Esch-sur-Alzette

Esch-sur-Alzette ( , or "Esch an der Alzig", ) is a commune with city status in south-western Luxembourg, capital of the canton Esch-sur-Alzette.
The town is usually referred to just as Esch, but there is also a village and "commune" further north, in the Wiltz canton, named Esch-sur-Sûre from which to distinguish it.
History.
For a long time Esch-sur-Alzette was a small farming village in the valley of the Alzette river. This changed when important amounts of iron ore were found in the area in the 1850s. With the development of the mines and the steel industry the town's population multiplied tenfold in a couple of decades.
On 29 May 1906, Esch-sur-Alzette was promoted to city.
Geography.
Esch-sur-Alzette is in the south-west of the country, on the border with France. It is the capital of the Red Lands region.
The "commune" is in the valley of the Alzette river, a right tributary of the Sauer river and which flows through the town, and has an area of . The altitude is high. At the city hall, the altitude is high.
Esch-sur-Alzette is surrounded by six "communes" of Luxembourg: Mondercange to the north, Schifflange to the northeast, Kayl to the east, Rumelange to the southeast and Sanem to the northwest. To the southwest, the "commune" borders the Audun-le-Tiche "commune" in the Moselle department of France; and to the west Russange also in the Moselle department.
Population.
There were 34,378 persons living in the "commune" in 2017, for a population density of inhabitants/km².
Evolution of the population in Esch-sur-Alzette
Twinned and partner towns.
Esch-sur-Alzette is twinned withː