|
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 |
Marquard I |
|
fl c.1267 |
|
Henry I |
Joint rule. |
fl c.1300 |
Marquard II |
|
fl c.1300 |
|
Ulrich |
Joint rule. |
fl c.1303 |
Schwigger |
|
fl c.1303 |
|
Marquard III |
Joint rule. |
fl c.1303 |
|
Henry II |
|
fl c.1318 |
Henry III |
|
fl c.1318 |
|
Egilolf |
Joint rule. |
? - 1350 |
Henry IV |
|
? - 1350 |
|
Albert |
Joint rule. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
County of Vaduz (Werdenberg)
AD 1350 - 1397 |
1350 - 1354 |
Hartmann III |
|
1354 - 1367 |
|
Rudolph IV |
|
1354 - 1416 |
|
Hartmann IV |
|
1354 - 1397 |
|
Henry VII |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
County of Vaduz (Brandis)
AD 1416 - 1507 |
1416 - 1456 |
Wolfhard I |
|
1456 - 1486 |
|
Ulrich (II) |
|
1456 - pre-1486 |
|
Wolfhard II |
|
1456 - 1487 |
|
Sigmund |
|
1486 - 1507 |
|
Louis |
|
1486 - 1507 |
Sigmund II |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
County of Vaduz (Sulz)
AD 1507 - 1613 |
1507 - 1535 |
Rudolph V |
|
1535 - 1566 |
John Louis I |
|
1566 - 1572 |
Alwig XI |
|
1566 - 1569 |
|
William |
Joint rule. |
1572 - 1611 |
Rudolph VIII |
|
1608 |
The county
is elevated by the emperor to a principality of the
Holy Roman empire. |
1611 - 1613 |
John III |
Died 1617. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Principality of Hohenems-Vaduz
AD 1613 - 1712 |
1613 - 1638 |
Caspar |
|
1638 - 1646 |
Jacob Hannibal II |
|
1646 - 1662 |
Francis William I |
|
1662 - 1686 |
|
Ferdinand Charles |
|
1662 - 1712 |
|
Jacob Hannibal II Frederick |
|
1662 - 1691 |
|
Francis William II |
|
1691 - 1712 |
|
Francis William Maximilian
Charles Posthumous |
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
Generally speaking in reference to Continental Europe, only the north and
also the north-western edges have retained older forms of government. Even
so, these offer all of the freedoms and liberties available to any other
European, which is probably the main reason for their survival. The
principality of Liechtenstein is certainly a survivor from an age of
pocket territories that emerged from the gradual decline of the
Holy Roman empire, and is
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.
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 (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, 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 to a principality in 1608. Then 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 hundred years.
By 2008, this constitutional monarchy had a population of just 34,247 subjects,
but the head of state, Prince Alois, acting as regent for Hans-Adam II, had
more power than most surviving monarchs, being able to sack his government
if he 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.
(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from Liechtenstein:
A Modern History, David Beattie (2004), from Secrets of the Seven Smallest
States of Europe, Thomas Eccardt (2005), and from External Links:
World
Bank Data Catalogue (in US English), and
BBC News: Nazi Crimes Taint Liechtenstein, 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).) |
1699 / 1712 |
John
Adam I is a descendant of Prince Karl I of Liechtenstein. Karl had been
raised the the rank of a prince of the empire in 1608, which position he had
retained until his death in 1627. He had been succeeded, in turn by his son,
Karl Eusebius I (1627-1684), and then by Karl's son Johann Adam I
(1684-1712). Johann Adam completes the purchase of the lordship of Schellenberg
in 1699 and the county of Vaduz in 1712, just months before his death.
 |
John Adam I was the third prince of the House of Liechtenstein
and the first to secure lands adjoining Switzerland that would
become a refuge for the family following the collapse of the
Austrian empire
|
|
|
1699 / 1712 |
Johann Adam I / 'Hans-Adam the Rich' |
Died after
completing the purchase of the principality's lands. |
1712 - 1718 |
Joseph Wenceslaus / Josef Wenzel |
Heir to Johann
Adam who left no surviving male heir himself. |
1712 - 1721 |
Anthony
Florian / Anton Florian |
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 a one.
The ruler of the new territory is elevated to the rank of prince of the
Holy Roman empire,
precisely the outcome that Hans-Adam had been working towards. |
1721 - 1732 |
Joseph
/ Josef Johann Adam |
Son. |
1732 - 1748 |
John Charles
/ Johann Nepomuk Karl |
Son. Acceded aged
8. Died without producing an heir. |
1732 - 1745 |
|
Joseph Wenceslaus
/ Josef Wenzel |
Former heir, now
regent for Prince Johann Karl. |
1748 - 1772 |
Joseph Wenceslaus / Josef Wenzel |
Former regent, now sole ruler of
the principality again. |
1772 - 1781 |
Francis
Joseph / Franz Josef I |
Nephew. |
1781 - 1805 |
Aloysius
/ Alois I |
Son. |
1805 - 1836 |
John
/ Johann I |
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. |
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 |
Aloysius
/ Alois II |
Son. |
1848 - 1852 |
In a
year of European revolutions in 1848
(France,
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 that 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, after 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 |
John
/ Johann II |
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 that, 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. |
1929 - 1938 |
Francis
/ Franz I |
Brother. Died
without producing an heir. |
1938 - 1989 |
Francis Joseph / Franz Josef II |
First cousin twice removed. Born 1906, son of Prince Alois. |
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 that
are owned by Liechtenstein's royal family during the war, according to an
official report that is delivered in 2005 after four years of preparation.
The same report alleges that the royal family also buys property that has
been taken from Jews in Nazi-occupied Austria and
Czechoslovakia,
although 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 that 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 165. No works of art
that have been plundered by the Nazis can be traced to Liechtenstein
collections. |
1989 - Present |
Hans-Adam II |
Son. Born 1945. |
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 - Present |
|
Prince Alois |
Son and regent. Born 1968. |
2008 |
When international recession takes hold, governments that
are being affected by plummeting tax incomes become determined to flush out
assets that 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. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|