In 1795, when the city surrendered after a 7-month blockade and siege by the French, with its walls still unbreached, the French politician and engineer Lazare Carnot declared Luxembourg "the best (fortress) in the world, apart from Gibraltar".
In 1795, the city, for fear of the imminent defeat and the following pillages and massacres, surrendered after a 7-month blockade and siege by the French, with most of its walls still unbreached. On this occasion, the French politician and engineer Lazare Carnot declared Luxembourg "the best (fortress) in the world, apart from Gibraltar".