How has Luxembourg stayed independent?

During most of its history (dating back to Roman times), Luxembourg was not independent, but tossed around and broken multiple times. read more

Up until the Luxembourg Crisis, this stayed the case, and then the nation became truly indenpendent when in 1890 the throne passed to Adolph von Nassau-Weilburg instead of Wilhelmina of the house of Orange-Nassau, seperating the ruling families. Up until then, Luxembourg has been partitioned three times. read more

Luxembourg has come under the control of many states and ruling houses in its long history, but it has been a separate, if not always autonomous, political unit since the 10th century. The ancient Saxon name of its capital city, Lucilinburhuc (“Little Fortress”), symbolized its strategic position as “the Gibraltar of the north,” astride a major military route linking Germanic and Frankish territories. read more