Greater Region of SaarLorLux

The Greater Region, formerly also known as SaarLorLux, is a euroregion of eleven regional authorities located in four European states. The term has also been applied to cooperations of several of these authorities or of their subdivisions, administrations, organisations, clubs and people. Member regions represent different political structures: Wallonia, comprising the French and German-speaking Communities of Belgium; the former Lorraine part of the French Grand Est region, including the departments Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle and Vosges; the German federated states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland; and the sovereign state of Luxembourg.

Member regions

Shared history

The region of SaarLorLux was settled by the Celtic tribes of the Treveri and Mediomatrici. The Treveri lived in the south of Belgium, Luxembourg, western Rhineland-Palatinate, and northern Saarland. Lorraine and the southern Saarland were inhabited by the Mediomatrici. Both tribes were conquered during the Gallic Wars by the Roman legions of Julius Caesar. The area became part of the Roman provinces of Gallia Belgica, Germania Superior, and Germania Inferior.
Barbarian invasions forced the enfeebled Roman Empire to abandon possession of the area in the fifth century. The region became a part of the Frankish Empire. After the death of Louis the Pious in 840, the Carolingians adhered to the Germanic custom of partible inheritance, and the Treaty of Verdun in 843 divided the empire into three. Louis's eldest surviving son Lothair I became Emperor of the Romans and ruler of Middle Francia. His three sons in turn divided this kingdom between them into Lotharingia, Burgundy and the Kingdom of Italy. The core area of SaarLorLux lies within the borders of Lotharingia. The struggle to gain control over Lotharingia was the cause of centuries of struggle and war between the two other Franconian kingdoms, which over time evolved into the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire, with the Holy Roman Empire ultimately gaining control until the 18th century.
From 1384, the then Duchy of Luxembourg and part of Wallonia formed part of what was known as the Burgundian Netherlands, which was inherited by the house of Habsburg in 1482, becoming the Habsburg Netherlands. Although still subject to the Holy Roman Emperor, the Habsburg Netherlands were inherited by Habsburg Spain in 1556 and ruled in a personal union until 1714; thereafter it was ruled by the Austrian Habsburg monarchy, the rulers of which were also the Holy Roman Emperors. The remainder of Wallonia formed part of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, while much of what would become Rhineland-Palatinate was part of the Palatinate, which came under Bavarian control in 1777. Upper Lotharingia evolved into the Duchy of Lorraine while several smaller states came and went over the centuries.
In 1766 the Duchy of Lorraine and most of the surrounding smaller states were annexed by France, leaving the County of Salm and a few exclaves of other HRE states as the only territory within the modern region of Lorraine under Imperial rule. In 1793 Salm was annexed, followed in 1794 by the Southern Netherlands. Over the course of the Napoleonic Wars, the remainder of the region west of the Rhine was annexed to the newly formed French Empire; the rest of modern Rhineland-Palatinate east of the Rhine became part of the Duchy of Nassau, which was a member of Napoleon's puppet Confederation of the Rhine. The wars also saw an end to the Holy Roman Empire.
Following Napoleon's defeat, the Congress of Vienna granted most of the Southern Netherlands, including Wallonia, to the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Luxembourg was placed in a personal union under the Dutch crown but also made subject to the Holy Roman Empire's successor: the German Confederation. Most of what would become the Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate was split between the Kingdoms of Bavaria and Prussia ; the eastern portion of Luxembourg was also ceded to Prussia. The only other states to remain in the region were part of the Grand Duchy of Hesse, Hesse-Homburg, the Principality of Lichtenberg, the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg and the Duchy of Nassau. The Lorraine region remained in French hands.
In 1830, as a result of the Belgian Revolution, the Kingdom of Belgium declared independence from the Netherlands and also de facto annexed the French-speaking portion of Luxembourg. This was later recognised in the Treaty of London.
As a result of these events, the inhabitants of the region were on different sides in the Franco Prussian War of 1870–71, which ultimately led to the founding of the German Empire. The new Empire also annexed of part of Lorraine, as well as neighbouring Alsace, as the Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine. Following World War I, this territory was ceded back to France in the Treaty of Versailles, while the Saargebiet, an area roughly co-extensive with the modern Saarland, was placed under joint British and French control until 1935. Prior to World War II the region was divided by the fortifications of the Maginot Line and the Westwall. After World War II, the Saar Protectorate was established under French control until 1957, when it was reunited with Germany, forming the modern state. A small area of Germany adjoining Rhineland-Palatinate was also ceded to Belgium, which was incorporated into Wallonia as the German-speaking community of Belgium.
Today, the greater region is situated along both sides of the border between speakers of the German and French languages. 11,182,975 people live in an area of about 65,400 km². Situated in the center of the European Union, it contains highly populated urban sections along the rivers. These areas include industries, especially mining and steelworking. Rural areas are dominated by agriculture.

Luxembourg

is a sovereign nation with full autonomy. Each of the four départements of the French region of Lorraine is twice the size of the whole nation of Luxembourg.
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has a population of 672,050 in an area of 2586 square kilometres.
Luxembourg is a parliamentary representative democracy with a constitutional monarchy, ruled by a Grand Duke. It is the world's only sovereign Grand Duchy. The country has a highly developed economy, with the highest Gross Domestic Product per capita in the world.
The city of Luxembourg, the capital and largest city, is the seat of several institutions and agencies of the European Union. Luxembourg lies on the cultural divide between Romantic Europe and Germanic Europe, borrowing customs from each of the distinct traditions. Luxembourg is a trilingual country; French, German, and Luxembourgish are official languages. Although a secular state, Luxembourg is predominantly Roman Catholic.
Until 1867, the city of Luxembourg, the Gibraltar of the north, was a federal fortress of the German confederation. In the 20th century, Luxembourg was twice occupied by German armies.
In the middle of the 20th century, the economy of Luxembourg was dominated by the iron and steel industries.
Then, a structural change took place, which transformed the country to an international financial center with more than 200 banks and over 800 financial institutions and insurance companies, generating more than 20% of the GNP of Luxembourg. Today about 66% of workers are employed in the service sector, and less than 2% work in the steel industry.

Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate

The German states of Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate are part of the federal system of Germany. They hold far-ranging authorities, although some decisions concerning international treaties are assigned to the federal government.

Saarland

Saarland is one of the 16 states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1.051 million inhabitants. In both area and population it is the smallest of the German Flächenländer, i.e., those that are not City States.
It is named after the Saar River, which is a tributary of the Moselle River which runs through the state from the south to the northwest. One third of the land area of the Saarland is covered by forest, one of highest percentages in Germany. The state is generally hilly; the highest mountain is the Dollberg with a height of.
Most inhabitants live in a city agglomeration on the French border that includes the capital of Saarbrücken.
In 1919, Saarland was created from the communes where the steelworks and coal mines were located and the associated workers lived.
From 1920 to 1935 and from 1947 to 1956, Saarland was economically affiliated with France.
In 1957, 65,000 persons were employed in 18 coal mines, by 2006 only 6,300 in one mine remained. A comparable process happened with the steelworks.

Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 Bundesländer of Germany. It has an area of 19,846 km² and about 4.048 million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. The federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate was established on 30 August 1946.
The main axis of the state is the Rhine river that forms the border with Baden-Württemberg and Hesse in the southeast before running across the northern part of Rhineland-Palatinate. The Rhine Valley is bounded by mountain chains and forms a landscape containing some of the most historically significant places in Germany.
The Eifel and Hunsrück mountain chains are found on the west bank of the Rhine in northern Rhineland-Palatinate, while the Westerwald and Taunus mountains are found on the east bank. The hilly land in the southernmost region of the state is called the Palatinate forest.
These mountain chains are separated from each other by tributaries of the Rhine: the Moselle, the Lahn and the Nahe.
Economically prosperous zones exist along the eastern borders, while in the western part of the state, there are structurally backward, rural regions.