42 Fun Facts About Liechtenstein

Which Renaissance master painted Ginevra de' Benci, sold by Liechtenstein's prince to Washington's National Gallery in 1967?

Leonardo da Vinci: the princely family was selling art treasures to raise money, and the gallery paid at least $5 million for the portrait.

Where did most of the Russian soldiers Liechtenstein refused to hand over to the Soviets in 1945 finally settle?

Argentina: Liechtenstein kept sheltering them despite Soviet pressure, though many others in the group had chosen to go home.

Liechtenstein and which other country are the world's only two doubly landlocked states?

Uzbekistan: it only became a doubly landlocked country when it left the Soviet Union, a state with coastlines.

As of 2026, why had Liechtenstein never competed in the Eurovision Song Contest?

No EBU member broadcaster: Liechtenstein tried to enter in 1976, but only broadcasters can join the EBU, and it had none.

In 1997, who did the Pope appoint as the first archbishop of Liechtenstein's new archdiocese?

The bishop of Chur: moving Wolfgang Haas to Vaduz left lasting strains on Liechtenstein's church and political life.

As of 2024, which Liechtenstein municipality had more residents than the capital, Vaduz?

Schaan: late in the fourth century, a small fort was built there to help guard the empire's frontier.

The emperor who made Liechtenstein a principality in 1719 was the father of which famous empress?

Maria Theresa: Charles VI spent his reign getting Europe to accept a daughter as his heir, yet Prussia invaded soon after he died.

The Liechtenstein family takes its name from a castle south of which city?

Vienna: the castle passed to other families in the 13th century, and Prince Johann I bought it back in the early 1800s.

Liechtenstein became fully independent in 1866 upon the dissolution of what?

The German Confederation: it broke up after the Austro-Prussian War, and two years later Liechtenstein disbanded its army.

By popular legend, Liechtenstein's 80 soldiers returned from their last campaign in 1866 with what?

One extra man: the soldiers had guarded an Alpine pass against Italy and never saw any fighting.

Why did Liechtenstein abolish its army in 1868?

It cost too much: even so, the constitution still obliges every fit citizen to defend the country in an emergency.

In March 1939, as local Nazis plotted a coup, Liechtenstein's prince made a state visit to which capital?

Berlin: back home, the plotters hoped clashes would bring in German troops, but no invasion came.

What is the currency of Liechtenstein?

Swiss franc: Liechtenstein switched after Austria-Hungary's collapse sent the Austrian currency into freefall.

Who became Prince of Liechtenstein in 1989?

Hans-Adam II: before taking the throne, he turned the family-owned bank from a small local lender into an international financial group.

Which power did a 2003 referendum give Liechtenstein's prince?

Dismissing the government: the prince had threatened to abdicate and leave the country if voters refused, and voters backed him.

Liechtenstein's Prince Johann I, a Habsburg cavalry commander, negotiated peace with Napoleon after which 1805 battle?

Austerlitz: the peace that followed stripped Austria of Tyrol and its Venetian lands.

In 1984, Liechtenstein became the last European country to grant women what?

The right to vote: only men could vote in the 1984 referendum, and it passed by just 119 votes after men rejected it in 1971 and 1973.

Liechtenstein added a crown to its flag in 1937 after finding at the 1936 Olympics it matched which country's?

Haiti: the flags met at Games in which Haiti's only athlete never actually competed.

Liechtenstein's national anthem shares its melody with which other anthem?

God Save the King: only in 1963, after decades of dispute, did parliament adopt the revised lyrics sung today.

Liechtenstein's national motto is 'For God, Prince and' what?

Fatherland: it is customary to raise a hand when the national anthem cheers the prince and the fatherland.

Which Liechtenstein mountain village keeps a distinctive Walser dialect, brought by settlers around 1300?

Triesenberg: the municipality deliberately cultivates its Walser speech as part of its local identity.

Which power-tool maker is headquartered in Liechtenstein?

Hilti: close to bankruptcy after World War II, it recovered by developing tools that drive nails into concrete.

In 2008, the boss of which company resigned after raids exposed his secret Liechtenstein foundation?

Deutsche Post: Klaus Zumwinkel stepped down, and in 2009 he got a two-year suspended sentence and had to pay €1 million.

At the start of World War I, what did France, Russia and Britain do to Liechtenstein's citizens?

Interned them: its customs union with Austria-Hungary made the Allies doubt that Liechtenstein was truly neutral.

By the 2018 Winter Games, Liechtenstein had won ten Olympic medals, all in which sport?

Alpine skiing: Liechtenstein had even boycotted the 1956 Summer Games in a Cold War protest.

Which skier won Liechtenstein's first two Olympic gold medals, at Lake Placid in 1980?

Hanni Wenzel: born in Bavaria, she became a Liechtenstein citizen only in 1974, after winning that year's world slalom title.

What is Liechtenstein's only ski area?

Malbun: in 1968, five stray artillery shells from an exercise across the border hit the resort, damaging only a few chairs.

In which competition did FC Vaduz, Liechtenstein's most successful club, play in 2024–25?

The Swiss Challenge League: Liechtenstein has no national league, so its clubs all play in the Swiss league system.

In a 2006 World Cup qualifier, Liechtenstein won 4-0 away against which landlocked country?

Luxembourg: the win ended Liechtenstein's long wait for a first away victory, with Franz Burgmeier scoring twice.

What did Liechtenstein begin issuing for itself in 1912?

Stamps: yet that first 1912 issue was still produced under Austrian direction.

Liechtenstein takes part in the EU single market through which agreement, without joining the EU?

The European Economic Area: joining it in 1995 obliged Liechtenstein to apply the EU laws considered EEA-relevant.

Which country's post-1945 seizure of the Liechtenstein princely estates blocked diplomatic relations until 2009?

Czechoslovakia: the seizure came even though Liechtenstein had stayed neutral throughout the war.

Who became Prince of Liechtenstein in 1938 after being named regent as the Nazis annexed Austria?

Franz Joseph II, named regent by his great-uncle Franz I weeks after the March 1938 Anschluss, succeeded him that July; Franz I's wife Elisabeth von Gutmann, of Jewish origin, had been targeted by local Nazis.

Which ancient province included the land of modern Liechtenstein?

Raetia: it was set up after an Alpine campaign subdued the region's tribes in 15 BC.

Liechtenstein's national day on 15 August also marks which Catholic feast?

The Assumption: the holiday was created in 1940, partly to rally loyalty to the prince as Nazism rose nearby, and his birthday fell the next day.

Why is Vaduz Castle, above Liechtenstein's capital, closed to the public?

The princely family lives there: they bought the castle in 1712, but no reigning prince lived in Liechtenstein full-time until 1938.

Until about 1100, the predominant language in the area of Liechtenstein was what?

Romansh: even the capital's name, Vaduz, probably comes from an old Romance word for a water channel.

Why did the Liechtenstein family buy Vaduz and Schellenberg around 1700?

To win a seat in the imperial diet: none of the family's vast estates were held directly from the emperor, so it did not qualify.

From 1806 to 1813 the Prince of Liechtenstein was a member of which Napoleonic body?

The Confederation of the Rhine: Napoleon made Liechtenstein a sovereign state by adding it, though its prince was a Habsburg field marshal who fought him.

Unrest after World War I led to which event in November 1918, prompting Liechtenstein's 1921 constitution?

A putsch: Landtag members forced Governor Leopold von Imhof to resign and handed his powers to a committee led by Martin Ritter.

In 2004, Liechtenstein's reigning prince handed day-to-day government to whom?

His eldest son: the prince stayed head of state, just as his own father had done when handing power to him in 1984.

In autumn 2004, Liechtenstein's footballers held which recent European Championship finalist to a 2-2 draw?

Portugal: Liechtenstein came back from 2-0 down, with second-half goals from Franz Burgmeier and Thomas Beck.