History of Liechtenstein

[2] A Roman road crossed the region from south to north, traversing the Alps by the Splügen Pass and, following the right bank of the Rhine at the edge of the floodplain, was uninhabited for long lengths of time because of periodic flooding.

Until about 1100, the predominant language of the area was Romansch, but thereafter German gained ground, and in 1300 an Alemannic population called the Walsers (originating in Valais) entered the region.

But the 17th century was a lowpoint, with some plague, some skirmishing from the struggles of the Thirty Years' War but most of all from a witch hunt, in which more than 100 persons were persecuted and executed.

All of these rich territories were held in fief under other more senior feudal lords, particularly under various lines of the Habsburg family, to which many Liechtensteins were close advisors.

Thus, without holding any land directly under the Holy Roman Emperors, the Liechtenstein dynasty was unable to meet the primary requirement to qualify for a seat in the Imperial Diet, (German Reichstag), although its head was elevated to princely rank in the late 17th century.

By acquiring the Lordships of Schellenberg and Vaduz, modest areas of mountain villages each of which was directly subordinate to the Emperor because there no longer being a Duke of Swabia, the Prince of Liechtenstein achieved his goal.

[7] Instead, they were represented by the local district office based in Vaduz, consisting of a number of officials, which was regulated by civil service law.

During the War of the Second Coalition, France invaded the country on 6 March 1799 and plundered several towns, including Nendeln that was burned by French troops, which resulted in the deaths of four people.

[14] Like most of Europe at the time, Liechtenstein was subject to the German revolutions of 1848–1849 which caused increased opposition against the absolute monarchy of Aloys II.

The aim of the revolution was to improve the economic and political situation of ordinary citizens in Liechtenstein, primarily fuelled by the worsening economy in the country in the years prior.

[14] After the failure of the German revolutions, Aloys II once again instated absolute power over Liechtenstein on 20 July 1852 and disbanded the district council.

[26][30] As the war dragged on, the country faced increasing civil unrest and dissatisfaction, particularly of that towards to the government of Leopold Freiherr von Imhof.

[44][45] Most notably, German film directors and theatre managers Fritz and Alfred Rotter with a Jewish background were naturalized in Liechtenstein in 1931.

[48][49] A majority of the Landtag approved of Hoop's actions, but members of the Patriotic Union called for his resignation over the issue, believing the search to be unconstitutional.

[56] Under the initiative of Franz Joseph, the Progressive Citizens' Party and Patriotic Union started negotiations for the formation of a coalition government, led by Josef Hoop and Otto Schaedler respectively.

[57][58][59] This coalition was designed to avoid political deadlock while there was ongoing threat from Nazi Germany, and more importantly, prevent the VBDL from gaining any seats within the Landtag.

[66] This was primarily due to both parties desire to not hold an election campaign period that would jeopardize the recently-formed coalition government and allow for the VBDL to be able to gain support.

[65] In March 1939, Franz Josef, Hoop and Alois Vogt paid an official visit to Berlin where they met Adolf Hitler and Joachim von Ribbentrop in which they discussed safeguarding Liechtenstein's independence and neutrality while maintaining good relations.

[76][77] In 1943, at the request of both the Progressive Citizens' Party and Patriotic Union, Franz Joseph extended the government's term indefinitely while there was ongoing threat from Nazi Germany, primarily to prevent the (VDBL) from gaining seats in the Landtag.

[81] Despite efforts by Quaderer's sister and mother to have him pardoned, such as pleading to Franz Joseph for a private audience, they were denied, and he was executed by firing squad on 7 June 1944, aged 24 years old.

[82] Just before the end of the war, Franz Joseph granted political asylum to First Russian National Army pro-Axis pro-emperor Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia White emigres led by General Boris Smyslovsky, who were being cared for by the Liechtenstein Red Cross.

[86] The expropriations (subject to modern legal dispute at the International Court of Justice) included over 1,600 square kilometres (600 sq mi) of agricultural and forest land (most notably the UNESCO listed Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape), and several family castles and palaces.

In August 1945, Pierre Laval, the Prime Minister of Vichy France, had attempted to seek refuge in Liechtenstein after being flown to the American-occupied zone of Austria, but was turned away.

In dire financial straits following the war, the Liechtenstein dynasty often resorted to selling family artistic treasures, including for instance the portrait "Ginevra de' Benci" by Leonardo da Vinci, which was purchased by the National Gallery of Art of the United States in 1967.

[88] In 1949, Liechtenstein ceded the Ellhorn mountain to Switzerland as a result of Swiss demands and threats to, among other things, end the customs union between the two countries.

Liechtenstein boycotted the Olympic Games twice- in 1956 in Melbourne in protest against the suppression of the Hungarian uprising and in 1980 in Moscow due to the Soviet war in Afghanistan.

[100] As a result, the 1923 customs union treaty between Liechtenstein and Switzerland was now compromised, and was no longer viable due to conflicting interests regarding accession to the EEA.

[61][106] In a referendum on 16 March 2003, Prince Hans-Adam, who had threatened to leave the country if he lost, won a large majority (64.3%) in favour of overhauling the constitution to effectively give him more powers than any other European monarch.

The new constitution gave the prince the right to dismiss governments and approve judicial nominees and allowed him to veto laws simply by refusing to sign them within a six-month period.

[116] In November 2022, the Landtag of Liechtenstein passed a motion calling on the government to introduce a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, with broad support from across the political spectrum.