Explore a country that is the fourth smallest in Europe and one most people have never heard of.
I have this strange quest to visit all the micro-nations of Europe, Vatican City, San Marino, Monaco, Malta, Andorra, and Liechtenstein. In February 2023, I only had two left, Liechtenstein and Andorra and now I only have one. I have no idea where this quest came from honestly. People from these countries when I meet them outside of Europe are so amazed that I even know about the country, and that I have been there. I explain my quest and they usually approve of my weird hobby.
Liechtenstein is smushed between Switzerland and Austria. It’s the fourth smallest country in Europe and sixth in the world. They use the Swiss Franc and have a interconnected transportation system with Switzerland.
You can barely even see Liechtenstein on a map of Europe.
The history of Liechtenstein is confusing to say the least. It wasn’t really a thing until 1719 when it became a principality of the Holy Roman Empire and named after an Austrian family. These princely rulers didn’t exactly visit very often. As a result of World War I and II, the country joined up with Switzerland and the princely family showed up a bit more. They couldn’t rule their former lands, which are now part of Poland, Czechia, Austria, and Slovenia.
How small is Liechtenstein? It’s 24 km (15 mi) long and 160 km² (62 mi²). Most of the villages and towns of Liechtenstein can be found in Upper Rhine River valley. The Alps tower above.
The capital of Vaduz is roughly midway down the country. It has a whopping less than 6,000 residents. It hosts the national assembly and most of the museums. Did I mention it was super tiny?
Jana Irving Seen from most of Vaduz is Schloss Vaduz (Vaduz Castle) under construction. Construction cranes are going to be a reoccurring theme of this trip.
Jana Irving Vaduz’s hopping town center.
Jana Irving The Rathaus (city hall) is pretty cute though.
Jana Irving That’s basically all that there is to the town center.
Jana Irving Liechtensteinisches LandesMuseum, the national museum of Liechtenstein. It’s was actually a pretty decent museum.
Jana Irving Jumping ahead to when I went into the museum after lunch. Here are a couple of traditional dresses from the area.
Jana Irving Back outside just down the street is the governmental headquarters of Liechtenstein.
Jana Irving St. Florin Cathedral was built 1874, but wasn’t made a cathedral until 1997.
Jana Irving They kept the Christmas decorations up until Candlemass, which was the day I visited.
Jana Irving That might be a special seating for the ruling family up to the right.
Jana Irving A very convenient path cuts through the middle of a residential area. There are several similar paths throughout Liechtenstein.
Jana Irving You don’t have to walk far from Vaduz to find farm fields or the Alps.
Jana Irving The river valley tends to have a much milder temperature than just a few dozen meters higher in elevation.
Jana Irving My destination was this random covered bridge, the Alte Rheinbrücke (Old Rhine Bridge), that has been connecting Liechtenstein to Switzerland since 1901.
Jana Irving Looking back towards Vaduz.
Jana Irving The inside is pretty cool.
Jana Irving Standing in two countries at once!
Jana Irving Gorgeous views in this area.
After getting lunch and hitting the national museum, I took a bus south to Balzers to check out a castle.
Jana Irving The town is very close to the mountains.
Jana Irving There was a bit of a climb to get up to Burg Gutenberg (Gutenberg Castle).
Jana Irving Grapes are grown on the hillside.
Jana Irving Very cute.
Jana Irving Lovely mountain views from the top.
Jana Irving There is also a lovely view of the castle.
Jana Irving The interior of the castle was closed for the winter, but they keep the area within the walls open.
Jana Irving It’s a cute little castle.
Jana Irving Can you see another castle?
Jana Irving Far away across the river in Switzerland is the 13th century Burgruine Wartau (Wartau Castle).
Jana Irving At the bottom of the hill is St. Nicholas.
Jana Irving Of course, I found a cemetery.
Jana Irving I headed back to the main road to find a bus stop (super easy bus system) and found this cool building. I wonder what it used to be used for.
Jana Irving Restaurant? Brewery? Google maps has failed me.
Jana Irving Cute little town.
Jana Irving Random bell tower.
Jana Irving Not seen here: the construction crane that I went out of my way to not get in the picture.
I wasn’t expecting much of Liechtenstein. I knew it was a small country and with mostly modern buildings. I enjoyed it though. The national museum was more than I expected and Balzers was really cute. I also didn’t go broke getting a sandwich and there were magnets at the tourist center. I didn’t have time to see any of the tiny settlements up in the mountains unfortunately. Apparently, they are much cuter. If you want something a little out of the ordinary, Liechtenstein is an interesting place to go. Maybe next time I will come in the summer so I can hike. It was a mud bath when I visited.
Check out my next update where I visit the tiny village of Werdenberg, Swtzerland!
or
Start at the beginning of this adventure in Zurich!
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