no known origin since all traced manuscripts have disappeared, squire listed was Wilhelm de Differdange, named in documents dating from 1310. The castle is probably the earliest example in Luxembourg of a château built entirely in the Renaissance style. It was intended as a residence and a fortification. Differdange's descendants were extinguished in 1400 with the death of his last grandson. In 1552, the castle underwent a disastrous fire, It was eventually restored and occupied by Anna of Isenburg. In 1794, the French Revolutionary Army committed atrocities in Differdange and slaughtered many unarmed civilians before pillaging and burning the city. The Iron City Beginning in 1830, Luxembourg's steel industry evolved from and artisan stage to an industrial stage. In 1896, two blast furnaces were erected in Differdange with the name of "Société Anonyme des Hauts-Fourneaux de Differdange". Subsequently, eight other blast furnaces were built, allowing the production of steel beams known at the time as "Differdinger". On August 4, 1907, Differdange received its town status by William IV of Luxembourg. During the 20th century, the industrial boom was at its peak, and the population of Differdange rose from less than 4,000 in 1890 to almost 18,000 by 1930. In 1967, the "Société des Hauts-Fourneaux and Aciererie de Differdange" merged with several steel companies in Belgium and France to form ARBED, Luxembourg's largest steel company, which had numerous factories in Differdange. Geography The town is located in the plateau of the river Chiers, a tributary of the river Meuse which takes its source in the section of Oberkorn. Differdange has an altitude of 293 meters, the highest point of the municipality being at 427,1m at Koufeld. The commune spreads over 2,215 hectares. Its territory borders France, through the department of Meurthe-et-Moselle in the basin of Longwy. Population Notable people Émile Krieps (1920–1998) a resistance leader, soldier, and politician Jean Portante (born 1950) a writer of novels, stories, plays, journalistic articles and poetry; resides in Paris Josiane Kartheiser (born 1950) a journalist, novelist, and writer Nico Helminger (born 1953) an author of poetry, novels, plays and libretti for operas Georges Hausemer (1957–2018) a writer of short stories, novels, travelogues and non-fictional works Jean-Claude Hollerich S.J. (born 1958) the current archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Luxembourg since 2011 Sport Étienne Bausch (1901–1970) a footballer, competed at the 1924 Summer Olympics Émile Kolb (1902–1967) a footballer, competed at the 1924 and 1928