49 Fun Facts About Liechtenstein

What is the capital of Liechtenstein?

Vaduz, a town of about 5,800 people, is the capital and seat of parliament and of the prince's castle; neighbouring Schaan is the larger municipality.

Liechtenstein lies between which two countries?

Liechtenstein is wedged between Switzerland to the west and south and Austria to the east; at 160 km² it is the smallest country in the world that borders two others.

Liechtenstein and which other country are the world's only two doubly landlocked states?

Uzbekistan is the other doubly landlocked state: all five of its neighbours, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, are themselves landlocked, just as Switzerland and Austria are.

Which river forms Liechtenstein's entire western border?

The Rhine forms the whole roughly 27-km western border with Switzerland, and the country's flat farmland lies on its former floodplain; a dike break near Schaan in September 1927 flooded much of the lowland.

What is Liechtenstein's highest point, at 2,599 m?

Grauspitz (Vorder Grauspitz), 2,599 m, is the highest summit, in the Rätikon range on the Swiss border; the lowest point, the Ruggeller Riet wetland, lies at about 430 m.

Liechtenstein covers just over 160 km2, making it what in Europe?

At about 160 km², Liechtenstein is the fourth-smallest country in Europe, behind only Vatican City, Monaco and San Marino; worldwide it ranks sixth-smallest, with Nauru and Tuvalu also smaller.

Into how many municipalities is Liechtenstein divided?

Liechtenstein has 11 municipalities: five in the Unterland, including Eschen and Mauren, and six in the Oberland, including Vaduz, Schaan and Balzers.

The Principality of Liechtenstein was created in 1719 by decree of which Holy Roman Emperor?

Emperor Charles VI united the lordship of Schellenberg, bought in 1699, and the county of Vaduz, bought in 1712, into the Principality of Liechtenstein on 23 January 1719.

The Liechtenstein family takes its name from a castle south of which city?

The family took its name from Liechtenstein Castle at Maria Enzersdorf, just south of Vienna in Lower Austria, first recorded in the 12th century; they later acquired great estates in Moravia, Silesia and Styria.

Liechtenstein became fully independent in 1866 upon the dissolution of what?

The German Confederation, which Liechtenstein had joined at its founding in 1815, dissolved after the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, leaving the principality a fully sovereign state.

How many soldiers did Liechtenstein send to the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, its last military campaign?

Liechtenstein sent 80 men to guard the Tyrolean border against Italy in 1866; they saw no fighting and, by popular legend, marched home 81 strong after picking up a friend on the way.

Liechtenstein's army was disbanded on 12 February of which year?

The Landtag abolished the army on 12 February 1868 as an unaffordable expense after the German Confederation's collapse; Andreas Kieber, the last man to have served in it, died in 1939 aged 94.

In which year did Liechtenstein sign its customs union treaty with Switzerland?

The customs treaty with Switzerland was signed in 1923 and took effect in 1924; economic ruin after World War I had forced the switch away from Austria, whose crown had collapsed in hyperinflation.

What is the currency of Liechtenstein?

The country is also in a customs union with Switzerland and one of the few nations with no public debt.

Who became Prince of Liechtenstein in 1989?

Hans-Adam II succeeded his father on 13 November 1989, having run the government as his father's deputy since August 1984; he had been born in Zurich in 1945.

A 2003 referendum gave Liechtenstein's prince which powers, making it Europe's 'only absolute monarchy'?

Voters reaffirmed the powers in 2012, when 76% rejected limiting the princely veto.

How many members sit in Liechtenstein's parliament, the Landtag?

The Landtag has 25 members, elected for four-year terms by proportional representation: 15 from the Oberland constituency and 10 from the Unterland.

In which year did Liechtenstein become the last country in Europe to grant women the vote?

Men-only referendums had rejected it in 1968, 1971 and 1973; the 1984 vote passed with just 51%.

Liechtenstein added a crown to its flag in 1937 after finding at the 1936 Olympics it matched which country's?

At the 1936 Berlin Olympics Liechtenstein discovered its blue-and-red bicolour was identical to Haiti's civil flag; a gold crown was added in 1937 to distinguish it and to mark the country's status as a principality.

Liechtenstein's national anthem, "Oben am jungen Rhein", shares its melody with which other anthem?

Oben am jungen Rhein is sung to the tune of God Save the King, as Switzerland's old anthem was until 1961; the text dates from the 1850s and was revised in 1963.

What is the official language of Liechtenstein?

German is the sole official language under the constitution; everyday speech is an Alemannic dialect close to that of neighbouring eastern Switzerland and Austria's Vorarlberg.

Which mountain village keeps a distinctive Walser dialect, brought by settlers from Valais around 1300?

Triesenberg, the only mountain municipality, was settled by Walser migrants from the Valais around 1300; its dialect differs audibly from the valley's Alemannic speech, and the village keeps a Walser museum.

What is Liechtenstein's most recognisable company and largest employer, based in Schaan?

Founded in 1941 by brothers Martin and Eugen Hilti, it makes anchoring systems and high-end power tools.

Which princely-owned Liechtenstein bank was at the centre of a 2008 German tax-fraud scandal?

Germany had paid a former employee for stolen client data, prompting Crown Prince Alois to accuse Berlin of trafficking in stolen goods.

What were the Liechtenstein entities used to hide ownership of foreigners' assets called?

Stiftungen, private foundations under Liechtenstein law, let foreigners park assets anonymously and made the country a favourite tax haven; the OECD listed it with Andorra and Monaco as uncooperative until reforms after 2008.

By the 2018 Winter Games, Liechtenstein had won ten Olympic medals, all in which sport?

That gave it more medals per capita than any nation, and through 2018 it was the only country with Winter but no Summer medals.

Which skier won Liechtenstein's first two Olympic gold medals, at Lake Placid in 1980?

Hanni Wenzel won the slalom and giant slalom at Lake Placid and took silver in the downhill; her brother Andreas won giant slalom silver at the same Games, and her daughter Tina Weirather won super-G bronze in 2018.

What is Liechtenstein's only ski area?

Malbun, a resort at about 1,600 m in the Triesenberg municipality, is the country's only alpine ski area, served by a handful of lifts; Gaflei and Sücka are hamlets on the mountain roads above the valley.

In which competition did FC Vaduz, Liechtenstein's most successful club, play in 2024–25?

FC Vaduz, the most successful cup winner, played in the Swiss Challenge League and represents the country in Europe.

Liechtenstein's national football team beat which country 4–0 away in a 2006 World Cup qualifier?

Liechtenstein won 4–0 in Luxembourg on 13 October 2004, its biggest competitive victory; it also beat Iceland 3–0 in 2007, and Charlie Connelly's Stamping Grounds chronicled its failed 2002 qualifying campaign.

In March 2007 a 170-man infantry unit from which country got lost and accidentally invaded Liechtenstein?

The soldiers crossed 1.5 km before turning back; a 1985 Swiss shelling of a Liechtenstein forest was settled "over a case of white wine".

Liechtenstein was admitted to the United Nations in which year?

Liechtenstein joined the United Nations on 18 September 1990, a year before the Soviet collapse brought in a wave of new members; it had sat in the Council of Europe since 1978.

Liechtenstein participates in the EEA and Schengen but is not a member of what?

Liechtenstein is not in the European Union: it takes part in the single market through the EEA, joined 1 May 1995, and in Schengen, implemented 19 December 2011, while keeping its customs union with Switzerland.

Which country's post-1945 seizure of the Liechtenstein princely estates blocked diplomatic relations until 2009?

Czechoslovakia confiscated the family's estates in 1945 under the Beneš decrees, over 1,600 km² including Lednice–Valtice and several castles; the Czech Republic and Liechtenstein established diplomatic relations only in 2009.

Who became Prince of Liechtenstein in 1938 after being named regent as the Nazis annexed Austria?

Franz Joseph II, named regent by his great-uncle Franz I weeks after the March 1938 Anschluss, succeeded him that July; Franz I's wife Elisabeth von Gutmann, of Jewish origin, had been targeted by local Nazis.

The Roman province that included the land of modern Liechtenstein was called what?

Raetia, the province created after Tiberius and Drusus conquered the Alps in 15 BC, covered today's Liechtenstein; a Roman road ran up the Rhine valley, and the Alemanni overran the region in the third century.

Roughly what share of Liechtenstein's population is foreign-born?

About one third of residents are foreign nationals, chiefly Swiss, Austrians and Germans, with Italian and Turkish communities; strict naturalisation rules keep the share of citizens low even among long-term residents.

How many hospitals does Liechtenstein have?

Liechtenstein has one hospital, the Liechtensteinisches Landesspital in Vaduz; specialist care goes to Swiss and Austrian hospitals, and prisoners serving more than two years are sent to Austria.

On Liechtenstein's national day, what happens at the prince's castle?

The gathering above Vaduz features speeches and a large share of the population.

Which Swiss architects' modern building, completed in 2000, houses the Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein?

The black concrete-and-basalt cube by Basel architects Morger and Degelo with Christian Kerez opened in November 2000; a Hilti Art Foundation extension followed in 2015.

Who is presumed to have built Vaduz Castle, whose 12th-century keep is its oldest part?

The counts of Werdenberg-Sargans are presumed to have built Vaduz Castle; first recorded in 1322, it was bought with the county in 1712 and has been the princely family's residence since 1938.

Until about 1100, the predominant language in the area of Liechtenstein was what?

Romansh, the Rhaeto-Romance tongue that survives in Graubünden, was the everyday language until about 1100, when Alemannic German began to spread up the Rhine valley; many local place names preserve the older Romansh layer.

The 1719 principality was named in honour of which prince, the emperor's 'true servant'?

Charles VI's 1719 decree named the new principality after Anton Florian of Liechtenstein, his former tutor and chief steward, praising him as a true servant; Anton Florian thus became its first reigning prince.

From 1806 to 1813 the Prince of Liechtenstein was a member of which Napoleonic body?

Prince Johann I took Liechtenstein into Napoleon's Confederation of the Rhine at its founding in July 1806, which confirmed its sovereignty; he left it in 1813 as Napoleon's power collapsed after Leipzig.

Unrest after World War I led to which event in November 1918, prompting Liechtenstein's 1921 constitution?

In the November 1918 putsch, Landtag deputies led by Wilhelm Beck forced the Austrian-born governor Leopold von Imhof to resign and installed a provisional committee; the reforms it demanded fed into the 1921 constitution.

In 2004, Hans-Adam II handed day-to-day government duties to which regent?

Hereditary Prince Alois, his eldest son, became regent on 15 August 2004 and exercises the prince's powers day to day; Hans-Adam's own father had made him deputy in the same way in 1984.

Gutenberg Castle, one of Liechtenstein's two intact castles, stands in which municipality?

Gutenberg Castle crowns a hill in Balzers, the southernmost municipality; rebuilt between 1905 and 1912 on medieval foundations, it has been owned by the state since 1979.

In which year did Liechtenstein join the European Free Trade Association as a full member?

Liechtenstein became a full EFTA member in 1991, having been covered since 1960 only through its customs union with Switzerland; it then joined the European Economic Area and the WTO in 1995.

In autumn 2004, Liechtenstein's footballers held which recent European Championship finalist to a 2-2 draw?

Portugal had lost the Euro 2004 final on home soil just months earlier.