Coin set proof

The Constitution of 1868 emerged during a period in which the state status of Luxemburg was being reorganised. As early as 1841, the Grand Duchy had received its first constitution. A constitution from 1848 that was more parliamentary and oriented towards fundamental rights was fundamentally amended in 1856 at the initiative of Großherzog Wilhelm III. The position of the monarch was strengthened, while political freedoms were restricted.

The immediate background to the renewed constitutional amendment was the Luxemburg Crisis of 1867. The French Emperor Napoleon III. had attempted to acquire Luxemburg from the Dutch King Wilhelm III., who was also Großherzog of Luxemburg. Prussia opposed this plan. The conflict was settled at an international conference. The Treaty of London of 1867 confirmed Luxemburg’s neutrality; the Prussian garrison withdrew, and the fortifications of the city of Luxemburg were demolished.

Against this background, the Constitution was revised and promulgated on 17 October 1868. It restored several of the civil liberties restricted in 1856, including freedom of the press and freedom of association. At the same time, the Staatsrat created in 1856 remained in existence. The text therefore represented a compromise between the liberal provisions of 1848 and the monarchic elements of the previous constitutional order.

The Constitution regulated the position of the Großherzog, the Chamber of Deputies, the government and the courts. Luxemburg remained a constitutional monarchy in which the exercise of state power was legally bound and distributed among several institutions. The constitutional text was amended many times over the course of time, but remained the basis of the state order for a long period.

The round anniversary provided an occasion to recall this constitutional continuity. At the same time, the subject points to the close connection between Luxemburg’s domestic political order and the international safeguarding of its statehood in the 19th century.