Люксембургтың Киршберг платосы: Тарихы мен Еуропалық орталыққа айналуы

The isolated elevated position of the plateau made it an important defensive position and led to the 1732 construction of Forts Thüngen and Olizy in southeastern Kirchberg, as part of Luxembourg's impressive fortifications. Its strategic importance was reaffirmed with several expansions to their battlements. However, much of Luxembourg's fortifications were destroyed following the 1867 Treaty of London. In 1875, the Parish Church of Our Lady, Refuge of the Sick, was built to serve a small farming community that had established themselves in central Kirchberg. Kirchberg remained largely undeveloped until the post war period in the latter half of the 20th century, when its cheap land, and proximity to the city provided an attractive locality as the seat of various institutions of the European Communities the forerunner to today's European Union. The failure of the six founding states of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) to agree on a single basis for its institutions' location, had led to Luxembourg becoming its provisional seat upon the ECSC's creation in 1952. However, with the development of the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community, other cities had successfully bid for their institutions noticeably Brussels and Strasbourg. Discussions leading up to the 1965 Merger Treaty, which merged the governing institutions of the three communities, focused on resolving the deadlock in finding a single basis for the three communities' institutions. The Luxembourg government, seeking to retain and further attract the communities' institutions, commissioned the construction of the Grand Duchess Charlotte Bridge, spanning the Pffafenthal valley, to connect the Kirchberg plateau directly with Limpertsberg, and the rest of the elevated city, opening up its cheap land for development for the communities. The Luxembourg government's efforts were successful and today Luxembourg is considered one of the EU's three de facto capitals, The avenue was beautified from its original inception as an expressway into a tree lined pedestrian and cycle friendly thoroughfare, with separated tram and bus lanes. The Kirchberg campus of the University of Luxembourg is located midway along this avenue, in proximity to, since September 2019, the National Library of Luxembourg. A number of glass and steel edifices of commercial, and financial institutions spans from central to north eastern Kirchberg, where the Kirchberg Hospital is located. Kirchberg has developed into an important cultural hub. The partially reconstructed Fort Thüngen, listed along with the rest of the former Fortress of Luxembourg, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, hosts the Mudam, a museum of modern art opened in 2006. Designed by I. M. Pei, it displays works by some of the world's most notable modern artists. In close proximity, adjacent to one of the European Parliament's original plenary chambers, is the Philharmonie, Luxembourg's national concert hall. The grand auditorium seats over 1,500 people. On the eastern edge of the European district, Luxembourg's National Sports and Culture Centre, d'Coque arena contains an Olympic sized swimming pool and the country's largest indoor arena with seating for 8,300 spectators. In north eastern Kirchberg, the mixed use complex of the Kirchberg District Centre contains both the offices of the European Commission's statistics body, Eurostat, and an Auchan hypermarket and shopping mall. Bordering the complex are the cinema multiplex, Kinepolis Kirchberg, and Luxembourg's national exposition centre, LuxExpo The Box. Today, south western Kirchberg is dominated by the EU institutions and agencies that were the key to its development. This includes the Court of Justice of the European Union, the Court of Auditors, parts of the European Commission, the Secretariat of the European Parliament, and the European Investment Bank. Additionally, the European School, Luxembourg I provides an education to the children of staff working within the EU bodies. Kirchberg's association with the Court of Justice of the European Union, in particular, has led to it becoming a metonym for the institution. as of 2022, Kirchberg has a population of 8,746 inhabitants, with just under a quarter possessing Luxembourgish nationality. Connecting the funicular station, a new tram line was opened which, since September 2022, runs from its depot in northern Kirchberg, down Avenue J. F. K, across the Grand Duchess Charlotte Bridge, on to the old town in Ville Haute, before terminating in Bonnevoie via, the central station. When all stages are completed it will eventually run from Luxembourg Airport, to the new business district in Cloche d'Or in the south of the city. In northern Kirchberg, between Luxexpo and the new tram depot, a major new transport hub with 10 bus quays, a tram stop and a five storey car park was completed in May 2022. The National Mobility Plan 2035 details a possible further tram exension in Kirchberg that would split from the existing line at Luxexpo, serving the Kiem and upcoming Laangfur urban development, as well as the CJEU, before rejoining the existing line via Boulevard Konrad Adenauer.

Like Luxembourg City, Kirchberg has a general oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb), marked by high precipitation, particularly in late spring. However, the slope and height of the area accounts for occasional lower temperatures (up to 1° below Luxembourg City), more frequent fog and enhanced precipitation of both rain and snow.