Liechtenstein, officially the Principality of Liechtenstein, is a German-speaking and doubly landlocked microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. It is the sixth smallest nation worldwide. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy headed by the prince of Liechtenstein.
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was a principality in Southwestern Germany. Its rulers belonged to the senior Swabian branch of the House of Hohenzollern. The Swabian Hohenzollerns were elevated to princes in 1623. The small sovereign state with the capital city of Sigmaringen was annexed to the Kingdom of Prussia in 1850 following the abdication of its sovereign in the wake of the revolutions of 1848, then became part of the newly created Province of Hohenzollern.
Political identity came to the territory now occupied by the Principality of Liechtenstein in 814, with the formation of the subcountry of Lower Rhætia. Liechtenstein's borders have remained unchanged since 1434, when the Rhine established the border between the Holy Roman Empire and the Swiss cantons.
A prince is a male ruler or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. Prince is also a title of nobility, often hereditary, in some European states. The female equivalent is a princess. The English word derives, via the French word prince, from the Latin noun prīnceps, from primus (first) and caput (head), meaning "the first, foremost, the chief, most distinguished, noble ruler, prince".
Vaduz is the capital of Liechtenstein and also the seat of the national parliament. The city, which is located along the Rhine River, has 5,696 residents. The most prominent landmark of Vaduz is Vaduz Castle, being perched atop a steep hill overlooking the city. It is home to the reigning prince of Liechtenstein and the Liechtenstein princely family. The city's distinctive architecture is also displayed in landmarks such as the Cathedral of St. Florin, Government House, City Hall, the National Art Gallery, as well as the National Museum. Although Vaduz is the best-known town in the principality internationally, it is not the largest; neighbouring Schaan has a larger population.
A principality can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under the generic meaning of the term prince.
Fürst is a German word for a ruler as well as a princely title. Fürsten were, starting in the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ruled over states of the Holy Roman Empire and later its former territories, below the ruling Kaiser (emperor) or König (king).
The Alpine Rhine Valley is a glacial alpine valley, formed by the part of the Alpine Rhine between the confluence of the Anterior Rhine and Posterior Rhine at Reichenau and the Alpine Rhine's mouth at Lake Constance. It covers three countries and the full length of the Alpine Rhine is 93.5 km.
Anton Florian was the Prince of Liechtenstein between 1718 and 1721.
Schellenberg is a municipality in the lowland area of Liechtenstein, on the banks of the Rhine. As of 2019, it has a population of 1,107 and covers an area of 3.5 km2 (1.4 sq mi)
Eastern Alps is the name given to the eastern half of the Alps, usually defined as the area east of a line from Lake Constance and the Alpine Rhine valley up to the Splügen Pass at the Alpine divide and down the Liro River to Lake Como in the south. The peaks and mountain passes are lower than the Western Alps, while the range itself is broader and less arched.
The House of Liechtenstein, from which the principality takes its name, is the family which reigns by hereditary right over the principality of Liechtenstein. Only dynastic members of the family are eligible to inherit the throne. The dynasty's membership, rights and responsibilities are defined by a law of the family, which is enforced by the reigning prince and may be altered by vote among the family's dynasts, but which may not be altered by the Government or Parliament of Liechtenstein.
Monarchy was the prevalent form of government in the history of Europe throughout the Middle Ages, only occasionally competing with communalism, notably in the case of the Maritime republics and the Swiss Confederacy.
Vaduz Castle is the palace and official residence of the Prince of Liechtenstein. The castle gave its name to the town of Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, which it overlooks from an adjacent hilltop.
Princess Maria Theresia of Liechtenstein was the heiress to the Silesian Duchy of Troppau. Countess of Soissons by marriage, she was the last person to hold the title. She had one son who predeceased her in 1734. Her son was engaged to Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, duchess of Massa and heiress to the Principality of Carrara.
Werdenberg was a county of the Holy Roman Empire, within the Duchy of Swabia, situated on either side of the Alpine Rhine, including parts of what is now St. Gallen (Switzerland), Liechtenstein, and Vorarlberg (Austria). It was partitioned from Montfort in 1230. In 1260, it was divided into Werdenberg and Sargans.
The monarchy of Liechtenstein is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of Liechtenstein. The current monarch is Prince Hans-Adam II. The House of Liechtenstein, after which the sovereign principality was named in 1719, hails from Liechtenstein Castle in Lower Austria, which the family possessed from at least 1140 to the thirteenth century, and from 1807 onward. It is the only remaining European monarchy that practises strict agnatic primogeniture.
This is an index of Liechtenstein related topics.
The County of Vaduz was a historic state of the Holy Roman Empire, now located in the Principality of Liechtenstein. Its capital was the town of Vaduz.
