The 12 cantons (Luxembourgish; Letzeburgesch: Kantonen in Luxembourgish; Letzeburgesch pronounced as /ˈkɑntonən/ or Luxembourgish; Letzeburgesch: Kantoner in Luxembourgish; Letzeburgesch pronounced as /ˈkɑntonɐ/; French: cantons in French pronounced as /kɑ̃tɔ̃/; German: Kantone pronounced as /de/) of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg are subdivisions at the first level of local administrative unit (LAU-1) in the European Union's Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics for Eurostat purposes. They were subdivisions of the three districts of Luxembourg until 2015, when the district level of government was abolished. The cantons are in turn subdivided into 100 communes (i.e. municipalities).
Unlike in Switzerland and similarly to France, Luxembourgish cantons have no administrative structure of their own - rather, they are used to delimitate electoral constituencies and judicial districts.[1] Until 2015, they also served to delimitate Luxembourg's three districts.
The origins of the cantons of Luxembourg lie in the decree of 31 August 1795 by the Committee of Public Safety during the French Revolutionary period.[2] This established 37 cantons in the Département des Forêts, grouped into 4 arrondissements (districts): Bitbourg, Diekirch, Luxembourg, and Neufchâteau. The old feudal territorial divisions were replaced with a system of uniform administrative division into cantons of approximately equal size and population.[3]
The decree of 6 March 1802 reduced the number of cantons in the department to 28.[4]
This situation lasted until 1815, when the Congress of Vienna re-organised Europe's borders. The Duchy of Luxembourg lost its territories east of the Our, the Sauer and the Moselle rivers to Prussia. The subsequent administrative reorganisation divided Luxembourg into 32 cantons, grouped into 5 arrondissements: Marche, Saint-Hubert, Neufchâteau, Diekirch, and Luxembourg.
By royal decree of 2 January 1832, arrondissements were reduced in size, but their number increased from 5 to 8. They were now named quarters, and later, districts.
The following list gives the names of the cantons in French and Luxembourgish (in that order) which are both official languages of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg:
| Clervaux | Klierf | Clervaux | North | ||
| Wiltz | Wolz | Wiltz | North | ||
| Vianden | Veianen | Vianden | North | ||
| Redange | Réiden | Redange | North | ||
| Diekirch | Dikrech | Diekirch | North | ||
| Mersch | Miersch | Mersch | Centre | ||
| Echternach | Iechternach | Echternach | East | ||
| Capellen | Kapellen | Mamer | South | ||
| Luxembourg | Lëtzebuerg | Luxembourg City | Centre | ||
| Grevenmacher | Gréiwemaacher | Grevenmacher | East | ||
| Esch-sur-Alzette | Esch-Uelzecht | Esch-sur-Alzette | South | ||
| Remich | Réimech | Remich | East |