Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - Why Does Liechtenstein Even Exist?

Episode Date: May 30, 2021

If I was to ask you what the wealthiest royal family in Europe was, your first guess would probably be the British Royal Family. But it isn’t. It also isn’t the royal families in Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, or even the wealthy enclave of Monaco. The richest royal family is also the unlikeliest. Learn more about Liechtenstein, how their family got so wealthy, and why the country even exists, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If I was to ask you what the wealthiest royal family in Europe was, your first guess would probably be the British royal family. But it isn't. It also isn't the royal families in Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, or even the wealthy enclave of Monaco. The richest royal family is also the unlikeliest. Learn more about Lichtenstein and how their family got so wealthy and why the country even exists on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. What if your perceptions about the past were wrong? throughline is a podcast that takes you back in time to uncover the parts of the story that may have gone unnoticed. It effectively turned day into night and how it shaped the world now.

Time travel with us every week on the ThruLine podcast from NPR. This episode is sponsored by Marketing the Messiah. My friend Cameron Riley is the godfather of history podcasting. I've been listening to his podcasts ever since 2006 when he's, launched the landmark Napoleon Bonaparte podcast. However, in addition to being a podcaster, he's also an author and a documentary filmmaker. In his recent film, Marketing the Messiah, he speaks with scholars of early Christianity from around the world who explain how an itinerant preacher from Judea founded a global religion that has lasted over 2,000 years. Marketing the Messiah

is now available to view on Amazon Prime, or you can stream it at deep dive documentaries.com. Once again, watch Marketing the Messiah on Amazon Prime or at deep dive documentaries.com. I'm guessing that most of you listening to this have heard of Liechtenstein, but I'd also guess that most of you have never been there. It's a tiny country, one of the smallest in the world, sandwiched between Switzerland and Austria. It is one of only two countries in the world that are doubly landlocked. In other words, it's surrounded by countries that are also landlocked themselves. The other one is Uzbekistan. I remember hiking up in the Swiss Alps in the Sardona region once, and my guide pointed down in the valley and said,

You can see Lichtenstein from here. And by that, he didn't mean we could see Lichtenstein territory from where we were. He meant we could literally see the entire country from our vantage point. Lichtenstein is only about 15 miles north the south and five miles across east to west, and it is a population of about 39,000 people. As with many of the micro-states in Europe, it has origins that go back before the wave of national unification which happened in the 18th and 19th centuries. Prior to then, Europe was a patchwork of kingdoms, duchies, and principalities. Lichtenstein, the country, takes its name from the Lichtenstein family. Their origins date back about 900 years to eastern Austria. The family got their name from the Lichtenstein Castle, which is still owned by the family and is located near Vienna.

It was built in the 12th century and then destroyed twice in 1529 and 1683, but was rebuilt by the family in 1884. The land which is today the country of Lichtenstein was mostly originally the county of Vaduts, which makes up the lower two-thirds of the modern state. Vaduts today is the capital of Lichtenstein. In the 17th century, there were a series of witch trials that took place in Vadutes known as the Lichtenstein witch trials. There was a series of trials from 1648 to 1651 and another series that took place from 1679 to 1682. In each set of which trials, about 100 people were executed. In reality, the then ruler of Adduz was heavily in debt, and everyone executed, surprise, had their assets taken by the state.

In 1719, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI decreed that the county of Adduz and the lordship of Schellenberg would be combined into the principality of Lichtenstein, named after Anton Florian of Lichtenstein, one of his principal servants. It was also formally integrated into the Holy Roman Empire. At no point in the first 100 years of the Principality of Lichtenstein did the Prince of Lichtenstein ever actually set foot in the territory. Okay, so fun history lesson. But as is the case with other microstates that I've covered in the past, such as San Marino and Andorra, the big question is, how did this country manage to survive?

to the modern day, and why wasn't it merged into something bigger like Germany or Austria? As with both Andorra and San Marino, the answer has to do with Napoleon. After Napoleon's victory at the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, the Holy Roman Empire effectively ceased to exist. Prior to the battle, Liechtenstein was almost merged into Bavaria. Instead, it became an independent state in Napoleon's Confederation of the Rhine. After the fall of Napoleon, they joined the German Confederation until 1866, and then became closely allied with the Austrian Empire until World War I. Technically, they were neutral in World War I, but they were embargoed by the Allies due to their close ties with Austria. After World War I, they shifted their attention to Switzerland, which then became their primary benefactor.

Just before World War II, the Prince of Liechtenstein, for the first time in over 200 years since the principality was established, finally took up residence in the country. During the Second World War, Lichtenstein was officially neutral along with Switzerland, and during this time they took all of the assets they could from other family holdings in Europe and brought them back to the country. After World War II, most of the lands owned by the family in Poland and Czechoslovakia were seized by the communist governments there, and more on that in a bit. Post-World War II, the country found itself in extremely bad shape financially.

The Liechtenstein family resorted to selling off the family's art collection to raise money. In 1967, they sold one of the few remaining paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, the Generva Debenchi. It was sold to the National Gallery of Art in the United States for $5 million, which was at the time a record price for a painting. Lichtenstein was the last country in Europe to allow women the right to vote. In 1984, there was a referendum on the subject, with only men voting in the referendum, and at passed with only 51% of the vote. Today, the country is a monarchy with an elected parliament. While the prince is the head of state, he has more power than most monarchs in Europe. In 2003, the country, by a two-thirds vote, passed a new constitution that granted more powers

to the prince, including the right to veto the parliament. These powers were reaffirmed by an even greater 76% in a referendum in 2012. Today, Liechtenstein has one of the highest standards. of living in the world. The largest company in the country is Hilty, which is a manufacturer of high-end tools. They're also a tax haven, and there are more corporations registered in Lichtenstein than there are citizens. Every August 15th is the country's National Day, and they have a celebration which is unique in the world. The entire country is invited to a party which is thrown by the prince at Vedu's castle. Drinks are available, and everyone can personally meet the prince. In 1990, Lichtenstein joined the United Nations, and in 2007 they opened their first embassy, which was to the United States.

They currently have embassies in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium as well. In all other countries, they are represented by Switzerland. While Lichtenstein has been neutral for most of its history, they have been accidentally invaded on several occasions by Switzerland. In 1968, five artillery shells accidentally hit a ski resort, which damaged some chairs. In 1976, 75 Swiss sold, took a wrong turn and accidentally went a half kilometer into Liechtenstein. They did the same thing in 1992 and in 2007. After the 2007 incursion, a Liechtenstein spokesperson said, quote, It's not like they invaded with attack helicopters. No problem. These things happen. Unquote. Before I mentioned that the Lichtenstein family had their lands outside of the country confiscated after

World War II. Well, by far, the largest of these holdings was in Czechoslovakia. In fact, the land they held there was 10 times larger than the entire country of Lichtenstein is today. As a result, Lichtenstein had no relations with Czechoslovakia during the Cold War. Even after Czechoslovakia ceased to exist, they refused to recognize either the Czech Republic or Slovakia until 2009, and even today, they still don't recognize the seizure of the land. Today, most of the land is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known as the Lidnitsi-Valitzi cultural landscape. I actually had the pleasure of visiting this site several years ago, and in many ways it's actually more interesting than visiting Lichtenstein itself.

Back in the introduction, I mentioned that the Lichtenstein family is the richest royal family in Europe, and this is true. They are actually the sixth richest royal family in the world, behind Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Brunei, Abu Dhabi, and Morocco. Their wealth primarily comes from two sources. The first is their extensive art collection. Even though they sold off many pieces after the war, they still have an extensive collection that is valued at close to $2 billion. The rest comes from their holdings in the LGT Group.

Formerly known as the Lichtenstein Global Trust, the Ljit group offers high-end private banking and asset management. Before the 2003 constitutional referendum, Prince of Lichtenstein Hans Adam II, threatened to sell the country to Bill Gates if the election didn't go his way. Given the total value of the Lichtenstein family wealth at around $4 billion, It raises the question if such a thing could even be done. Could the Prince of Liechtenstein transfer his role and title and basically sell the country to someone for a price?

It would almost be trivial for a billionaire like Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos to spend a few billion dollars to buy a sovereign country. While the question of selling the country is unresolved, the question of renting it is not. In 2011, the country was available to rent for $70,000 per night and was listed in. on Airbnb. And this was not a joke. It was intended for corporate events. For $70,000, your company would get the street to rename for a day, as well as accommodations for 150 people in Vadu's Castle, the keys to the country, and a wine tasting with the Prince of Liechtenstein himself. If anyone is up for it, I say we do a Kickstarter to raise the $70,000. If we can get 150 people, it would only cost us $467 per person. Sure, that's a lot for one night.

but then again, when are you ever going to have an entire country to yourself? The associate producer of Everything Everywhere daily is Thor Thompson. If you'd like to support the show, please donate over at patreon.com. There is content only available to supporters, merchandise, and even opportunities for a show producer credit. If you know someone you think would enjoy the show, please share it with them. Also remember, if you leave a five-star review, I'll read your review on the show.