Welcome to Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein and seat of its national parliament. This small town of fewer than 6,000 people lies along the Rhine. Above it, on a steep hill, sits its most famous landmark, Vaduz Castle, home of the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein and his family. Here is a surprise: although Vaduz is the best-known town in the principality, it is not the largest, as neighbouring Schaan has more residents. Let's explore its castle, cathedral and museums.
Vaduz Castle
Photo: A.Savin · FAL · Wikimedia CommonsLook up to the hilltop at Vaduz Castle, palace and official residence of the Prince of Liechtenstein. It even gave its name to the town below. The oldest part is the keep, built in the 12th century, whose walls are up to 4 metres thick at the base, and whose original entrance was 11 metres up on the courtyard side. In 1499, during the Swabian War, Swiss forces burned the castle. The princely family of Liechtenstein acquired it in 1712, when they bought the countship of Vaduz.
Vaduz Cathedral
Photo: A.Savin · FAL · Wikimedia CommonsHere stands the Cathedral of St. Florin, a neo-Gothic church built in 1874 by Friedrich von Schmidt on medieval foundations. It is dedicated to Florinus, a 9th-century saint of the Vinschgau Valley. For most of its life it was a parish church; only in 1997, when Pope John Paul the Second created the Archdiocese of Vaduz, was it raised to a cathedral. National and royal family ceremonies take place here. Right next door is the Princely Crypt of the House of Liechtenstein, opened to the public each year on All Saints' Day.
Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein
Photo: Mart2000 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsBefore you is the Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, the state art museum, in a sleek building by the Swiss architects Morger, Degelo and Kerez, completed in 2000. Its story began in 1967, when the state received a gift of ten paintings, which led to the founding of the State Art Collection the following year. The first curator soon broadened it to international modern and contemporary art. The building itself was made possible by private donors, who gave it to the principality in 2000. In 2015 the Hilti Art Foundation added a new exhibition building alongside.
Liechtenstein National Museum
Photo: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsWelcome to the Liechtenstein National Museum. It was founded in 1890 in rooms at Vaduz Castle, on the idea of Governor Friedrich Stellwag von Carion. Its collections then led a wandering life, moving between several buildings, back to the castle, and later to the National Bank building. Their home today grew out of an old inn, the Taverne zum Adler, which the government bought in 1967 and where the museum opened in 1972. Later expansion joined it with three more buildings.
Government Building
Photo: A.Savin · FAL · Wikimedia CommonsOur final stop is the Government Building, seat of the Government of Liechtenstein, with the office of the prime minister and the ministries. Built in neo-Renaissance style to a design by the Austrian architect Gustav Ritter von Neumann, it opened on 28 December 1905. It was quite modern for its time: it had the country's first telephone network and its first central heating. For about a century it was also the meeting place of the national parliament, the Landtag, until a new parliament building was built right next door in 2007.
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