Liechtenstein, last remnant of the Holy Roman Empire

Liechtensteiner Alps, March 2020

We had originally planned a hiking-through-microstates holiday where we would fly to Ancona, Italy, then go hiking through San Marino. We would then take a sleeper train from Bologna to Salzburg and connect through to Feldkirch, whence we would hike through the whole width of Liechtenstein. That was the plan, until Covid-19 hit Northern Italy and this whole chunk of the journey fell through. 

But Liechtenstein and Switzerland were still fine at this point, and I had already booked a day pass for the Swiss railways for the journey, so at the last minute I booked a cheap flight from London to Geneva to spend the day seeing the scenery through Switzerland and Liechtenstein. 

Southwold, Suffolk from a light aircraft. 

My Saturday morning that week started with leaving home at 7am, and included two local buses, a cross-country flight in a light aircraft, another bus, a train, a rail replacement bus service, the Tube, a visit to the British Museum's "Troy: Myth and Reality" exhibition, a walk to a friend's party in London, a bus to another friend's party in London, and finally a Thameslink train to Gatwick Airport arriving at 0203. It was a very long day. 

Approach over Lake Geneva, with the Jet d'Eau in the distance. 

It was worth it, though: I always enjoy Switzerland, and I now had a day travelling through the best Alpine scenery the country could offer. Even better, flying with Swiss means getting given excellent chocolate. 

Passing Neuchâtel Castle

Starting from Geneva Airport, I took trains via Zurich to Sargans, whence the bus to Liechtenstein departs. Swiss public transport just works, and all the connections are sensible and easy - it's always a joy to travel around. 

View over Lake Zurich from the train. 

Swiss and Liechtensteiner public transport are all very well integrated, with an easy connection at Sargans railway station to the green LieMobil bus 11 to Vaduz. Swiss rail passes are valid in Liechtenstein as well, which is convenient. 

Bus from Sargans 🇨🇭 to Vaduz 🇱🇮

Liechtenstein's bus 11 is an unusual thing: an international local bus. It threads its way through the villages of southern Liechtenstein and follows the river Rhein to Vaduz. 

Border marker on the Rhein bridge

The bus crosses into Liechtenstein by crossing the Rhein into the village of Balzers, home to a medieval castle on a mound and next to a pretty church nestled in the valley of the young Rhein. 

Gutenberg Castle and St Nicholas Church, Balzers

The villages slowly merge into the town of Vaduz, the national capital. As a historical anomaly, Vaduz was never granted Stadtrecht and is thus the only European national capital that is technically a village. Incidentally, the tiny country has quite an interesting history. 

Regierungsgebäude (Government House), Vaduz

The Liechtenstein princely family were important advisors to the Habsburg rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and held plenty of land around the HRE in modern-day Czechia and Poland, but wasn't able to take a seat in the imperial parliament as these lands were held under feudal tenure through Habsburg lords instead of directly to the Holy Roman Emperor. 

Instead, the dynasty bought a tiny sliver of land around Vaduz and Schellenberg and in 1719 unified them into a new Principality of Liechtenstein so that they now held land directly under the Emperor and could now sit in the Imperial Diet of the HRE. This was only held for political reasons - no-one in the Liechtenstein family even visited their principality until 1818, 99 years afterwards. 

Vaduz Cathedral. As with many things in Liechtenstein, it's like a cathedral in miniature.

This was all fine until the HRE collapsed in the aftermath of the Battle of Austerlitz, where many of the German states formed the Confederation of the Rhine under Napoleon. But Johann I of Liechtenstein's diplomacy with Napoleon meant that the tiny principality was able to resist the mergers of the smaller German states and could join Napoleon's Confederation as a founding member. 

Landtagsgebäude (Parliament Hall), Vaduz, just under the castle. 

With Napoleon's defeat and with the redrawing of European borders in the 1815 Congress of Vienna, Liechtenstein's independence was under threat again. However, the Austrian foreign minister Klemens von Metternich believed that setting up a system of balances of power between the large and small states of Europe in general and Germany in particular would maintain peace in Europe - it largely did, keeping Germany stable until 1866 and Europe until 1914. 

Liechtenstein therefore stayed an independent principality within the German Confederation until its collapse in 1866, when the principality became fully sovereign. Its lands in modern-day Poland and Czechia kept it rich and powerful so that annexation into Austria would be too much trouble than the tiny area would be worth, its diplomacy with the Habsburgs prevented confederation into Switzerland, and its permanent neutrality kept it independent through the wars of the 20th century. 

Climbing up to Vaduz Castle on the Schlossweg path

Back to my visit: once I had acquired a passport stamp from the tourist office on Städtle, the main street in Vaduz, I climbed up the Schlossweg path up to Vaduz Castle. The path winds up the hill to the castle, with information boards giving a good overview of the history, economy and governmental system of the country. Built in the 12th century, the castle remains the main residence of the Liechtenstein princely family. 

View over the town from Vaduz Castle

My visit to Liechtenstein was much more brief than I had intended, and I still intend to hike the whole width of the principality at some point. This time, I at least had a taster of the country and even brought back a bottle of Liechtensteiner Traminer wine. It was excellent wine. 

Summary: 

Date: Sunday 8th March 2020

Main experience: The tiny principality started as a historical excuse to hold land, then stayed independent through good diplomacy, and now makes excellent wine. 

Cost: Swiss rail day pass: 88 CHF (~£75, €83)