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**

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## Twinned and partner towns
Esch-sur-Alzette is twinned withː

*  Coimbra, Portugal
*  Cologne, Germany
*  Liège, Belgium
*  Lille, France
*  Mödling, Austria
*  Offenbach am Main, Germany
*  Puteaux, France
*  Rotterdam, Netherlands
*  Turin, Italy
*  Velletri, Italy
*  Zemun, Serbia

## Gallery 

File:Esch-sur-Alzette - 60 rue de l'Alzette 2015-05.jpg|Building in Esch-sur-Alzette
File:Theater Esch-sur-Alzette 01.jpg|Théâtre d’Esch
File:Synagogue Esch sur Alzette-4.JPG|Synagogue of Esch-sur-Alzette
File:Esch-Uelzecht (Jousefskierch).jpg|Saint Joseph Couch

## Related pages
* Cantons of Luxembourg
* Communes of Luxembourg
* List of cities in Luxembourg

## References
## Other websites
* Official website