I wish I could go back to Liechtenstein. One of the most beautiful views I’ve ever woken up to.
I think it’s probably been a very long time since anyone called Vaduz an “extremely wonderful place” — it just seems almost indecently enthusiastic for Liechtenstein. (I jest, to be clear — I find Liechtenstein to be an extremely fascinating place, so if extremely wonderful is indecent, I’m already on the indecency bus.)
xshiningstarx asked: Any history books you would recommend about Liechtenstein?
David Beattie’s Liechtenstein: A Modern History is excellent, detailed, and approachable. There exists an English translation of Pierre Raton’s Liechtenstein: Histoire et insitutions de la principauté, which I’ve been referencing, but it’s not a very good translation, and he’s focused a lot on the technicalities of the development of institutions and politics.
EDIT: Follow-up note: there aren’t really any others available in English (or French, I think), that I’m aware of. There are undoubtedly some in German; when my reading ability is good enough to read long texts, I may come back to this to include some of them.
The border of switserland and liechtenstein in a coffe shop
This is actually the border between the Netherlands (NL) and Belgium (B) in the town of Baarle. The border between Liechtenstein and Switzerland is mostly mountain.
Malbun, Liechtenstein via ivan.lietaert
Malbun is a village located in the southeastern exclave of Triesenberg, Liechtenstein.
Today (23 January) marks the 293rd anniversary of the creation of the Principality in 1719, when Charles VI united the counties of Schellenberg and Vaduz and awarded the newly-created principality to Anton Florian of Liechtenstein, the first prince.
That seems like more of a birthday than anything. I wonder why Himayura set in in July?
There is actually historical precedent, in that it was on 12 July, 1806 that Liechtenstein gained full sovereignty as a member state of the Confederation of the Rhine.
Entertainingly, the prince at the time, Johann I, was not consulted, and did not sign the Confederation treaty. However, Article VII thereof allowed for him to abdicate in favor of his third son, whom he was able to control indirectly while maintaining his position in the Austrian court. When Napoleon fell, so did the Confederation of the Rhine, and Johann I retook the throne.
Thus, according to Raton, “Liechtenstein is the only part of the Napoleonic territorial system, which has survived unchanged until the present time” (25).
