The Luxembourg Government has announced that sirens will sound across the country on August 2nd 2014 to mark the 100th anniversary of the First World War.
German soldiers crossed the neutral Grand Duchy’s borders on August 2nd 1914 as they began their march westwards to attack France.
In remembrance of the anniversary, sirens will be sounded for two minutes at 2.58pm.
Luxembourg’s Head of State, Grand Duke Henri, will then lay a wreath at the Monument of Remembrance in Constitution Square, Luxembourg City.
He will be accompanied by Prime Minister Xavier Bettel; the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Mars Di Bartolomeo; and Defence Minister Francine Closener.
Known as the Gëlle Fra (Golden Lady), the monument was inaugurated in 1923 to commemorate Luxembourgers who died in the First World War.
Several thousand volunteers from the Grand Duchy fought on the Allied side.
The Golden Lady, a gold-plated figure on a 21-metre-high stone obelisk, was pulled down by the Nazis during the Second World War. The memorial wasn’t fully restored to its original appearance until 1984.
Source: Government of Luxembourg
Images courtesy of the Government of Luxembourg Press Office (© SIP tous droits réservés)
Posted by: Peter Alhadeff, Centenary News