European Kingdoms

Liechtenstein / Vaduz

Formerly part of the Roman province of Raetia, this region formed the eastern edge of the Germanic tribal kingdom of Alemannia, and then remained an obscure and unimportant part of Austrasia and Swabia until it was formed into a small state (just 167 square kilometres or 62 square miles of mostly mountainous terrain) by the Holy Roman empire in the thirteenth century, during the collapse of East Francia. It is made up of two medieval lordships: Vaduz and Schellenberg. The latter were a family of ancient Bohemian extraction, faithful servants of the empire.

County of Vaduz (Schellenberg)
c.AD 1267 - 1350

It is likely that the Schellenbergs were granted the county so that they would maintain the vital pass into Italy. This happened during what was effectively an interregnum in which no sole emperor was recognised and Germany began a period of collapse with no central authority to hold it together. This collapse involved the break-up of stem duchies such as Swabia and Franconia, and it was Swabia which lost Vaduz to the Schellenbergs.

Dates for the earliest counts are uncertain.

fl c.1267

fl c.1267

Joint rule.

fl c.1300

fl c.1300

Joint rule.

fl c.1303

fl c.1303

Joint rule.

fl c.1303

fl c.1318

fl c.1318

Joint rule.

? - 1350

? - 1350

Joint rule.

County of Vaduz (Werdenberg)
AD 1350 - 1397

1350 - 1354

1354 - 1367

1354 - 1416

1354 - 1397

County of Vaduz (Brandis)
AD 1416 - 1507

1416 - 1456

1456 - 1486

1456 - pre-1486

1456 - 1487

1486 - 1507

1486 - 1507

County of Vaduz (Sulz)
AD 1507 - 1613

1507 - 1535

1535 - 1566

1566 - 1572

1566 - 1569

Joint rule.

1572 - 1611

1608

The county is elevated by the emperor to a principality of the Holy Roman empire.

1611 - 1613

Died 1617.

Principality of Hohenems-Vaduz
AD 1613 - 1712

1613 - 1638

1638 - 1646

1646 - 1662

1662 - 1686

1662 - 1712

1662 - 1691

1691 - 1712

Died 1759.

1699 & 1712

The principality's territory passes to the Liechtensteins when Johann Adam I of that house is allowed to purchase from the Hohenems the tiny herrschaft ('lordship' in English) of Schellenberg in 1699 and the county of Vaduz in 1712. These two purchases are vital for Johann in that they are without any feudal lord other than their comital sovereign and suzerain emperor, so enabling his house the chance of finally acquiring a seat in the Holy Roman empire's diet (parliament). The Hohenems-Vaduz house itself continues to exist without any power until the branch becomes extinct in 1766. The principality is now a possession of the House of Liechtenstein.

Principality of Liechtenstein
AD 1712 - Present Day
Incorporating Heads of State (1712-2022)

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Generally speaking in reference to continental Europe, only the north and north-western edges have retained older forms of government. Even so, these offer all of the freedoms and liberties which are available to any other Europeans, which is probably the main reason for their survival.

The principality of Liechtenstein is certainly a survivor from an age of pocket territories which emerged from the gradual decline of the Holy Roman empire. It is somewhat unusual in being located a little more centrally than most surviving hereditary states. It is fully landlocked, lying in central-Western Europe's Upper Rhine Valley, with Germany to the north, Austria to the east, Italy to the south, and Switzerland to the west. Its territory consists of just one hundred and sixty-seven square kilometres of mostly mountainous terrain.

The principality's territory was initially part of the Roman province of Raetia. It remained an obscure and unimportant part of Austrasia and Swabia until it was formed into a small state by the Holy Roman empire in the thirteenth century, during the collapse of East Francia. It is made up of two medieval lordships: Vaduz and Schellenberg, with the latter being a family of ancient Bohemian extraction.

The territory remained a lowly county for well over three hundred years before being elevated in 1608 to the principality of Hohenems-Vaduz. Then at the beginning of the eighteenth century Prince John Adam I of Liechtenstein acquired the two Hohenem family titles of Schellenberg (in 1699) and Vaduz (in 1712). His successor was granted these territories as an hereditary and sovereign principality in 1719, and the state was renamed after the new ruling house. It has so far outlived its founder by well over three centuries.

By 2008, this constitutional monarchy had a population of just 34,247 subjects. Its early twenty-first century head of state, Hans-Adam II, and his regent, Prince Alois, had more power than most surviving monarchs, being able to sack their government if they wished. The country was by now famous for its banks, reputedly being one of the most secretive tax havens in the world. It was also one of the richest, and had a monetary union with Switzerland. Its national anthem is sung to the same melody as that of Britain's 'God Save the Queen', albeit with different words. Norway similarly uses the tune, while the USA also uses it as a patriotic melody.

Please note that the History Files does not regularly monitor changes in modern heads of state or their representatives. Get in touch here if this section requires updating.

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from the John De Cleene Archive, from Liechtenstein: A Modern History, David Beattie (2004), from Secrets of the Seven Smallest States of Europe, Thomas Eccardt (2005), from The First World War, John Keegan (Vintage Books, 2000), from Historical Atlas of the World, R R Palmer (Ed, Chicago, 1963), from Times Atlas of World History (Maplewood, 1979), and from External Links: World Bank Data Catalogue, and Nazi Crimes Taint Liechtenstein (BBC News), and BBC Country Profiles, and The Princely House of Liechtenstein, and Why does Liechtenstein use 'God Save the Queen' as its national anthem? (Guardian Notes), and Liechtenstein's Presence in the World (Mondaq), and Liechtenstein (Flags of the World), and Liechtenstein (Rulers.org).)

1608 - 1627

Prince of Liechtenstein (from 1608).

1627 - 1684

Son. Prince of Liechtenstein.

1684 - 1712

Son. Prince of Liechtenstein. Gained Schellenberg & Vaduz.

1712

John Adam I is a descendant of Prince Karl I of Liechtenstein, raised to the rank of a prince of the Holy Roman empire in 1608. Karl had retained this position, passing it on to his son, Karl Eusebius I, and grandson, Johann Adam I

In 1699 Johann Adam, prince of Liechtenstein is able to purchase the lordship of Schellenberg, seat of the original thirteenth century independent holders of Vaduz and now held by the House of Hohenems-Vaduz. Johan Adam is able to gain the county of Vaduz itself in 1712, just months before his own death.

John Adam I was the third prince of the House of Liechtenstein and the first to secure lands adjoining Switzerland which would become a refuge for the family following the collapse of the Austrian empire

1712

Died after completing purchase of the principality's lands.

1712 - 1718

Heir to Johann Adam. Died with no male heir.

1719 - 1721

Uncle. Confirmed as Prince of Liechtenstein (1719). Died.

1719

On 23 January Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI decrees that Schellenberg and Vaduz are united as one. Anthony Florian, the ruler of the new territory, is elevated to the rank of prince of the empire, precisely the outcome which Hans-Adam had been working towards and which Joseph Wenceslaus has not quite lived to see take place.

1721 - 1732

Son.

1732 - 1748

Son. Acceded aged 8. Died without producing an heir.

1732 - 1745

Former heir, now regent for Prince Johann Karl. Succeeded.

1748 - 1772

Former regent, now sole ruler of the principality again.

1772 - 1781

Nephew.

1781 - 1805

Son.

1805 - 1836

Field Marshal in the Austrian army.

1806 - 1813

The French under Napoleon Bonaparte invade the Holy Roman empire, terminating its existence. Liechtenstein becomes a member of the French-controlled Confederation of the Rhine until its dissolution in 1813. Two years later, the Austrian-presided German Confederation performs much the same role, with the principality once again a member.

The once-formidable army of Frederick the Great was thoroughly beaten in just a month of campaigning by Napoleon Bonaparte, losing the decisive battle of Jena (shown here) and surrendering Stettin to just eight hundred French troops, making it necessary to overhaul Prussia's entire army after 1806

1818

Prince John I grants the principality a limited constitution in the same year that his son, Aloysius, becomes the first member of the House of Liechtenstein to set foot in the principality itself rather than governing from a distance - their main seat being at Liechtenstein Castle in Lower Austria. The principality becomes a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament, but not until 1921.

1836 - 1858

Son.

1848 - 1852

In a year of European revolutions in 1848 (France, Galicia, Hessen-Darmstadt, Ireland, Lombardy-Ventia, and Wallachia also experience problems), and subsequent to the February Revolution in Paris, liberal tendencies begin to be felt in Liechtenstein.

The population demands a liberal constitution in a petition which is addressed to the prince. In his first response, Alois II revokes various duties and feudal taxes and, on 7 March 1849, he issues a series of dispositions, enabling the people to take an active part in the configuration of political life.

In 1852, following the failure of the French revolution, he revokes all of these regulations, but the final step towards a new constitution after his death in 1858 is not very far away.

1858 - 1929

Son. Remained unmarried and rather anti-social.

1866

Prussia fights the Austro-Prussian War against Austria, essentially as a decider to see which of the two powers will be dominant in Central Europe. Prussia gains the newly-created kingdom of Italy as an ally in the south and several minor German states in the north. Austria and its southern German allies are crushed in just seven weeks (giving the conflict its alternative title of the Seven Weeks' War), and Prussia is now unquestionably dominant.

Austria's slow-moving forces were outpaced by Prussia's fully modern army during the Austro-Prussian War, which decided the power balance in Central Europe, as shown in this oil by Georg Bleibtreu

1868

With Austria's defeat and the end of the German Confederation, the principality is freed from the obligation to maintain a standing army for external service. Its army is disbanded for financial reasons, although the principality is still tied strongly to the Austrian empire. To date the principality has not resurrected any military forces.

1918

The Austro-Hungarian empire is fast failing in the last weeks of the First World War. Realising the inevitability of the break-up of the empire, on 16 October the emperor issues a manifesto to his people which, in effect, transfers the state into a federation of nationalities. He is too late.

The Austrian empire soon ceases to exist and Germany now stands alone. Liechtenstein is forced to refocus its own priorities, and soon signs a customs and monetary union with Switzerland.

1919

With the chaos of 1918 now ebbing away and the new nation state of Austria beginning to find its footing, Liechtenstein establishes a legation there, following the dissolution of its own historic close ties with the former Austro-Hungarian monarchy.

Austria in the period immediately following the declaration of the 1918 armistice struggled to find a new identity amid the collapse of the empire and its reformation into several independent sovereign states

1923

Following the conclusion of a customs treaty between the two states, a dense network of relations evolves between Liechtenstein and Switzerland, which Liechtenstein is able to preserve even when it joins the EEA in 1995. The Austria legation is closed at the same time.

1929 - 1938

Brother. Died without producing an heir.

1938 - 1989

First cousin twice removed. Born 1906, son of Prince Alois.

1938

Austria is forcibly annexed to Nazi Germany by Adolf Hitler, with the act being termed the 'Anschluss' (union). Francis Joseph leaves his ancestral holdings in Austria at Liechtenstein Castle near Vienna, and moves permanently to his principality on the eastern edge of Switzerland.

1939 - 1945

Liechtenstein's Second World War is a relatively quiet one. It remains neutral alongside its immediate neighbour, Switzerland. However, Jewish slave labourers are alleged to work on Austrian estates during the war, with those estates being owned by Liechtenstein's royal family, according to an official report which is delivered in 2005 after four years of preparation.

The Nabi Musa festival of 1920 prompted riots in Palestine between the majority Arabs and the minority, but rapidly burgeoning, Jewish population

The same report alleges that the royal family also buys property which has been taken from members of the Jewish Diaspora in Nazi-occupied Austria and Czechoslovakia. In the latter country all of its holdings and possessions are seized by the state at the end of the war, with the same happening to its Polish holdings.

But the Alpine principality is not responsible for trading in gold or other valuables which have been looted from Jews. Investigations reveal that neighbouring Switzerland sends thousands of Jewish refugees back to Nazi-occupied Europe and that Swiss companies trade with Nazi Germany.

Liechtenstein takes in about four hundred refugees from Nazi-controlled Austria between 1933 and 1945 and turns back a further one hundred and sixty-five. No works of art which have been plundered by the Nazis can be traced to Liechtenstein collections.

1984 - 1989

Son and regent. Born 1945. Succeeded.

1989 - On

Former regent and now ruling prince.

1999

On 18 September 1990, Liechtenstein joins the United Nations. Its embassy to the USA initially rents premises in New York to serve as its UN offices, but in 2008 it purchases its own official residence and office for the purpose. The use of an embassy at all is still a novel feature for the principality.

Situated within the Rhine Valley, Vaduz (and the castle pictured here which overlooks the town) is centrally located within the country and, despite being within the Alps, it has a more temperate climate than much of the rest of the Alpine regions

2000

The principality's status comes under the spotlight when two international reports criticise it for lax financial controls. The reports say that Liechtenstein's banking system has enabled gangs from Russia, Italy, and Colombia to launder money from their criminal activities.

2004 - On

Son and regent. Born 1968.

2008

When international recession takes hold, governments which are being affected by plummeting tax incomes become determined to flush out assets which have been hidden in tax havens, and Liechtenstein comes under considerable pressure to apply greater banking transparency.

Stung by the criticism, the principality gradually reforms some of its laws. It reaches tax agreements with several countries - including Germany, the UK and the US - aimed at encouraging the citizens of these countries to come clean about any assets they may have in Liechtenstein's banks.