123-497: Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg . It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earliest commercial radio stations broadcasting to both the UK and Ireland . The station provided a way to circumvent British legislation which until 1973 gave
246-469: A knowledge economy , with the founding of the University of Luxembourg and a national space program . Luxembourg is described as a " full democracy ", with a parliamentary democracy headed by a constitutional monarch . Executive power is exercised by the grand duke and the cabinet, which consists of several members with the titles of minister, minister delegate or secretary of state, who are headed by
369-530: A skywave propagation at night that covered the British Isles, although reception was strongest in northern England. By restricting the service to night-time, the sales representatives were able to sell most of the available airtime both for spot commercials and for sponsored programmes. One spot commercial that became burned into the minds of every Radio Luxembourg listener was for Horace Batchelor 's "Infra-Draw Method" of winning money on football pools , turning
492-663: A soviet worker's republic similar to the ones emerging in Germany , but these attempts lasted only 2 days. In November 1918, a motion in the Chamber of Deputies demanding the abolition of the monarchy was defeated narrowly by 21 votes to 19 (with three abstentions). France questioned the Luxembourgish government's, and especially Marie-Adélaïde's, neutrality during the war, and calls for an annexation of Luxembourg to either France or Belgium grew louder in both countries. In January 1919,
615-705: A Habsburg possession, the Duchy of Luxembourg became, like many countries in Europe at the time, heavily involved in the many conflicts for dominance of Europe between the Habsburg-held countries and the Kingdom of France . In 1542, the King of France , François I , invaded Luxembourg twice, but the Habsburgs under Charles V managed to reconquer the Duchy each time. Luxembourg became part of
738-414: A Prime Minister. The current Constitution of Luxembourg , the supreme law of Luxembourg, was originally adopted on 17 October 1868. The Constitution was last updated on 1 July 2023. The grand duke has the power to dissolve the legislature , in which case new elections must be held within three months. But since 1919, sovereignty has resided with the nation, exercised by the grand duke in accordance with
861-531: A UK audience. Initially this only broadcast until 7 pm and ended with an announcement specifically encouraging listeners to switch to Radio Luxembourg on 1440 kHz medium wave. Atlantic 252 switched to 24-hour broadcasts around the time that Radio Luxembourg shut down its medium wave broadcasts. Atlantic 252 closed down in 2002 and the long wave frequency is now used for RTÉ Radio 1 . Presenters common to both Atlantic 252 and Radio Luxembourg include Jeff Graham, Cass Jones and Sandy Beech . The voice of Henry Owens
984-512: A clear reference both to Luxembourg's night-time-only broadcasts, and to the BBC's patchy pop music coverage. The first song played was "Not Fade Away" by the Rolling Stones , which could be interpreted as a dig at Luxembourg's fluctuating signal strength. In Caroline's primary reception areas, her ground wave signal was strong and unaffected during daylight hours by fading or interference. Following
1107-513: A company of the Luxembourgish Army rebelled, declaring itself to be the army of the new republic, but French troops intervened and put an end to the rebellion. Nonetheless, the disloyalty shown by her own armed forces was too much for Marie-Adélaïde, who abdicated in favor of her sister Charlotte 5 days later. The same year, in a popular referendum , 77.8% of the Luxembourgish population declared in favor of maintaining monarchy and rejected
1230-415: A consciousness of independence and a national awakening took place in the 19th century. The people of Luxembourg began referring to themselves as Luxembourgers , rather than being part of one of the larger surrounding nations. This consciousness of Mir wëlle bleiwe wat mir sinn (" We want to remain what we are ") culminated in 1890, when the last step towards full independence was finally taken: due to
1353-703: A founding member of the United Nations in 1945. Luxembourg's neutral status under the constitution formally ended in 1948, and in April 1949 it also became a founding member of NATO . During the Cold War , Luxembourg continued its involvements on the side of the Western Bloc . In the early fifties a small contingent of troops fought in the Korean War . Luxembourg troops have also deployed to Afghanistan, to support ISAF . In
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#17328838481801476-513: A group of mainly French entrepreneurs to form the Luxembourg Society for Radio Studies ( La Société Luxembourgeoise d'Études Radiophoniques ) as a pressure group to force the Luxembourg government to issue them a commercial broadcasting licence. On 19 December 1929, the government of Luxembourg passed a law awarding a monopoly licence to operate a commercial radio broadcasting franchise from
1599-572: A lack of LW on new consumer receivers, increasing interference levels, the energy inefficiency of AM and high electricity costs at transmitters. In 2014 and 2015 Russia closed all of its LW broadcast transmitters. As of 2024 more than half of LW frequencies are unoccupied and some of the remaining services are scheduled for closure. BBC Radio 4 (UK) announced that it will stop distinct programming for LW broadcasts in 2024 in an effort to transition listeners to other means of listening. A closure date for LW broadcasts has not yet been announced. With
1722-551: A monopoly of English-language commercial radio programming heard in the UK until, in March 1964, Radio Caroline began daytime commercial transmissions to southern England from a ship anchored less than four miles off the Essex coast (the station later acquired a second ship, and moved the first to the Irish Sea). Radio Caroline's opening announcement identified it as "Your all-day music station" –
1845-524: A new 200 kW transmitter on 230 kHz (1304 metres) in the long-wave band. In the years from 1933 to 1939, the English-language service of Radio Luxembourg gained a large audience in the UK and other European countries, with sponsored programming aired from noon until midnight on Sundays and at various times during the rest of the week. Around 11% of Britons listened to it during the week, preferring Luxembourg's light music and variety programmes to
1968-965: A pro- NATO , pro-US foreign policy. Luxembourg is considered a European capital, and is the site of the Court of Justice of the European Union , the European Court of Auditors , the European Investment Bank , the Statistical Office of the European Union ( Eurostat ) and other vital EU organs. The Secretariat of the European Parliament is located in Luxembourg, but the Parliament usually meets in Brussels and sometimes in Strasbourg . Luxembourg
2091-468: A profound effect on the historical memory of the country and its citizens. However, many republican ideas of this era continue to have a lasting effect on Luxembourg; one of the many examples features the implementation of the Napoleonic Code Civil which was introduced in 1804 and is still valid today. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, the Duchy of Luxembourg was restored. However, as
2214-445: A refuge for stars and shows previously heard on the BBC but with whom the BBC had fallen out for one reason or another. Thus, when in 1951 the BBC wanted Vera Lynn , one of its biggest singing stars, to perform more upbeat material than her traditional repertoire, she refused, and signed up to record 42 shows for Luxembourg instead – which, she said, also paid better. Likewise, the comedy series Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh , terminated by
2337-610: A station, but the British commercial radio stations kept whittling away the 208 audience and advertising, while a brief replay of competition for audiences began to emerge from off the British coastline with new radio ship transmissions. These were shows heard in 1982 as reported in the Radio Luxembourg Research Report (page 20) of 208 listeners. The Survey was conducted during the last quarter of 1982 by British Market Research Bureau for Radio Luxembourg (London) Ltd. By
2460-569: A succession crisis the Dutch monarchy ceased to hold the title Grand-Duke of Luxembourg. Beginning with Adolph of Nassau-Weilburg , the Grand-Duchy would have their own monarchy , thus reaffirming its full independence. In August 1914, during World War I , Imperial Germany violated Luxembourg's neutrality by invading it in order to defeat France. Nevertheless, despite the German occupation , Luxembourg
2583-615: A succession crisis, precipitated by the lack of a male heir to assume the throne. Since Sigismund and Elizabeth of Görlitz were both heirless, all possessions of the Luxembourg Dynasty were redistributed among the European aristocracy. The Duchy of Luxembourg become a possession of Philip the Good , Duke of Burgundy . As the House of Luxembourg had become extinct and Luxembourg now became part of
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#17328838481802706-603: Is also known for having founded the Schueberfouer in 1340 and for his heroic death at the Battle of Crécy in 1346. John the Blind is considered a national hero in Luxembourg. In the 14th and early 15th centuries, three more members of the House of Luxembourg reigned as Holy Roman Emperors and Bohemian Kings: John's descendants Charles IV , Sigismund (who also was King of Hungary and Croatia ), and Wenceslaus IV . Charles IV created
2829-853: Is also site of the EFTA Court , which is responsible for the three EFTA members who are part of the European Single Market through the EEA Agreement . The Luxembourgish army is mostly based in its casern, the Centre militaire Caserne Grand-Duc Jean on the Härebierg in Diekirch. The general staff is based in the capital, the État-Major . The army is under civilian control , with the grand duke as Commander-in-Chief . The Minister for Defense , Yuriko Backes , oversees army operations. The professional head of
2952-526: Is essentially the same, a single constant shift forward from the time coded in the signal can compensate for all long-wave signals received at any one location from the same time signal station. The militaries of the United Kingdom, Russian Federation, United States, Germany, India and Sweden use frequencies below 50 kHz to communicate with submerged submarines . In the ITU Radio Regulations
3075-534: Is generally known as the Second Partition of Luxembourg . To compensate the Duchy for this loss, it was decided to elevate the Duchy to a Grand-Duchy , thus giving the Dutch monarchs the additional title of Grand-Duke of Luxembourg . After Belgium became an independent country following the victorious Belgian Revolution of 1830–1831 , it claimed the entire Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg as being part of Belgium, however,
3198-518: Is often considered a medium wave sub-band. Swedish station SAQ, located at the Varberg Radio Station facility in Grimeton, is the last remaining operational Alexanderson alternator long-wave transmitter. Although the station ended regular service in 1996, it has been maintained as a World Heritage Site , and makes at least two demonstration transmissions yearly, on 17.2 kHz. Longwave
3321-579: Is used for AM broadcasting in addition to the medium-wave band, the term longwave usually refers specifically to this broadcasting band, which falls wholly within the low frequency band of the radio spectrum (30–300 kHz). The "Longwave Club of America" ( United States ) is interested in "frequencies below the AM broadcast band" (i.e., all frequencies below 520 kHz). Because of their long wavelength , radio waves in this frequency range can diffract over obstacles like mountain ranges and travel beyond
3444-514: Is used for broadcasting only within ITU Region 1. The long-wave broadcasters are located in Europe, North Africa and Mongolia . Typically, a larger geographic area can be covered by a long-wave broadcast transmitter compared to a medium-wave one. This is because ground-wave propagation suffers less attenuation due to ground conductivity at lower frequencies. Many countries have stopped using LW for broadcasting because of low audience figures,
3567-661: The Abbey of Echternach in AD 698, and is celebrated annually in the dancing procession of Echternach . For a few centuries the abbey would become one of northern Europe's most influential abbeys. The Codex Aureus of Echternach , an important surviving codex written entirely in gold ink, was produced here in the 11th century. The so-called Emperor's Bible and the Golden Gospels of Henry III were also produced in Echternach at this time. When
3690-444: The BBC a monopoly of radio broadcasting on UK territory and prohibited all forms of advertising over the domestic radio spectrum . It boasted the most powerful privately owned transmitter in Europe (200 kW, broadcasting on long wave ). In the late 1930s, and again in the 1950s and 1960s, it had large audiences across Britain and Ireland with its programmes of popular entertainment, and
3813-554: The Bock rock by Siegfried, Count of the Ardennes , in 963 through an exchange act with St. Maximin's Abbey, Trier . Around this fort , a town gradually developed, which became the center of a state of great strategic value within the Duchy of Lorraine. Over the years, the fortress was extended by Siegfried's descendants and by 1083, one of them, Conrad I , was the first to call himself a " Count of Luxembourg ", and with it effectively creating
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3936-675: The Burgundian Netherlands , this would mark the start of nearly 400 years of foreign rule over Luxembourg. In 1482, Philip the Handsome inherited all of what became then known as the Habsburg Netherlands , and with it the Duchy of Luxembourg. For nearly 320 years Luxembourg would remain a possession of the mighty House of Habsburg, at first under Austrian rule (1506–1556), then under Spanish rule (1556–1714) , before going back again to Austrian rule (1714–1794) . With having become
4059-685: The Carolingian Empire was divided many times starting with the Treaty of Verdun in 843, today's Luxembourgish territory became successively part of the Kingdom of Middle Francia (843–855), the Kingdom of Lotharingia (855–959) and finally of the Duchy of Lorraine (959–1059), which itself had become a state of the Holy Roman Empire . The recorded history of Luxembourg begins with the acquisition of Lucilinburhuc (today Luxembourg Castle ) situated on
4182-628: The Court of Justice of the European Union , the highest judicial authority. Luxembourg's culture , people, and languages are greatly influenced by its much larger neighbors France and Germany; for example, Luxembourgish , a Germanic language, is the only national language of the Luxembourgish people and of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, French is the only language for legislation, and all three – Luxembourgish, German and French – are used for administrative matters in
4305-828: The Dalheim Ricciacum and the Vichten mosaic , on display at the National Museum of History and Art in Luxembourg City. The territory was infiltrated by the Germanic Franks from the 4th century, and was abandoned by Rome in AD 406, after which it became part of the Kingdom of the Franks . The Salian Franks who settled in the area are often described as the ones having brought the Germanic language to present-day Luxembourg, since
4428-522: The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a small landlocked country in Western Europe . It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France to the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembourg City , 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
4551-528: The International Telecommunication Union's (ITU's) low frequency (LF, 30–300 kHz) and very low frequency (VLF, 3–30 kHz) bands. Sometimes the upper limit is taken to be higher than 300 kHz, but not above the start of the medium wave broadcast band at 520 kHz. In Europe, Africa, and large parts of Asia ( International Telecommunication Union Region 1 ), where a range of frequencies between 148.5 and 283.5 kHz
4674-510: The King of the Netherlands , would become, in personal union , the head of state. To satisfy Prussia, it was decided that not only the Fortress of Luxembourg be manned by Prussian troops , but also that large parts of Luxembourgish territory (mainly the areas around Bitburg and St. Vith) become Prussian possessions. This marked the second time that the Duchy of Luxembourg was reduced in size, and
4797-543: The Luxembourg government closed the radio station to protect the neutrality of the country during World War II. The station and its transmitters were taken over by the invading German forces in 1940, and were used for English-language propaganda broadcasts by William Joyce (known as Lord Haw-Haw ) and others. When Allied forces took over Luxembourg in September 1944, the station was transferred to US Army control on 9 September 1944 and used for black propaganda purposes for
4920-501: The Luxembourgish language . With its central location in western Europe, the Grand Duchy was an ideal site for broadcasts to many nations, including the United Kingdom. Anen became inspired by the activities of Captain Plugge, who was using transmitters licensed in other countries to broadcast English-language radio programmes to Britain and Ireland, whose governments had not licensed commercial broadcasting. On 11 May 1929, he brought together
5043-768: The Nine Years' War in 1684, France invaded Luxembourg again , conquering and occupying the Duchy until 1697 when it was returned to the Spanish in order to garner support for the Bourbon cause during the prelude to the War of the Spanish Succession . When the war broke out in 1701 Luxembourg and the Spanish Netherlands were administered by the pro-French faction under the governor Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria and sided with
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5166-701: The Paleolithic Age , about 35,000 years ago. From the 2nd century BC, Celtic tribes settled in the region between the rivers Rhine and Meuse . Six centuries later the Romans named the Celtic tribes inhabiting these exact regions collectively as the Treveri . Many examples of archaeological evidence proving their existence in Luxembourg have been discovered, the most famous being the Oppidum of Titelberg . In around 58 to 51 BC,
5289-399: The Red Lands ' rich iron-ore grounds in the beginning of the 20th century drove Luxembourg's industrialization. After the decline of the steel industry in the 1970s, the country focused on establishing itself as a global financial center and developed into the banking hub it is reputed to be. Since the beginning of the 21st century, its governments have focused on developing the country into
5412-420: The Spanish Netherlands in 1556, and when France and Spain went to war in 1635 it resulted in the Treaty of the Pyrenees , in which the first partition of Luxembourg was decided. Under the Treaty, Spain ceded the Luxembourgish fortresses of Stenay , Thionville, and Montmédy , and the surrounding territory to France, effectively reducing the size of Luxembourg for the first time in centuries. In context of
5535-401: The ionosphere and bounce back to the British Isles. It was this second wavelength that eventually became dedicated to English-language programming after 6 pm under the slogan of " 208 – Your station of the stars ", referring to the entertainers heard on the station. These were some of the shows heard in March 1952 as reported in the 208 programme schedule: Radio Luxembourg also served as
5658-441: The old Frankish language spoken by them is considered by linguists to be a direct forerunner of the Moselle Franconian dialect , which later evolved into, among others, the modern-day Luxembourgish language . The Christianization of Luxembourg is usually dated back to the end of the 7th century. The most famous figure in this context is Willibrord , a Northumbrian missionary saint, who together with other monks established
5781-436: The 160–190 kHz band a transmitter / amplifier output power to the antenna of at most 1 watt, with an antenna at most 15 meters (49 feet) high; this is called Low Frequency Experimental Radio (LowFER). The 190–435 kHz band is used for navigational beacons . Frequencies from 472–479 kHz are available to licensed amateurs as the new 630 m band , part of the now-defunct maritime band , but this
5904-409: The 1950s, Luxembourg became one of the six founding countries of the European Communities , following the 1952 establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community , and subsequent 1958 creations of the European Economic Community and European Atomic Energy Community . In 1993, the former two of these were incorporated into the European Union . With Robert Schuman (one of the founding fathers of
6027-419: The 1970s, some long-wave stations in northern and eastern Europe and the Soviet Union operated on frequencies as high as 433 kHz. Some radio broadcasters, for instance Droitwich transmitting station in the UK, derive their carrier frequencies from an atomic clock , allowing their use as frequency standards . Droitwich also broadcasts a low bit-rate data channel, using narrow-shift phase-shift keying of
6150-412: The BBC after six years, transferred to Radio Luxembourg for a period in 1950–51 before the BBC relented and revived the show. On 7 April 1956, Billboard magazine reported that " WINS Radio made a deal with Harry Alan Towers of the Towers of London, for deejay Alan Freed to do a special taped 1/2 hour rock and roll record show on Saturday nights over Radio Luxembourg, which is beamed to most of
6273-421: The BBC could be broken, other parties became attracted to the idea of creating a new commercial radio station specifically for this purpose. In 1924, radio technician François Anen built a 100-watt transmitter in his home in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg . Within two years, the government of Luxembourg had reached an agreement to subsidize the station to broadcast military music concerts and plays performed in
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#17328838481806396-416: The BBC could have sold sponsored airtime, its income instead came from selling its own brand of licensed radio receivers manufactured by its owners. This arrangement lasted until 1927, when the broadcasting licence of the original BBC was allowed to expire. The assets of the former commercial company were then sold to a new non-commercial British Broadcasting Corporation , which operated under a UK charter from
6519-521: The BBC. Up to half of Britons did so before 10:15 am on weekdays when the BBC did not broadcast, and at weekends when it followed the Reith Sunday schedule of only serious and religious programmes. The BBC and successive British governments continued to oppose the competition, citing Radio Luxembourg's use of an unauthorised frequency. As the station could not use General Post Office telephone lines to broadcast from London, many English-language programmes were recorded there and flown to Luxembourg. Despite
6642-419: The Battle of Worringen helped the Counts of Luxembourg to achieve military glory, which they had previously lacked, as they had mostly enlarged their territory by means of inheritances, marriages and fiefdoms. The ascension of the Counts of Luxembourg culminated when Henry VII became King of the Romans , King of Italy and finally, in 1312, Holy Roman Emperor . With the ascension of Henry VII as Emperor,
6765-495: The Bourbons. The duchy was subsequently occupied by the pro-Austrian allied forces during the conflict and was awarded to Austria at its conclusion in 1714. As the Duchy of Luxembourg repeatedly passed back and forth from Spanish and Austrian to French rule, each of the conquering nations contributed to strengthening and expanding the Fortress that the Castle of Luxembourg had become over the years. One example of this includes French military engineer Marquis de Vauban who advanced
6888-475: The Constitution and the law. Legislative power is vested in the Chamber of Deputies , a unicameral legislature of sixty members, who are directly elected to five-year terms from four constituencies . A second body, the Council of State ( Conseil d'État ), composed of 21 ordinary citizens appointed by the grand duke, advises the Chamber of Deputies in the drafting of legislation. Luxembourg has three lower tribunals ( justices de paix ; in Esch-sur-Alzette ,
7011-521: The Crown . With no possibility of commercial broadcasting available from inside the UK, Leonard F. Plugge – a former British Royal Air Force captain and entrepreneur (and from 1935 Conservative Party member of parliament ) – set up his own International Broadcasting Company , which leased time on transmitters in continental Europe and resold it as sponsored English-language programming aimed at audiences in Britain and Ireland. Because Plugge successfully demonstrated that state monopolies such as that of
7134-421: The Dutch King who was also Grand Duke of Luxembourg, as well as Prussia, did not want to lose their grip on the mighty fortress of Luxembourg and did not agree with the Belgian claims. The dispute would be solved at the 1839 Treaty of London where the decision of the Third Partition of Luxembourg was taken. This time the territory was reduced by more than half, as the predominantly francophone western part of
7257-455: The EU), Pierre Werner (considered the father of the Euro ), Gaston Thorn , Jacques Santer and Jean-Claude Juncker (all former Presidents of the European Commission ), Luxembourgish politicians contributed substantially to the EU's formation and establishment. In 1999, Luxembourg joined the eurozone . Thereafter, the country was elected non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (2013–14). The steel industry exploiting
7380-411: The English service had begun to grow once more, and while initially some of the English-language programmes continued via Radio Luxembourg I on long wave, a second but less powerful wavelength was opened up as Radio Luxembourg II on medium wave. The English programmes of Radio Luxembourg moved on 2 July 1951, from long wave to the medium wave frequency of 208 metres (1439 kHz). The controversy over
7503-464: The First World War, under the German occupation of Luxembourg during World War II , the country was treated as German territory and informally annexed to the adjacent province of Nazi Germany , Gau Moselland . This time, Luxembourg did not remain neutral as Luxembourg's government in exile based in London supported the Allies , sending a small group of volunteers who participated in the Normandy invasion , and multiple resistance groups formed inside
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#17328838481807626-433: The French army. Their sacrifices have been commemorated at the Gëlle Fra . After the war, Grand-Duchess Marie-Adélaïde was seen by many people (including the French and Belgian governments) as having collaborated with the Germans and calls for her abdication and the establishment of a Republic became louder. After the retreat of the German army , communists in Luxembourg City and Esch-sur-Alzette tried to establish
7749-524: The Grand Duchy. On 29 December, this licence was awarded to the Society, which in turn created the Luxembourg Broadcasting Company ( Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Radiodiffusion ) to be identified on the air as Radio Luxembourg . From 1932, German journalist Eva Siewert worked as editor-in-chief and trilingual head spokeswoman for the station in German, English and French. In May 1932, Radio Luxembourg began high-powered test transmissions aimed directly at Britain and Ireland (which proved, inadvertently, to be
7872-402: The Holy Roman Empire and elsewhere, Wenceslaus, annexed the County of Chiny in 1364, and with it, the territories of the new Duchy of Luxembourg reached its greatest extent. During these 130 years, the House of Luxembourg was contending with the House of Habsburg for supremacy within the Holy Roman Empire and Central Europe. It all came to end in 1443, when the House of Luxembourg suffered
7995-522: The Internet also stopped in 2009. Both the station and its website made numerous references to the old 208 service. Luxembourg – in Europe (green & dark gray) – in the European Union (green) Luxembourg ( / ˈ l ʌ k s əm b ɜːr ɡ / LUK -səm-burg ; Luxembourgish : Lëtzebuerg [ˈlətsəbuəɕ] ; German: Luxemburg [ˈlʊksm̩bʊʁk] ; French: Luxembourg [lyksɑ̃buʁ] ), officially
8118-493: The Romans invaded the country when Julius Caesar conquered Gaul and part of Germania up to the Rhine border, thus the area of what is now Luxembourg became part of the Roman Empire for the next 450 years, living in relative peace under the Pax Romana . Similar to those in Gaul, the Celts of Luxembourg adopted Roman culture, language, morals and a way of life, effectively becoming what historians later described as Gallo-Roman civilization . Evidence from that period includes
8241-477: The UK in the early 1970s, Luxembourg did not face commercial competition, only a growing increase in audience share by more BBC services. For a time in the late 1960s Luxembourg advertised itself as "The O.I.S. – the Only Independent Station on the Air". In 1973, the BBC radio monopoly within the UK was finally ended by new legislation allowing Independent Local Radio , funded by the sale of advertising time. In 1983, Radio Luxembourg marked its fiftieth anniversary as
8364-438: The adoption of the Geneva Frequency Plan of 1975 , long-wave carrier frequencies are exact multiples of 9 kHz; ranging from 153 to 279 kHz. One exception was a French-language station, Europe 1 in Germany, which retained its prior channel spacing until the long-wave service was terminated in 2019. Other exceptions are all Mongolian transmitters, which are 2 kHz above the internationally recognized channels. Until
8487-413: The army is the Chief of Defense , who answers to the minister and holds the rank of general. Longwave In radio, longwave , long wave or long-wave , and commonly abbreviated LW , refers to parts of the radio spectrum with wavelengths longer than what was originally called the medium-wave broadcasting band. The term is historic, dating from the early 20th century, when the radio spectrum
8610-438: The band 135.7–137.8 kHz is allocated (on a secondary basis) to Amateur radio worldwide, subject to a power limit of 1 watt EIRP. Many countries' regulators license amateurs to use it. In North America during the 1970s, the frequencies 167, 179, and 191 kHz were assigned to the short-lived Public Emergency Radio of the United States . Nowadays, in the United States, Part 15 of FCC regulations allow unlicensed use of
8733-408: The carrier, for Radio Teleswitch Services . Because long-wave signals can travel very long distances, some radio amateurs and shortwave listeners engage in an activity called DXing . DXers attempt to listen in to far away transmissions, and they will often send a reception report to the sending station to let them know where they were heard. After receiving a report, the sending station may mail
8856-498: The city of Luxembourg , and Diekirch ), two district tribunals (Luxembourg and Diekirch), and a Superior Court of Justice (Luxembourg), which includes the Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation. There is also an Administrative Tribunal and an Administrative Court, as well as a Constitutional Court, all of which are located in the capital. Luxembourg is divided into 12 cantons , which are further divided into 100 communes . Twelve of
8979-525: The city's nickname the Gibraltar of the North . Luxembourg was annexed by France, becoming the département des forêts (department of forests), and the incorporation of the former Duchy as a département into France was formalised at the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. From the start of the occupation the new French officials in Luxembourg, who spoke only French, implemented many republican reforms, among them
9102-543: The communes have city status ; the city of Luxembourg is the largest. Luxembourg has long been a prominent supporter of European political and economic integration . In 1921, Luxembourg and Belgium formed the Belgium–Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU) to create a regime of inter-exchangeable currency and a common customs . Luxembourg is a member of the Benelux Economic Union and was one of
9225-451: The competing County of Vianden (and with it St Vith and Schleiden ) had either been incorporated directly or become vassal states to the County of Luxembourg. The only major setback during their rise in power came in 1288, when Henry VI and his three brothers died at the Battle of Worringen while trying unsuccessfully to add the Duchy of Limburg to their realm. But despite the defeat,
9348-510: The complaints caused Radio Luxembourg to keep shifting its wavelength. The English service was leased to Radio Publicity (London) Ltd in the United Kingdom. In December 1933, Radio Publicity (London) transferred 23-year-old Stephen Williams from directing its English-language programmes transmitted over Radio Paris to become the first manager of the English-language service of Radio Luxembourg. Programmes in English debuted on 3 December 1933 under
9471-526: The countries of Free Europe." Resident announcers in Luxembourg at different times: Following the merger of the English-language service of Radio Luxembourg I with the new English-language service of Radio Luxembourg II on 208 metres medium wave, the station came to be known as Radio Luxembourg. A British company, Radio Luxembourg (London) Ltd, controlled the programme content and sold the advertising time. The station sign-on time at dusk varied between summer and winter to allow maximum benefit to be gained from
9594-528: The country (but also the then Luxembourgish-speaking part of Arelerland ) was transferred to the new state of Belgium, thereby giving Luxembourg its modern-day borders. The treaty of 1839 also established full independence of the remaining Germanic-speaking Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. In 1842, Luxembourg joined the German Customs Union ( Zollverein ). This resulted in the opening of the German market,
9717-451: The country. With an area of 2,586 square kilometers (998 sq mi), Luxembourg is Europe's seventh-smallest country . In 2024, it had a population of 672,050, which makes it one of the least-populated countries in Europe , albeit with the highest population growth rate ; foreigners account for nearly half the population. Luxembourg is a representative democracy headed by a constitutional monarch , Grand Duke Henri , making it
9840-463: The daytime. In 1955, Hal Lewis who was better known at Hawaiian radio station KPOA as J. Akuhead Pupule (and later became the morning DJ at KGMB in Honolulu, Hawaii , during 1965), offered to buy the morning time from 6 am to 9 am for his own show on 208 , but his offer was rejected. The 208 signal could be received satisfactorily in the United Kingdom only after dark, when it was able to strike
9963-465: The defeat of Napoleon , it regained independence in 1867 after the Luxembourg Crisis . Luxembourg is a developed country with an advanced economy , and has one of the world's highest GDP (PPP) per capita as per IMF and World Bank estimates. The nation's levels of human development and LGBT equality are ranked among the highest in Europe. The historic city including its fortification
10086-462: The development of Luxembourg's steel industry , and expansion of Luxembourg's railway network from 1855 to 1875. After the Luxembourg Crisis of 1866 nearly led to war between Prussia and France, as both were unwilling to see the other taking influence over Luxembourg and its mighty fortress, the Grand Duchy's independence and neutrality were reaffirmed by the Second Treaty of London and Prussia
10209-484: The dynasty of the House of Luxembourg not only began to rule the Holy Roman Empire , but rapidly began to exercise growing influence over other parts of Central Europe as well. Henry's son, John the Blind , in addition to being Count of Luxembourg, also became King of Bohemia . He remains a major figure in Luxembourgish history and folklore and is considered by many historians the epitome of chivalry in medieval times. He
10332-544: The editorial guidance of Stephen Williams. On 1 January 1934, a new international agreement, the Lucerne Convention or European Wavelength Plan (which the Luxembourg government refused to sign) came into effect, and shortly afterwards Radio Luxembourg started a regular schedule of English-language transmissions from 8:15 am to midnight on Sundays, and at various times during the rest of the week. In February, Radio Luxembourg began broadcasting in both French and English on
10455-428: The end of September 1967. While Luxembourg again almost had the UK commercial airwaves to itself, it was still restricted to evening and night hours. The presenters included the following: All the ex-Radio London DJs worked later for BBC Radio One. By the middle of 1968, even the two Caroline offshore stations had left the air and, while other attempts were made to restart offshore radio commercial broadcasts aimed at
10578-489: The establishment of a republic. During this time, Belgium pushed for an annexation of Luxembourg. However, all such claims were ultimately dismissed at the Paris Peace Conference , thus securing Luxembourg's independence. In 1940, after the outbreak of World War II , Luxembourg's neutrality was violated again when Nazi Germany 's Wehrmacht entered the country , "entirely without justification". In contrast to
10701-412: The first radio modification of the ionosphere ). The reaction of the British government was hostile, as the long-wave band used for these tests carried a signal far superior to anything previously received from outside the country. The British government accused Radio Luxembourg of "pirating" the various wavelengths it was testing. The station had planned to start regular broadcasts on 4 June 1933, but
10824-457: The first time since the early 1950s, but this time it was aimed at Scandinavian audiences using a 24-hour stereo transponder on the Astra 1A satellite to supplement the 208 analogue night-time service. The end eventually came for 208 at 3 am GMT on 30 December 1991 (the station did return to the analogue 208/1440 for one night a year later when the station finally closed its digital service),
10947-632: The fortifications around and on the heights of the city, fortification walls that are still visible today. During the War of the First Coalition , Revolutionary France invaded the Austrian Netherlands, and with it, Luxembourg. In the years 1793 and 1794 most of the Duchy was conquered relatively quickly and the French Revolutionary Army committed many atrocities and pillages against the Luxembourgish civilian population and abbeys,
11070-599: The founding members of the European Economic Community (now the European Union). It also participates in the Schengen Group (named after the Luxembourg village of Schengen where the agreements were signed). At the same time, the majority of Luxembourgers have consistently believed that European unity makes sense only in the context of a dynamic transatlantic relationship, and thus have traditionally pursued
11193-616: The horizon, following the contour of the Earth. This mode of propagation, called ground wave , is the main mode in the longwave band. The attenuation of signal strength with distance by absorption in the ground is lower than at higher frequencies, and falls with frequency. Low frequency ground waves can be received up to 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) from the transmitting antenna. Very low frequency waves below 30 kHz can be used to communicate at transcontinental distances, can penetrate saltwater to depths of hundreds of feet, and are used by
11316-509: The incorrect impression that all the presenters were broadcasting from the Grand Duchy or, alternatively, assume that all the programmes were recorded in London. A conspiracy of silence operated throughout this period between sworn enemies Radio Luxembourg and the BBC, each of which never mentioned the existence of the other, although many famous names appeared on both, often almost simultaneously. During this period, and particularly from about 1960,
11439-590: The independent County of Luxembourg (which was still a state within the Holy Roman Empire). By the middle of the 13th century, the counts of Luxembourg had managed to gain considerable wealth and power and had expanded their territory from the river Meuse to the Moselle . By the time of the reign of Henry V the Blonde , Bitburg , La Roche-en-Ardenne , Durbuy , Arlon , Thionville , Marville , Longwy , and in 1264
11562-557: The last record played on AM being Van Morrison 's "In the Days Before Rock and Roll" (chosen mainly because of its mention of the radio station), before "At the End of the Day" (one of their closedown songs) was played heading into the top of the hour (even though DJ Jeff Graham had said that they were going to play the original closedown tune, it was not in fact the original song, but a later version
11685-518: The long-lasting Golden Bull of 1356 , a decree which fixed important aspects of the constitutional structure of the Empire. Luxembourg remained an independent fief (county) of the Holy Roman Empire, and in 1354, Charles IV elevated it to the status of a duchy with his half-brother Wenceslaus I becoming the first Duke of Luxembourg . While his kin were occupied ruling and expanding their power within
11808-464: The military to communicate with submerged submarines . Low frequency waves can also occasionally travel long distances by reflecting from the ionosphere (the actual mechanism is one of refraction ), although this method, called skywave or "skip" propagation, is not as common as at higher frequencies. Reflection occurs at the ionospheric E layer or F layers . Skywave signals can be detected at distances exceeding 300 kilometres (190 mi) from
11931-512: The most infamous being the massacres of Differdange and Dudelange , as well as the destruction of the abbeys of Clairefontaine , Echternach and Orval . However the Fortress of Luxembourg resisted for nearly 7 months before the Austrian forces holding it surrendered. Luxembourg's long defense led Lazare Carnot to call Luxembourg "the best fortress in the world, except Gibraltar", giving rise to
12054-623: The occupied country. With 2.45% of its prewar population killed, and a third of all buildings in Luxembourg being destroyed or heavily damaged (mainly due to the Battle of the Bulge ), Luxembourg suffered the highest such loss in Western Europe, but its commitment to the Allied war effort was never questioned. Around 1,000–2,500 of Luxembourg's Jews were murdered in the Holocaust . The Grand Duchy became
12177-495: The offshore stations. In August 1967, the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act 1967 passed into British law, and forced all but the two Caroline stations off the air by eliminating their means of selling commercial advertising in the UK. As well as closing down offshore "pirate radio", the British government instructed the BBC to create its own non-commercial replacement, named Radio 1 , which began transmissions at
12300-758: The old 208 wavelength. The Van Morrison song was the next-to-last record that night, followed by Marion Montgomery 's "Maybe the Morning". The 208 service from that moment on carried the German-language service, identifying itself as " RTL Radio – Der Oldiesender". This medium wave broadcast shut down at midnight on 31 December 2015. Presenters in the 1990s: In 1989, Radio Luxembourg's parent company RTL Group teamed up with Raidió Teilifís Éireann to create Atlantic 252 , an English-language pop music station on longwave , based in Ireland and with advertising content aimed at
12423-423: The opposition, by 1938 many British companies advertised on Radio Luxembourg and fellow European broadcaster Radio Normandy . The stations thus exposed millions of Britons and British companies to commercial broadcasting, which contributed to the creation of the commercial ITV during the 1950s. These were some of the shows heard in 1935 as listed in the 3 May edition of Radio Pictorial : On 21 September 1939,
12546-473: The previously obscure Somerset town of " Keynsham , spelt K-E-Y-N-S-H-A-M" into a household name throughout the country. Some programmes were live disc-jockey presentations by the team of "resident announcers" from the studios in Luxembourg City , while others were pre-recorded in the company's British studios at 38 Hertford Street , London W1. This was never made clear to listeners, who were allowed to form
12669-578: The principle of laicism , which led to an outcry in strongly Catholic Luxembourg. Additionally French was implemented as the only official language and Luxembourgish people were barred access to all civil services. When the French Army introduced military duty for the local population, riots broke out which culminated in 1798 when Luxembourgish peasants started a rebellion. Even though the French managed to rapidly suppress this revolt called Klëppelkrich , it had
12792-456: The range that transmit coded time signals to radio clocks. For example: Radio-controlled clocks receive their time calibration signals with built-in long-wave receivers. They use long-wave, rather than short-wave or medium-wave , because long-wave signals from the transmitter to the receiver always travel along the same direct path across the surface of the Earth , so the time delay correction for
12915-581: The remainder of the war (see Radio 1212 ). When the Allied armed forces vacated the Radio Luxembourg premises at the close of World War II, the English-language service attempted to restart transmissions to the United Kingdom as a full-time commercial radio station using the European long-wave band, once more under the management of Stephen Williams. During the war, Geoffrey Everitt served his last few months in Luxembourg, and this led to his employment by Stephen Williams on 21 June 1946. Williams soon left
13038-754: The shows heard in December 1956, as listed in the 208 programme schedule for that month: Resident announcers in Luxembourg during this period included: The following disc-jockeys recorded shows in the London studios at 38 Hertford Street: Peter Aldersley, Sam Costa , Alan Dell , Keith Fordyce , Alan Freeman , David Gell , Tony Hall , Jack Jackson , David Jacobs , Brian Matthew , Don Moss, Pete Murray , Ray Orchard, Jimmy Savile , Shaw Taylor , Jimmy Young , and Muriel Young . Many of these programmes were sponsored by record companies, and in order to include as many records as possible, most programmes played little more than half of each record. Radio Luxembourg enjoyed
13161-482: The signal travel time from the transmitting station to the receiver is always the same for any one receiving location. Longwaves travel by groundwaves that hug the surface of the Earth, unlike mediumwaves and shortwaves . Those higher-frequency signals do not follow the surface of the Earth beyond a few kilometers, but can travel as skywaves , ' bouncing ' off different layers of the ionosphere at different times of day. These different propagation paths can make
13284-472: The station and Everitt found himself in charge of a small on-air staff of three women and one man. Because of the dearth of advertising available in English, the early morning shows on long wave quickly disappeared and made way for French-language programmes. More contractions followed and this led to cuts in more of the morning, afternoon and evening programming in English. By the start of the 1950s, sponsorship of
13407-426: The station used as the original was not located, "It's Time To Say Goodnight"). The station then went satellite and shortwave (15350 kHz) only, with the first songs played being " When Will You (Make My Telephone Ring) " by Deacon Blue and " Always " by Atlantic Starr . The satellite and shortwave service continued until midnight on 30 December 1992. The closedown night was relayed on various stations, including
13530-420: The station's broadcasting frequencies had been resolved with the 1948 Copenhagen plan (which this time the Luxembourg government did sign), which allocated the country two high-power frequencies, one on long wave and the other on medium wave. Eventually all English programming moved to medium wave, with long wave being dedicated to French programmes, while German, Dutch and other languages used medium wave during
13653-455: The station's output came to be more explicitly targeted at the growing teenage market, with increasing emphasis on pop music. Drama productions, comedy, variety and sports programming disappeared altogether. By about 1963, almost all the station's output was based around the playing of music on discs; the mainstream evening audience for middle-aged "family entertainment" had by this time largely migrated from radio to television. These were some of
13776-634: The success of this first offshore station, others soon followed, mostly broadcasting from off the Essex coast or in the Thames Estuary. These transmissions were later extended around the clock and featured many different broadcasting formats, though pop music on discs predominated. As a result of this competition, Radio Luxembourg gradually abandoned pre-recorded sponsored programmes for a more flexible continuity. Its new format featured mainly spot advertising within record programmes presented live by resident disc jockeys in Luxembourg, some of them recruited from
13899-585: The territory had been part of the Holy Roman Empire as well as the Habsburgian Netherlands in the past, both the Kingdom of Prussia and the United Kingdom of the Netherlands now claimed possession of the territory. At the Congress of Vienna the great powers decided that Luxembourg would become a member state of the newly formed German Confederation , but at the same time William I of the Netherlands ,
14022-411: The time lag different for every signal received. The delay between when the long-wave signal was sent from the transmitter (when the coded time was correct) and when the signal is received by the clock (when the coded time is slightly late) depends on the overland distance between the clock and the transmitter and the speed of light through the air , which is also very nearly constant. Since the time lag
14145-416: The time the survey appeared, the programme line-up below had changed in various ways, including the death of Barry Alldis in the middle of the survey: Some other presenters in the 1970s and 1980s: During the 1980s one of the station's slogans was "Planet earth's biggest commercial radio station". In 1989, hoping to build a new audience, Luxembourg in English once more returned with a daytime schedule for
14268-476: The transmitting antenna. Non-directional beacons transmit continuously for the benefit of radio direction finders in marine and aeronautical navigation. They identify themselves by a callsign in Morse code . They can occupy any frequency in the range 190–1750 kHz. In North America, they occupy 190–535 kHz. In ITU Region 1 the lower limit is 280 kHz. There are institutional broadcast stations in
14391-529: The world's only remaining sovereign grand duchy . The County of Luxembourg was established in the 11th century, as a state within the Holy Roman Empire . Its ascension culminated in its monarch, Henry VII , becoming the Holy Roman Emperor in the 14th century. Luxembourg came under Habsburg rule in the 15th century, and was annexed by France in the 18th century. Luxembourg was partitioned three times, reducing its size. Having been restored in 1815 after
14514-504: Was allowed to maintain much of its independence and political mechanisms. Unaware of the fact that Germany secretly planned to annex the Grand-Duchy in case of a German victory (the Septemberprogramm ), the Luxembourgish government continued to pursue a policy of strict neutrality. However, the Luxembourgish population did not believe Germany had good intentions, fearing that it would annex Luxembourg. Around 1,000 Luxembourgers served in
14637-406: Was also heard on promotions for both stations in the early 1990s. An English-language classic rock digital station from RTL Group called Radio Luxembourg began in 2005. It was briefly available in the UK using DRM (digital broadcasts over shortwave ) but the transmitter power was reduced, and by 2008 was not receivable outside Luxembourg itself (essentially, a test transmission). Simulcasts over
14760-702: Was an important forerunner of pirate radio and modern commercial radio in Britain. Radio Luxembourg's parent company, RTL Group , continued its involvement in broadcasts to a UK audience with the British TV channel then known as Five until it was sold in July 2010. In 1922, the British government awarded a monopoly broadcasting licence to the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), whose shares were owned by British and American electrical companies. Although in theory
14883-473: Was considered to consist of longwave (LW), medium-wave (MW), and short-wave (SW) radio bands. Most modern radio systems and devices use wavelengths which would then have been considered 'ultra-short' (i.e. VHF , UHF , and microwave ). In contemporary usage, the term longwave is not defined precisely, and its intended meaning varies. It may be used for radio wavelengths longer than 1,000 m i.e. frequencies up to 300 kilohertz (kHz), including
15006-599: Was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 due to the exceptional preservation of its vast fortifications and historic quarters. Luxembourg is a founding member of the European Union , OECD , the United Nations , NATO , and the Benelux . It served on the United Nations Security Council for the first time in 2013 and 2014. The first traces of settlement in what is now Luxembourg are dated back to
15129-488: Was finally willing to withdraw its troops from the Fortress of Luxembourg under the condition that the fortifications would be dismantled. That happened the same year. At the time of the Franco-Prussian war in 1870, Luxembourg's neutrality was respected, and neither France nor Germany invaded the country. As a result of the recurring disputes between the major European powers, the people of Luxembourg gradually developed
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