Communes of Luxembourg - Evolution of Communes

Evolution of Communes

The commune system was created during the French occupation to mirror the systems employed in the rest of the French Republic. These were overhauled in 1823, but the system itself was retained until independence, which was granted under the 1839 Treaty of London. The law regulating their creation and organisation dates to 24 February 1843, which was later enshrined in the Luxembourgian constitution, promulgated on 17 October 1868.

Upon independence, there were 120 communes. A chain of demegers and partitions between 1849 and 1891 increased this number to 130. Most of these were brought about by asymmetrical population growth, as population growth in the south caused the balance of population in the country to shift; some of the communes born in that era include Rumelange, Schifflange, and Walferdange. In what is now termed 'Nordstad', Erpeldange and Schieren were separated from Ettelbruck.

However, from the end of the First World War, during which Luxembourg was occupied by Germany, the number of communes has dropped. In 1920, Luxembourg City was greatly expanded, annexing four surrounding communes. Another wave of mergers took place in the late 1970s, when sparsely-populated areas in the north and west of the country were merged to form Lac de la Haute-Sûre, Rambrouch, and Wincrange. 2006 saw the creation of Kiischpelt and Tandel from four smaller communes, further reducing the number of communes to 116. 2012 saw the creation of Käerjeng, Vallée de l'Ernz and Parc Hosingen from smaller communes, and the expansion of Clervaux, Esch-sur-Sûre and Schengen with adjacent communes. This has reduced the number of communes to the present 106.