LUXEMBOURG, THE RICHEST TINY EUROPEAN COUNTRY OFFERING FREE PUBLIC TRANSPORT 

Did you know that the richest country in Europe, Luxembourg, is the first nation to offer free public transport, and that it recently marked its third year of doing so?

Luxembourg is a small landlocked country in Western Europe that borders Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France to the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembourg, is one of the four institutional seats of the European Union (together with Brussels, Frankfurt, and Strasbourg) and the seat of several EU institutions, notably the Court of Justice of the European Union, the highest judicial authority.

Luxembourg's culture, people, and languages are highly intertwined with its French and German neighbors; while Luxembourgish is the only national language of the Luxembourgish people, French is the only legal language, and all three — Luxembourgish, French and German — are considered official languages and are used for administrative matters in the country.

According to EuroNews, those living in the tiny EU state of Luxembourg have access to free public transport for the last three years. Unsurprisingly on the anniversary of this novel and seemingly very expensive public initiative, almost everyone who uses trams, buses and trains in the tiny EU state says they're happy with it.

Being both rich and being a small population helps of course. There are only around 640,000 citizens and each one, in terms of GDP per capita, is worth about €99,900 per year according to the World Bank's latest data from 2021. Compare that with each citizen in neighbouring France averaging a mere €35,200 a year. 

Luxembourg is also promoting free public transport as a way of combating pollution and climate change by luring people away from their vehicles and into trains and buses. According to Luxembourg Deputy Prime Minister François Bausch, Luxembourg, the plan would reduce congestion in the capital, Luxembourg City, and cut pollution.

The history of Luxembourg is considered to begin in the year 963, when Count Siegfried acquired a rocky promontory and its Roman-era fortifications, known as Lucilinburhuc, "little castle", and the surrounding area from the Imperial Abbey of St. Maximin in nearby Trier. His descendants increased their territory through marriage, conquest, and vassalage. By the end of the 13th century, the counts of Luxembourg reigned over a considerable territory.

In 1308, Count of Luxembourg Henry VII became King of the Romans and later Holy Roman Emperor; the House of Luxembourg would produce four Holy Roman Emperors during the High Middle Ages. In 1354, Charles IV elevated the county to the Duchy of Luxembourg. The duchy eventually became part of the Burgundian Circle and then one of the Seventeen Provinces of the Habsburg Netherlands.

Over the centuries, the City and Fortress of Luxembourg—of great strategic importance due to its location between the Kingdom of France and the Habsburg territories—was gradually built up to be one of the most reputed fortifications in Europe. After belonging to both the France of Louis XIV and the Austria of Maria Theresa, Luxembourg became part of the First French Republic and Empire under Napoleon.

The present-day state of Luxembourg first emerged at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. The Grand Duchy, with its powerful fortress, became an independent state under the personal possession of William I of the Netherlands with a Prussian garrison to guard the city against another invasion from France. In 1839, following the turmoil of the Belgian Revolution, the purely French-speaking part of Luxembourg was ceded to Belgium and the Luxembourgish-speaking part (except the Arelerland, the area around Arlon) became what is the present state of Luxembourg.

Sources:

https://www.euronews.com/2023/03/22/richest-country-in-europe-marks-third-year-of-free-public-transport

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg