants nearly 150 years ago.

Luxembourg's total area is 999 square miles. The country is 55 miles long and 34 miles wide. Through the northern half of the country run the lush forests of the Ardennes. To the south lie rolling farmlands, iron mines, and the Moselle valley, renowned for its fine wines. With Belgium on the north and west, Germany on the east, and France on the south, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is home to more than 418,300 inhabitants (STATEC, 1 January 1997). Of this total number, 275,500 (65.8%) are citizens of Luxembourg; 142,800 (34.2%) are citizens of other countries who live in Luxembourg for a variety of reasons (STATEC, 1 January 1997).

Luxembourg's history dates back to the tenth century A.D., when Count Siegfried acquired from the Abbey of St. Maximin of Trier a small, rocky promontory called the Bock, where there stood a small castle called Lucilinburhuc (Little Burg). In return, the count relinquished land near the area called Viulna, to the north of the Bock. Lucinburhuc eventually became part of the powerful fortress named Luxembourg City, and the area known by its Latin name, Viulna, became the village of Feulen. The founding of Feulen, my family's ancestral village, dates back to 963 A D.   Thirty-five years ago, in 1963, Feulen celebrated its 1,000^th anniversary.

Count Siegfried became a powerful feudal lord of the region which, over the preceding centuries, had been conquered by many armies (Julius Caesar's Roman army, Attila the Hun's pillagers and Charlemagne's Frankish forces, to name a few). Numerous counts of the Ardennes succeeded Siegfried until Countess Ermesinde, the daughter of Henry IV of Namur, came to power in 1196. Historical accounts indicate that Ermesinde was a powerful, insightful and beloved ruler. As James Newcomer explains in The Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, Countess Ermesinde led Luxembourg into the "intellectual, artistic, and religious renaissance that characterized western Europe" (64). During her reign, which ended with her death in 1247, Luxembourg's area "had grown fourfold, solvency had been attained, loyalties had been cemented, peace had been fostered, and cultural idiosyncracy had continued to define itself" (Newcomer, 79).

During the centuries following Countess Ermesinde's death, Luxembourg was ruled by a number of foreign powers: the House of Burgundy (1443-1506), Spain (1506-1684), France (1684-1698), Spain (1698-1715), Austria (1715-1795), and France (1795-1815). Finally, in 1815, after the defeat of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna established Luxembourg as a grand duchy that would serve as part of a vast defensive system. In The Making of a Nation, 1815 to the Present, Christian Calmes explains that the state of Luxembourg "was born out of the interplay of geo-political and military factors" that resulted in "the decision to create a State in the interests of security and peace in Europe" (15).

In 1815, the area to the east of present-day Luxembourg was ceded to Prussia. Then, in 1839, when the Treaty of London was signed, the eastern portion of Luxembourg, under the rule of the grand duke, became an independent European state and a member of the German Confederation. The western portion of Luxembourg, including Bastogne, Arlon, and Bouillon, became part of Belgium. This partitioning meant that those living in the western part of Luxembourg became Belgians by law, even though many of them continued to think of themselves as Luxembourgers. According to Calmes, the partition of 1839 resulted in "the loss of 4,730 square kilometres and half the population of the Grant Duchy (175,000 inhabitants). After this diminution, the land area of the country was only 2,586 square kilometres" (316). Yet even today, more than 150 years later, many inhabitants of the Luxembourg Province of Belgium still consider themselves Luxembourgers. Many Belgian-Luxembourgers speak Letzebuergesch, the native language of Luxembourg; and they continue to observe the Luxembourg National Holiday on June 23 each year.

Although it has been an independent Grand Duchy since 1867, Luxembourg has continued to face foreign intrusions. During the twentieth century, Luxembourg has been overtaken by German occupation forces during World War I and again during World War II. In the Place d'Armes at the center of Luxembourg City, a large stone tablet on the front wall of the Cercle Municipal proclaims Luxembourgers' gratitude to the American soldiers who helped liberate their country more than fifty years ago:

On this square on 10^th September 1944
The people of Luxembourg warmly welcomed its liberators,
The valiant soldiers of the U.S. 5^th armored division
And their Royal Highnesses Prince Felix of Luxembourg
And Prince John, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

Today the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg continues to be an independent nation and a productive member of the European Community. The Grand Duchy has a representative democracy in the form of a constitutional monarchy, with hereditary sovereignty residing in the family of the House of Nassau. In 1964, after a reign of forty-five years, Grand Duchess Charlotte abdicated in favor of her son, Hereditary Grand Duke Jean, who rules today with his wife, Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte. Eventually, their son, Hereditary Grand Duke Henri, and his wife, Princess Maria-Teresa, will become the monarchs. In March 1998, Grand Duke Jean declared Prince Henri the Lieutenant-Representant of Luxembourg, thus giving Prince Henri legal powers as the future Sovereign of the Grand Duchy (Luxembourg News of America, April 1998, 1).  In late September 2000, Prince Henri and Princess Maria-Theresa became the Grand Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg when Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte stepped aside.  Although the constitutional monarchy is central to the metaculture of Luxembourg, the separation of governmental powers is equally important. Luxembourg has a judiciary and a legislature which, along with the executive branch of its government, generate, implement, and enforce the country's laws.

Over the centuries, the inhabitants of Luxembourg have maintained their independent state of mind, embodied in the national motto: "Mir wolle bleiwe wat mir sin" ["We want to remain what we are"]. Newcomer notes that the motto "is not an idea as old as time in Luxembourg" and that it "has not been a motto in the mouths of Luxembourgians for much more than a century."   Nonetheless, the motto has gained vast symbolic importance each time the people of Luxembourg have resisted and withstood an attempt by invaders to overpower them and subsume them under another culture. "Mir wolle bleiwe wat mir sin" is central to the cultural identity of Luxembourg. Not only has the national motto been inscribed on historical landmarks throughout its capital city; its sentiments have found their way into tourist information and travel guidebooks that characterize what is quintessentially Luxembourger:

Luxembourg is at the crossroads of invading armies. Conquerors have marched through this land while its people have tried elaborately to pretend that they have not been there. Rulers may make Luxembourgers a subject people, but all the while they have never forgotten their right to be free. Their birthright of freedom is a passion that centuries of occupation cannot dim.

                    --Eugene Fodor, Belgium and Luxembourg, 1975

An equally important aspect of Luxembourg's cultural and historical identity is the survival and evolution of the daily language of Luxembourgers, which is Letzebuergesch (variant spellings include Letzebuergisch, Luxembourgois, Luxembourgish, Luxembourgian). Sociolinguist Jean-Claude Muller traces the historical origins of Letzebuergesch to the migrations of Germanic tribes that settled at the foot of the Ardennes near the end of the third century A.D.: "The Germanic language of Luxembourg is the result of a linguistic symbiosis which lasted for several centuries between these Frankish populations and the Gallo-Romans of North East Gaul" (Voila Luxembourg, 80). Drawing on the work of Luxembourgish linguist Robert Bruch, Jul Christophory traces the roots of Letzebuergesch to texts of the ninth and tenth centuries. Until recent decades, Letzebuergesch has primarily been viewed as a spoken language. Recently, Christophory has outlined the rules governing its grammar and usage in Mir Schwatze Letzebuergesch [We Speak Luxembourgish]. He affirms the centrality of Letzebuergesch to the Grand Duchy and discusses the multi-lingual nature of daily life there. Most Luxembourgers are fluent in German and French, in addition to Letzebuergesch; an increasing number of younger Luxembourgers, educated since World War II, are also fluent in English. But, explains Christophory, "Nobody would ever speak German in public, unless addressing a German guest, and then only reluctantly and with slight embarrassment" (21). He notes that German is the language most often used in newspapers, although most newspapers also include some articles in Letzebuergesch and French. Most parliamentary debates are held in Luxembourgish, but drafts of laws and published texts are in French, the legal language of Luxembourg (23). Christophory sums up his analysis in this way: "So French and German are the official languages, but Luxemburgish is the backbone, the stronghold and the sentimental refuge of the national soul" (23). Today, close to 400,000 people speak Letzebuergesch, including those in Luxembourg as well as their neighbors in some areas bordering Luxembourg.

Along with his linguistic analysis of the native language, Christophory has provided what he calls a "rough character-sketch of the Luxembourger." According to Christophory, the Luxembourger "values roots, similarity and permanence," is "slow, cautious, and serious-minded," and is a "hard worker" who is "conservative and conformist at heart in spite of a cavilling, sneering and grumbling facade" (35). Christophory explains that, as the result of centuries of subjugation, the Luxembourger has "an instinctive hate for hierarchic organization and for military or pedantic reglementation" and that the Luxembourger is "a natural democrat, proudly independent and reasonably European" (35). Regardless of whether Christophory's character sketch is generalizable to all Luxembourgers, it is useful in providing a sense of the metaculture of Luxembourg as it has developed over the centuries and as it has displayed itself in the metaculture of Luxembourgish settlements in the rural Midwestern United States, past and present. Determination, endurance, and independence--these have been and continue to be the watchwords of Luxembourgers on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

Equally important to the metaculture of Luxembourg is its history of Catholicism. Historically, Luxembourg has been a Catholic country, and it remains so today. In his four-volume cultural history of Luxembourg, Gilbert Trausch explains: "La presence de l'Eglise dans la societe d'Ancien Regime est partout visible. Le long des chemins se dressent des croix, des statues, de petites chapelles" (146). At the center of the religious metaculture is devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as Our Lady of Consolation. Trausch notes, "Le Luxembourg se distingue par l'ampleur du culte marial. En de multiples endroits la Vierge est l'objet d'une veneration speciale" (146). On street corners and buildings throughout Luxembourg City as well as along country roads and in village churches, one can readily find statues, shrines, and chapels dedicated to the Virgin Mary. This devotion dates back to 1666, when the Virgin Mary was named the patron saint of Luxembourg under the title, "Notre-Dame Consolatrice des Affliges" (Newcomer, 138). As the Institut Grand Ducal explains,

On September 27, 1666, the Governor, prince of Chimay, the president and the senators of the Conseil Provincial unanimously elected for themselves and for their successors "Mary, Mother of God, Consoler of the Afflicted, as the Patroness of the City of Luxemburg."  On October 5^th they were followed in this by the Magistrate and the clergy of the City and in 1678 the Holy Virgin was elected patroness of the whole Duchy of Luxembourg and county of Chiny. From this moment on the devotion and the pilgrimage became an important element of the religiosity of the inhabitants of the province of Luxembourg ("Cult of Our Lady of Luxembourg in the United States," 1).

Devotion to Mary as the country's protector remains powerful today, as is evident in the annual fortnight Octave pilgrimages to the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Luxembourg City. The final procession, called the "Schlussprozession," takes place at the conclusion of Octave at the end of the fourth week after Easter.  This procession, which includes members of the royal family, government and city authorities, and citizens, winds its way through the streets of Luxembourg City, culminating at the cathedral. Devotion to the Virgin Mary is evident not only in the capital city but also throughout the country, particularly in the stained glass windows and statuary of parish churches in villages such as Waldbredimus and Aspelt, where elegant statues of Our Lady of Consolation, dressed in velvet robes to match successive church seasons, greet worshipers and tourists.

The metaculture of Luxembourg is apparent not only in the fabric of the country itself but also in the cultural traditions of Luxembourgers who emigrated from Europe to the United States during the nineteenth century. Why did Luxembourgers begin immigrating to the United States during the nineteenth century? Where did they settle, and what were their lives like? How are aspects of Luxembourg's metaculture reflected not only in the lives of immigrants 150 years ago but also in the lives of their descendants today? To answer these questions, we need to explore the dynamics of Luxembourger immigration.

Church and civil records in Luxembourg, dating back to the mid-1700s, indicate that most Luxembourgers lived in peasant villages and worked the land. These Luxembourgers were not wealthy landowners; in fact, most were "journaliers"or "tagloners"--day laborers who owned little more than their modest homes and possessions. For example, my ancestors, the Simmerls, are listed in Francois Decker's Feulen 963-1963 among "Die Einwohner von Oberfeulen im Jahre 1850." At mid-century, Theodore and Angela Simmerl and their children were day laborers who lived in house #57 in one of the two villages that made up Feulen, located near Ettelbruck in the central part of the country (Decker, 369). The Simmerls, who owned no land of their own, had a small house and garden in Feulen, and each day they went out into the countryside to work in a landowner's fields. Meanwhile, in the southern part of the country, mining had gotten underway. Few Luxembourgers were wealthy; most members of the working class eked out a living as day laborers or miners. Newcomer explains,

In 1847 more than 12 percent of the population were absolutely indigent, a condition that was to persist for decades, though it would be alleviated somewhat. Harvests were still uncertain, and a poor harvest was still followed by near starvation. Nourishment was poor, and living conditions were primitive. There was no great wealth, even those who were rather well off were not affluent. The poor employee was subject to the grinding demands of employers who still squeezed from the worker the last ounce of energy and the last sou. Poverty impelled emigration, which grew to major proportions (204).

It was into this milieu that my ancestors--not only the Simmerls but also the Hottuas, Youngbluts, Welters, Grethens, Linsters, Ahrends, Nemmerses, Kaisers, Mullers, Kleins, Flammangs--were born. And it was from there that they immigrated to the United States. In Moving Europeans: Migration in Western Europe Since 1650, Leslie Page Moch explains,

Eighty years of mass migrations began with the 1840s, when two important trends emerged. On the one hand, the demand for labor increased in the farmlands and cities in North America and the sugar and coffee plantations of Latin America, partly because the slave trade had been abolished. On the other hand, Europe's "hungry forties," the potato famine, and political struggles exacerbated suffering and unemployment. Emigration pushed into high gear as 200,000 to 300,000 Europeans departed per year in the crisis-ridden late 1840s (147).

Moch's analysis indicates that emigration from Europe to other continents continued unabated after mid-century:

An estimated 13 million embarked between 1840 and 1880, and another 13 million departed in the last 20 years of the century. In all, about 52 million migrants left Europe between 1860 and 1914, of whom roughly 37 million (72%) traveled to North America and 11 million to South America (21%). Three and a half million Europeans, primarily British, moved to Australia and New Zealand (147).

Because political and economic control of Luxembourg had changed hands so many times and because the grand duchy did not actually exist as an independent state until the mid-nineteenth century, it is difficult to establish accurate figures regarding the number of Luxembourgers who left their country for other lands. On passenger ship manifests, naturalization documents, and United States census records, Luxembourgers have often been listed as Prussians, Germans, or Belgians. Standard studies such as Leland L. Sage's A History of Iowa list numbers of "foreign-born" in Iowa based on census records from 1850 to 1970; although Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium are represented as countries of birth, Luxembourg is not (93).

Fortunately, research that focuses specifically on Luxembourger immigration has made a substantial effort to ascertain and account for numbers of immigrants and successive waves of immigration, not only to the United States but to other parts of the world. According to the Institut Grand Duchy, emigration from Luxembourg during the nineteenth century was essentially a continuous phenomenon within which three major waves can be defined: 1830-1845, 1846-1860, and 1860-1900. The Institut Grand Ducal describes the overall pattern of such emigration as follows:

Coming from a poor undeveloped agrarian country, the immigrants' destinations were the rural areas, especially the midwestern states. They settled in areas which, at that time, were opened for settlement. Thus the chronology of immigration clearly documents the move towards the west. Settlers of the second and third emigration waves came, of course, directly from the Grand Duchy, but also from Luxembourg settlements located further east in the states, which had been populated by an earlier immigration wave and where the second generation followed Horace Greeley's famous: "Go west, young man" ("Luxembourg Settlements," 2).

Why did Luxembourgers leave their homeland during the nineteenth century, and which Luxembourgers were the most likely to emigrate? As historian Nicholas Gonner explains in his landmark study, Die Luxemburger in der Neuen Welt [Luxembourgers in the New World] (1889), a number of factors influenced Luxembourger immigration. Gonner cites the primary factor as the "progressive and permanent impoverishment of the population in general," involving "not so much a lack of money as a decline in the quality of life" (30). In their recent re-edition of Gonner's 1889 study, Jean Ensch, Jean-Claude Muller, and Robert Owen summarize Gonner's thesis concerning a number of "push-pull" factors that influenced emigration from Luxembourg during the mid- to late-1800s. Conditions that pushed Luxembourgers outward included an increase in population, a decrease in infant mortality, excessive partitioning of available land, poor harvests, high taxes, the uncertain political situation, and increasing industrialization (Gonner, 35). Although the poorest of the poor, unable to afford even the gradually decreasing rail and ocean passage of the nineteenth century, had to remain at home, the lower middle class, afflicted with poor harvests and high taxes, found the means to leave. To do so made economic sense for many: the proceeds of the sale of their land and homesteads in the Grand Duchy permitted them to buy in North America as much as ten times the amount of acreage which they possessed at home. For a migration which consisted of persons who either had been or were to become farmers, this was no small consideration.

In her study, Luxembourger Immigration to the United States of America, Marie-Berthe Frieders-Kuntziger analyzes the adaptation of Luxembourgish immigrants to American life. She notes that, given most immigrants' village origins, they tended to settle down as farmers. In 1870, only 3% of Luxembourgish immigrants lived in large American cities; and by 1880, the urban percentage of Luxembourgish immigrants had risen only to 9% (31). Frieders-Kuntziger explains that many immigrants were drawn to farm life in the United States because of the availability of land; in contrast to the "2.5 acres per Luxembourger in the old country,   "immigrants could hope to farm from 80 to 320 acres in the Midwestern United States (33).

Ensch, Muller, and Owen add that the possibility of finding land to farm in the United States, especially following the removal of American Indian tribes to reservations and the passage of the 1862 Homestead Act, influenced many Luxembourgers' decisions to emigrate. In 1870, the Iowa Board of Immigration published Iowa: the Home for Immigrants, a guidebook that advised prospective homesteaders on procedures to be followed in the pre-emption of government land, of which over a quarter million acres remained, primarily in northwestern Iowa counties (e.g., Osceola, Lyon, Sioux, and Plymouth): "The right of pre-emption extends to one hundred and sixty areas. As nearly all the lands remaining in Iowa subject to pre-emption are situated within the limits of railroad land grants, the price to be paid at the time of 'proving up' is $2.50 per acre. For lands outside of those limits the price is $1.25 per acre" (58). The homestead privilege entitled any person who was the head of a family or who had reached twenty-one years of age and who was a U. S. citizen to file a declaration of intent to homestead on surveyed government land not previously disposed of (58).

In addition to the reasons discussed above, Luxembourgers also emigrated to avoid being forced into military service in the Dutch, Belgian, and Prussian armies. The lure offered by letters sent from immigrants already in America to their relatives and friends still in Luxembourg was another reason for immigration (Gonner, 29). Often those who had already settled in the United States bought tickets for other family members to join them. When my great-grandfather, Theodore Klein of Niederfeulen, Luxembourg, immigrated to the United States in 1871, his passage was paid by his older brothers, Nicholas and Jacob Klein, who had left Luxembourg for Chicago a few years earlier. Later, the three Klein brothers paid to bring their mother, Mary (Muller) Klein Flammang, and their younger half-brother, Franz Flammang, to the United States. The desire to leave Luxembourg to gain political freedom or to avoid punishment for crimes or lesser offenses also contributed to some immigrants' decision to leave Luxembourg, although Gonner discovered few instances in which an individual migrated "because of a serious crime committed in Europe" (29).

The situation of my great-great-grandmother, Susanna Simmerl, who immigrated to the United States a few months after giving birth to her first child, Barbara, offers yet another reason for some immigrations. The circumstances facing Susanna, an unwed mother whose baby daughter remained behind in Luxembourg for ten years with Susanna's mother, Angela Simmerl, resonate with an observation made by Donna Gabaccia in From the Other Side: Women, Gender, and Immigrant Life in the U.S., 1820-1990: "Not all the problems immigrants hope to solve by immigrating are economic or political in origin" (5). A close examination of Nicholas Gonner's advice to prospective immigrants, provided in the first chapter of Die Luxemburger in der Neuen Welt, reflects cultural mores that might have influenced Susanna's decision to leave her homeland and accompany her brother, Peter Simmerl, to the United States only a few months after the birth of her baby:

Emigration is more dangerous for single girls. They face greater perils than young men, but they more easily find work in service and have good prospects of marrying soon. But they should not go to America alone. They should if possible make the trip with acquaintances or relatives and remain for a time under the supervision of responsible persons who will see them get settled. The danger for girls is the greater because they seldom get jobs in service in the country, but most come as housemaids to the cities (Crossings, 2).

Even though some Luxembourgers had emigrated before 1840, the decades that followed witnessed a rapid increase in the numbers booking passage on ships sailing from Antwerp, Belgium, and Le Havre, France, to New York City, Baltimore, and New Orleans. Early Luxembourger immigrant communities sprang up in the states of New York and Ohio. By the end of the 1840s, many immigrants had begun to travel further west, primarily to the Chicago area, where they congregated five miles north of the city in an area that came to be known as "The Ridge," although its official name was Rosehill. The immigrants founded St. Henry's Parish, and "The Ridge" became "a home to Luxembourgers, rooted in a duchy across the sea; a community of simple farmers, dedicated florists, merchants, an area of unpaved streets, horse drawn carts and simple ways, where greenhouses and verdant farm land comprised the landscape, and Schobermesse celebration was an annual harvest festival" (St. Henry Parish, 9).

From "The Ridge," many Luxembourg immigrants moved on to Wisconsin, forming small communities near Port Washington; first at Holy Cross (where my great-great-grandparents, Matthias and Mary Margaretha Grethen Welter are buried), then at Belgium, Fredonia, and Grafton. Gonner explains that "there were 15 Luxembourger families who settled near Holy Cross in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. They were not wealthy, but had strong arms, were devout, dedicated to God, and determined to work. They came mostly from the cantons of Redingen and Capellen, although a few 'Belscher' (Belgian Luxembourgers) were among them" (48). Immigrants moving westward also crossed the Mississippi River and formed small communities near Dubuque in St. Donatus and Luxemburg, Iowa (where my great-great-uncle, Peter Simmerl, is buried). In 1847, according to Gonner, emigration increased, particularly from the Moselle region; these immigrants settled primarily in the Port Washington area (48). Gonner explains that by 1849, "emigration had increased so rapidly that the newspapers in Luxembourg loudly deplored the situation"; the Diekirch Volksfreund, for instance, noted that, if the current trend should continue, "the future is very gloomy" (49).

During the 1850s, an ever-greater number of Luxembourgers left their homeland for the United States. Economic depression and famine, combined with political unrest, the partitioning of land, and increasing mortgage rates made the prospect of settlement in the "New Land" appealing. Yet by 1858, immigration had virtually ceased, partly as a result of improved economic conditions in Luxembourg and partly because of increasing pre-Civil War unrest in the United States (Gonner, 60). Luxembourgers who immigrated to America during the 1850s continued to settle in Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin, as well as in newer Luxembourger communities further north along the Mississippi River, among them Caledonia, Winona, Rollingstone, Hastings, Miesville, St. Cloud, Cold Spring, St. Nicholas, St. Augusta, Maine Prairie, and St. Wendelin (later renamed Luxemburg), Minnesota (deGryse, 201). A number of Luxembourgers also ventured further west on the Iowa prairie to Gilbertville, Iowa (where my great-great-grandmother, Susanna Simmerl Youngblut, and her husband, Frank Youngblut, are buried).

The period from 1860 to 1890 saw a resurgence in emigration from Luxembourg to the United States, followed by a decrease toward the turn of the century. During this period, especially during the 1870s and1880s, many immigrants moved even further westward as railroad tracks were laid and small towns sprang up: among them were St. Joseph, Le Mars, Remsen, Alton, and Granville, Iowa; Hastings, Nebraska; Assumption and Kranzburg, South Dakota. Between 1871 and 1880 alone, approximately 8,000 Luxembourgers arrived in the United States (Gonner, 81). According to James Newcomer, during the sixty-year-period from 1831 to 1891, more than 72,000 Luxembourgers left their homeland for a variety of destinations, including other European countries as well as South and North American countries, while a total of 212,000 people remained in Luxembourg (244). Nicholas Gonner estimated that 29,700 people emigrated from the Grand Duchy to the United States between 1831 and 1888 (96). Thus, 41.25 % of the total emigration from Luxembourg during the period between 1831-1891 was to the United States.

Although some Luxembourgers settled in large cities, the majority settled near rural Midwestern towns. There, like their ancestors before them, they farmed. Time does not permit me to analyze all of these communities in depth, but I wish to examine two Luxembourg immigrant settlement sites in Minnesota which, along with Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa, had the highest percentages of immigrants from Luxembourg. According to Louis deGryse, the "earliest Luxembourger settlements in Minnesota seem to have begun in 1853 along the Mississippi River in the southeastern corner of the state at Minnesota City in Winona County and at Lake City in Wabasha County" (200). Between 1856 and 1860, some Luxembourgers had settled among the Dakota Indians at New Market, Hastings, New Trier, Shakopee, Mankato, and Chanhassen (deGryse, 200-201).

The most well-known Luxembourger settlement in Minnesota is that of Rollingstone in Winona County, described by deGryse as "one of the earliest as well as the most culturally retentive Luxembourger settlements in Minnesota" (201). The landscape around Rollingstone, characterized by undulating hills, well-tended farms and pastures, bears a striking resemblance to the "Good Land" of Luxembourg, particularly the area in the central part of the country just before the Ardennes begin to the north. The first Luxembourger to settle in Rollingstone was Peter Stoos, who arrived there from Luxembourg in 1855. He was soon joined by others from the villages of Bettendorf, Junglinster, Heffingen, Godbringen, Rosport, and Greiweldingen (deGryse, 201).

Scholar and teacher Mary Nilles, whose ancestors came from Luxembourg to the Rollingstone, MN, area, has analyzed settlement patterns among immigrants from Luxembourg, the largest of which were formed in the Midwestern United States. In A Legacy from Luxembourg: a Historical Guide to the Early Settlement of Rollingstone, Minnesota, Nilles explores the history of Rollingstone, a Luxembourgish settlement founded in 1855 near Winona, MN. She comments:  "Rollingstone, Minnesota, one of America's largest Luxembourger-American settlements, has retained its cultural character for a remarkably long period. From its inception in 1855 until well after World War I, citizens of this agricultural community spoke Letzebuergish, enjoyed Luxembourger specialities like treipen and sterzelen, sang and prayed in German and Luxembourgish, were members of the Holy Trinity Parish community, and observed religious festivals like St. Nicholas Day" (9).

In describing the characteristics of the immigration process that are evident in the Rollingstone settlement, Nilles points out that many of the immigrants were interrelated by marriage or had been neighbors in Luxembourg. A few had been wine growers, day laborers, charcoal, burners, stone masons, and even rag pickers; the women were homemakers and household managers (A Legacy, 11). Nilles explains that, while many Luxembourgers immigrated to colonies in the Chicago, Dubuque, Milwaukee, and St. Paul areas, far more settled in rural Midwestern areas:  "It was in the establishment of their small villages, however, that this identity and the sturdy, patient, determined Luxemburger character manifested itself even more clearly. In towns such as St. Donatus and Luxembourg, Iowa, as well as Luxembourg and Rollingstone, Minnesota, these immigrants settled in log cabins, cleared the land and prospered as small merchants, or, more often, as skilled farmers" (Dann Singen Wir, vii).

Nilles analyzes ways in which those who settled in and around Rollingstone worked hard to keep Luxembourg's traditions alive. Until World War I, "almost every Rollingstone child learned Letzebuergish in the home and spoke it faithfully into old age" (A Legacy, 15). Catholicism remained the cornerstone of immigrants' religious expression: "With stunning and very noticeable exception, most Rollingstone families attended church services regularly and contributed to the maintenance of the church building and social activities" (A Legacy, 21). Weddings, baptisms, first communions, wakes, and funerals were not only religious but also social events central to the life of the community. The annual Treipenfest (blood sausage dinner), Fusicht (pre-Lenten party), and Schobermesse (harvest festival), celebrations brought from Luxembourg to Rollingstone, were eagerly anticipated and well-attended by community and area residents (A Legacy, 26-27). Clearly, the metaculture of Luxembourg was alive and well in Rollingstone, Minnesota. It continues to be central to the community today, preserved and celebrated in the Rollingstone-Luxembourg Heritage Museum and in events such as the annual Treipenfest, celebrated most recently on January 26, 1998.

Not far from Rollingstone, MN, in the Whitewater State Park just outside Elbe, Minnesota, stands the Marnach House, a recently restored dwelling built in the traditional "Quereinhaus" style by John and Margaret (Wagener) Marnach, Luxembourgish immigrants. In 1857, John Marnach had bought land previously occupied by the Dakota Indians on the side of the Whitewater Valley. A stone mason by trade, John Marnach and his friend Nicholas Majerus began constructing homes of uncut limestone, hand-sawed oak timbers, and wood-pegged frames. After many generations of occupancy by Marnach descendants, the house and the farm surrounding it were rented out for some time and bought by the State of Minnesota in 1949. The condition of the Marnach house, by then unoccupied, deteriorated steadily. In 1978, it was entered into the National Register of Historic Places, but restoration efforts on the house did not begin until August 1991, when the government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg funded a crew of stone masons and carpenters, coordinated by Guy Thomas, to come to the United States for the express purpose of rescuing the Marnach House from eventual destruction.

Restoration efforts continued during the summers of 1992 and 1993, reaching completion with the Marnach House Dedication on August 12, 1993. This day-long program of events, sponsored by the Luxembourg Heritage Society, Inc., featured a Catholic Mass and the presentation of a replica statue of Our Lady of Consolation to the Rollingstone, MN, parish church. Following the Mass was a welcome luncheon for a delegation of foreign dignitaries from Luxembourg headed by former prime minister Pierre Werner, the official dedication of the Marnach House on-site, a performance by the Trotterbattien Band of Luxembourg, and a dinner and "Euro-Medley" concert/slide show at the Rollingstone City Park. Hundreds of people attended this event, which marked one of the most successful intercultural exchanges between Luxembourgers and Luxembourger-Americans on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.  [To view photographs of the Marnach House restoration project, please click on this URL:  http://krypton.mankato.msus.edu/~susanna/minnesot1.htm   ]

We have seen specific ways in which the metaculture of Luxembourg is reflected in the metaculture of Luxembourger settlement sites in Minnesota. Now we will turn our attention to the best-known Luxembourgish settlement in Iowa. St. Donatus, the first Luxembourger immigrant settlement west of the Mississippi, is located along the shores of the river, just a dozen miles south of Dubuque, Iowa. Ironically, until recent years, St. Donatus was mistakenly referred to as a "historic French settlement," most likely because its original name was Tetes des Morts, a name, legend has it, that was given to it by French missionary Father Louis Hennepin. Legend also has it that the origin of the name lies in a battle fought on the banks of a nearby stream:

Father Louis Hennepin, according to tradition, is said to have placed the name Tetes des Morts on the map to perpetuate the legend of the battle fought on the banks of that stream. On a certain hill near the present site of St. Donatus, a battle was fought by the Winnebagoes, the Sauk and the Foxes with their old enemy, the Sioux. The Sioux were victorious and drove their enemies over a cliff into the river below. On hearing this legend, Father Hennepin called the place "Tetes des Morts" (Hills, 79).

The first Luxembourgers, the John B. Noel family, arrived in the area in 1838 after spending some time in the eastern part of the United States (History of Dubuque County, 712). Crossing the Mississippi River could be very dangerous, especially when, as Gonner notes, early icing could cause shipwrecks (51). According to his account, in December 1846, ships coming up the river from New Orleans had great difficulty, and "several thousand immigrants were stranded in Cairo, Illinois, with no money. Helpless, they suffered greatly. Many died from dysentery" (51).

A group of immigrants from Luxembourg fared better earlier that year, arriving safely in the Dubuque area and continuing south to Tetes des Morts. Among this group were Peter Gehlen, Charles Hoffman, Nic and John Streff, and John and Adam Tritz, all from the Olm and Kehlen, Luxembourg, area. The following year, 1847, they were joined by a larger group of Luxembourger families from the Feulen and Merzig areas, among them Peter Siren, John Freiman, Henry Anen, Adam Braun, Pete Theisen, and one of my maternal great-great-grandfathers, Nicholas Nemmers (Tritz, 26). The immigrants' Catholic heritage was central to their lives and, in 1848, a log cabin church was built and a Catholic parish formed. It was given the name, St. Donatus Parish, and was "dedicated to St. Donatus, patron and protector against storms, July 4, 1851" (Krull, 2).

By 1856, seventy-two families were members of St. Donatus Parish (Tritz, 26). That year the frame church burned down, and a new stone building, which served as combined church and parsonage, was constructed (Krull, 3). Although the interior of this church was destroyed by fire in November 1907, most of its original two-foot thick stone walls survived; they still frame the present church, located on the hillside northeast of the village. In recent years, the church has been restored to its 1860 form. Inside it are three large German Baroque altars, chandeliers, and statues of St. Donatus, St. Willibrord, St. Barbara, and other saints central to Luxembourg religious tradition. One side altar is dedicated to Our Lady of Consolation, the Patron Saint of Luxembourg. The statue of the Blessed Virgin, wearing dark blue velvet roles and standing at the center of that altar, is modeled on statues in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Luxembourg City. At the entrance to the church is the Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation; this shrine, added to the church in 1986, features a three-foot-high linden wood statue of Mary that was a gift from the archbishop and the people of Luxembourg to the people of St. Donatus. Each year on August 15, this statue is carried in a candlelight procession based on the traditional procession still taking place in Luxembourg to commemorate the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven, one of the most important Catholic holy days of obligation.

In December 1858, Father J. Michael Flammang, a native of Koerich, Luxembourg, arrived as pastor; he became the guiding force in the small Luxembourgish settlement, where he remained until his death on December 6, 1883 (Krull, 3). As Sister Cleo Tritz points out in St. Donatus: A Settlement of Luxembourgers in Northeastern Iowa, the years from approximately 1859 to 1883, coinciding with the pastorate of Father J. Michael Flammang, are often considered the "golden era of St. Donatus" (Tritz, 37). In addition to organizing the parish church and schools, Father Flammang played an integral role in establishing order and instilling a spirit of community among members of the immigrant population:

To a less valiant soul the status of the parish to which Father Flammang was sent might have been overwhelmingly disheartening; the parishioners were at variance, the church construction at a stalemate, the rectory lacking even necessary furnishings and business was booming in three taverns in the village. But this zealous young priest immediately set out to restore peace and unity and to secure the co-operation of the members of the parish. By stern exhortation and by the revival of the spiritual life of the parishioners, by the appeal to the Luxembourger's love for solemn and festive celebrations of religious feasts and devotions, and by the inauguration of a building program which united the parish in a bond of pride, he soon began to realize his goals (Tritz, 38-39).

In 1861, Father Flammang built an outdoor Way of the Cross, the first of its kind in North America; in 1865, a Pieta Chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary was added at the top of Calvary Hill, where the Stations of the Cross concluded (O'Connor, "St. Donatus Historical Sketches"). In 1863, Father Flammang called a special meeting to establish a parish school. In 1864, the first convent high school west of the Mississippi was built at a cost of more than $30,000.00 (Krull, 3). The immigrants' devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary remained strong; the new school was dedicated to her and placed under her patronage as "Maria Sedes Sapientiae" ["Mary, Seat of Wisdom"]. In November 1865, an elementary school classroom was begun, with two members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, Sister Mathaes and Sister Cupertine, in charge. In 1858, an academy (or convent boarding school) for girls was opened; most of the students at the academy came from wealthy families in Dubuque and surrounding areas (Krull, 4-5).

Meanwhile, a post office was established in St. Donatus in 1852, and construction was underway on houses and businesses in the growing settlement. In 1848 Peter Gehlen established a flour mill, and Jacob Hiltgen built a two-room log house, in which many immigrants lived until they were able to build their own homes (Tritz, 29). Soon a number of two-storey stone dwellings began to dot the landscape. This style of rural Luxembourg architecture was adapted from the "Quereinhaus," a "combined house and barn, with house, stable, and barn in one lengthy unit lying under one roof" ("Luxembourg Traditional Architecture," 1). A one-and-a-half-storey Quereinhaus was characterized by its first-floor cooking and living quarters; upstairs were sleeping rooms, and above those was the "Speicher" (from Latin: spicarium ' grainery), used for storing grain and fruits. The "Speicher" floor, typically made of cement, was sturdy, rodent-proof, and fireproof. ("Luxembourg Traditional Architecture," 1). A half-hip, eaveless roof covered with slate was common, and rectangular windows and doors, framed with stone beams, were symmetrically and evenly distributed. As the Institut Grand Ducal explains, "Little architectural decoration [could] be found on the house except for the entrance. The stone lintel over the door bore the date of construction and the initials of the builder(s). A wheel or sunburst motif [was] an often-met element chiseled on the wooden entrance door" ("Luxembourg Traditional Architecture," 1).

The availability of stone in the bluffs along the Mississippi River, the ease with which the stone could be quarried, and the expertise of the building craftsmen from Luxembourg meant that many sturdy, spacious houses could be constructed. In an early tourist guide to St. Donatus, T. T. Thielen quotes from John Ford's article, "Old World Village," on the Luxembourgish builders of St. Donatus: "they built their homes as though they wanted them to last forever . . . and they stand like Gibraltar even today" (Thielen, 3-4). Because the immigrants built their homes so well and because their descendants have preserved and restored them, a number survive to this day, making St. Donatus the best-preserved and most extensive example of rural Luxembourg architecture in the Midwestern United States ("Luxembourg Traditional Architecture," 2).

During the 1860s, St. Donatus enjoyed a period of fame when its physician, Dr. Peter Schwind, a native of Luxembourg, created "Dr. Schwind's Rose Heilsalbe," a healing ointment that was marketed widely and proved to be very popular (Tritz, 54). Testimonials poured into St. Donatus, and area newspapers touted the merits of Dr. Schwind's ointment. Shortly thereafter, in April 1879, Dr. Schwind created another preparation for the relief of "Fallsucht" or epilepsy; this remedy was less-well-received than his "Rose Heilsalbe." In 1880, Dr. Schwind retired and moved west to Plymouth County, IA, settling in Le Mars, where he joined a number of other Luxembourger immigrant families (e.g., the Gehlens, the Nemmerses) that had begun moving west earlier.

In 1870, there had been 221 families in the St. Donatus Parish (Tritz, 59). By the end of the decade, a significant number of these families had headed west to the Le Mars area, where homesteads were just beginning to be established. Soon Luxembourgers spread out to the nearby towns of Remsen, Alton, and Granville, Iowa. As Sr. Cleo Tritz observes, "Those who ventured to the virgin soils to the west found the land productive. Their glowing accounts of the new settlements in letters caused others to join them" (59). Letters published in The Luxemburger Gazette, the newspaper founded by Nicholas Gonner in 1872 and the primary means of communication among Luxembourgers in both the homeland and in immigrant settlements in the United States, encouraged the westward migration, not only in western Iowa but also in Nebraska and South Dakota:

                                                        COME AND BUY LAND!

Marion Junction, South Dakota: If our soil is not so good as Iowa's the undersigned will refund the cost of your trip. Our German parish is peaceful and truly Catholic. Next spring a school for $5000 will be built in our parish. Your neighbors are calling you!

                    --Rev. P. Grabig, Pastor (Luxemburger Gazette, 14 August 1875)

When the

Although the population of St. Donatus has declined during subsequent decades (it now stands at approximately 150), the little town is still on the map. Tourist brochures advertise St. Donatus as "A Little Bit of Luxembourg in America" and welcome visitors to "Little Luxembourg." The community's most recent project has been the restoration of the Gehlen House, a large and impressive two-storey dwelling built by Peter Gehlen 150 years ago. Since then it has served as a home and a store, and it is now a thriving bed and breakfast operated by several members of the community. It is now one of thirty-four area buildings, including the church, rectory, outdoor way of the cross, pieta chapel, stonehouse bakery, smoke house, and restored limestone residences (e.g., the Thoma, Ploessl, Wicke, Connolly, Heitzman, Kalmes, Ehlinger, and Koenig homes) on the National Register of Historic Places.

In late July 1997, a group of builders and artisans from Luxembourg, led by Guy Thomas, who had coordinated the restoration of the Marnach House, arrived to spend two weeks re-stuccoing the outside of the Gehlen house, painting all of its wood, and installing an ornate carved wooden door, replicating the style of front door found on the traditional "Quereinhaus." This visit was covered in depth by the Maquoketa Sentinel-Press in Lowell Carlson's feature story, "Luxembourg Team to Restore Heritage" (16 July 1997) as well as by the Dubuque Telegraph Herald in Mary Nevans-Pederson's front-page story, "Craftsmen Bring Touch-up of Luxembourg" (9 August 1997). Carlson's story emphasizes the nature of the "unique project that links Luxembourg with its immigrant history in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and now, Iowa" (2). Nevans-Pederson writes that the Gehlen House is a "bed and breakfast in traditional Luxembourg trappings" (1).

The Gehlen House restoration project has been covered in Luxembourg as well as in the United States. The Luxemburger Wort, the primary daily newspaper of Luxembourg, described the project in Paul Lenert's article, "Steinernes Denkmal als Erinnerung an die Luxemburger Einwanderung in die USA" (23 July 1997). In this article, Lenert refers to St. Donatus as a "Historic Luxembourg Village," and he includes a variety of his own color photographs of village scenes, including the exterior and interior of the Gehlen House, Kalmes Store, the parish cemetery, and the flags of the United States, Iowa, and Luxembourg flying together on Main Street. Clearly, the linkages between the metaculture of Luxembourg and one of its premier immigrant settlements in the Midwestern United States are still being acknowledged and celebrated.

Having had the opportunity to spend a restful night in the Gehlen House not long after the Luxembourg restoration crew had returned home in August 1997, I can attest to the high quality of its work, and I can appreciate firsthand what the brochure that advertised the bed-and-breakfast promises:  "At the Gehlen House, you'll relax and enjoy Luxembourg hospitality. You'll get a taste of real country living, with its inherent natural beauty and tranquility. No hassles, no hustle and bustle, no fax machines. Nestled in the rolling hills of northeast Iowa in the quiet village of St. Donatus, The Gehlen House offers year-round accommodations for calming getaways and/or family fun. Call 800-280-1177 for reservations."  [Note:  Sadly, Judy Nemmers, co-proprietor of The Gehlen House, passed away in April 2001.  To view photographs of The Gehlen House, please click on this URL:  http://krypton.mankato.msus.edu/~susanna/iowa1.htm   ]

The linkages between the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and its descendant communities in the Midwestern United States continue to be strong, primarily due to such international publications as the monthly newsletter, Luxembourg News of America, published in Chicago for over a hundred years by the Luxembourgers of America, Inc. This newsletter features news of the Luxembourg Brotherhood of America, the Luxembourg American Social Club, and the Luxembourg Lodges and Societies. It also features news of events in Luxembourg sent by correspondents such as Marie-Rose Reisen-Heusbourg of Brachtenbach and Liliane Stemper-Brickler of Nospelt, Luxembourg. Each month, the "Recipe Corner" features such Luxembourg-American delights as "Speculaas" (St. Nicholas cookies), "Gefockstener" (Luxembourg-style potatoes), "Fish Fillet in Cream Sauce," and "Luxembourg Sausage Casserole."

A second important means of communication is the News of the St. Donatus Luxembourg Heritage Society, published by the St. Donatus Luxembourg Heritage Society, whose motto is "Where Two Worlds Meet." The May-June 1997 issue of the newsletter, for instance, features stories on the Gehlen House restoration project; an account of a November 1995 visit by residents of St. Donatus to Hostert, Luxembourg; and the upcoming celebration of National Luxembourg Day, featuring a "Luxembourg Buffet consisting of tripen, weiner sneitzel, pork sausage, veal patties, homemade noodles, potato pancakes, sour red cabbage and homemade breads" (News, 1). On 3 September 1997, the Chorales Reunies Sacre-Coeur/St. Joseph, a group of forty-two singers from Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg, arrived in St. Donatus to perform in concert.

On 18 December 1994, a landmark event marked ongoing efforts to create a center for Luxembourg studies in the United States. On that date, Prince Henri of Luxembourg arrived to help dedicate the Luxembourgiana Bach-Dunn Collection in the O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. This important collection of books, periodicals, and maps related to the history and culture of Luxembourg was purchased from the Luxembourg Heritage Society with a generous donation by Maria Bach Dunn, a native of Luxembourg, and her husband, James Taylor Dunn, former head of the Minnesota Historical Society Library. The Bach-Dunn Collection continues to grow as more donations are made and as scholars take advantage of its holdings in Letzebuergesch, French, English, German, Dutch, and other languages. In a newspaper story commemorating the event, the Mankato Free Press noted that "about 25,000 people of Luxembourg descent live in Minnesota" and that about "one-third of the country's population emigrated to the United States during the late 19^th century, settling in the Chicago area, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota" (2).

Cultural exchanges between Luxembourgers and Americans of Luxembourgish descent have flourished in the past twenty years. Tour groups from Luxembourg routinely travel to the United States for the express purpose of visiting Luxembourgish immigrant settlements. The expansion of Icelandair (with direct flights from Luxembourg City to many U. S. cities, including New York, Orlando and, since April 1998, Minneapolis) has made it possible for even more Luxembourgers and Americans to exchange visits and further strengthen intercultural ties. For instance, this summer, from June 18-28, 1998, Icelandair Tour sponsored a group of Luxembourgers who visited Minneapolis, Winona, Rollingstone, St. Donatus, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Eau Claire on a ten-day tour of Luxembourger sites in the Midwestern United States. Americans of Luxembourger descent, like Father Frank Klein of Dresbach, Minnesota (a descendant of Theodore Klein from Feulen) and Judy Nemmers of St. Donatus, Iowa (co-owner of the Gehlen House) have led groups of Americans on tours of their ancestral villages in Luxembourg.

Luxembourg's traditional festivals, celebrations, and the June 23 Luxembourg National Day ("Nationalfeierdag") continue to be commemorated in Luxembourgish settlements throughout the Midwestern United States. As noted above, Rollingstone, Minnesota, hosts an annual Treipenfest. The Luxembourg Society of Wisconsin hosts a community fair and bazaar, Kirmes, at the end of each summer. St. Donatus, Iowa, hosts an annual Schueberfouer (fall fair) in October. Remsen, Iowa, held its 25^th annual Luxembourg Oktoberfest in 1998. All of these events are advertised in the Luxembourg News of America, the Newsletter of the Luxembourg Society of Wisconsin, and the News of the St. Donatus Luxembourg Heritage Society.

The rapid expansion of the World Wide Web has also brought together Luxembourg afficionados on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Fausto Gardini, a Luxembourger who now lives in Atlanta, Georgia, has created an expansive and user-friendly web site called "Luxembourg on My Mind." This web site, which features information on the history and culture of Luxembourg, also features information on a variety of Luxembourgish settlements in the United States and links to home pages created by Luxembourgers and Luxembourg-Americans. In addition to Fausto Gardini's excellent web site, a number of additional fine web sites are sponsored by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , the Institut Grand Ducal, STATEC (the Luxembourg statistics bureau) as well as dozens of local, regional, and national organizations and individuals, both in Luxembourg and abroad.

Such contemporary developments as those outlined above, all traceable to the development of immigrant settlements in the Midwestern United States, indicate that the evolving metaculture of Luxembourg, past and present, has survived. This metaculture continues to exist in a variety of pragmatic and realistic as well as romanticized and sentimentalized incarnations, all of which attest to the staying power of the national motto, "Mir wolle bleiwe wat mir sin."

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