Culture
European history
Schengen: the tiny Luxembourg village that gave Europe its borderless zone
Schengen is a small wine village on the Moselle where Luxembourg, France and Germany meet. There, on 14 June 1985, five countries signed the Schengen Agreement aboard the boat MS Princesse Marie-Astrid, chosen because it sat at the tripoint of three nations. Today the Schengen Area lets people cross some 29 European countries without border checks. Visitors can tour the European Museum Schengen, board the original boat and see the star-topped columns by the river.