Vaduz

Vaduz (/fɑːˈduːts/; German pronunciation: [faˈdʊt͡s] or [vaˈduːt͡s],[2] High Alemannic pronunciation: [faˈdot͡s])[3] is the capital of Liechtenstein and also the seat of the national parliament. The city, which is located along the Rhine River, has 5,696 residents.[1] The most prominent landmark of Vaduz is Vaduz Castle, being perched atop a steep hill in the middle of the city. It is home to the reigning prince of Liechtenstein and the Liechtenstein princely family. The city's distinctive architecture is also displayed in landmarks such as the Cathedral of St. Florin, Government House, City Hall, the National Art Gallery, as well as the National Museum. Although Vaduz is the best-known town in the principality internationally, it is not the largest; neighbouring Schaan has a larger population.

Vaduz
Municipality
Panoramic, Government building, Castle of Vaduz, Tre Cavalli sculpture, Rotes Haus, Cathedral of St. Florin, Liechtenstein Museum of Fine Arts, House of Parliament
Flag
Coat of arms
Vaduz and its exclaves in Liechtenstein
Coordinates: 47.141°N 9.521°E / 47.141; 9.521
CountryLiechtenstein
Electoral districtOberland
VillagesEbenholz, Mühleholz
Government
 • MayorManfred Bischof (FBP)
Area
 • Total17.3 km2 (6.7 sq mi)
Elevation
455 m (1,493 ft)
Population
 (31-12-2019)[1]
 • Total5,696
 • Density288/km2 (750/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
9490
Area code(s)7001
ISO 3166 codeLI-11
Websitewww.vaduz.li
View of Vaduz from space

Etymology

The name of Vaduz had been first recorded as de Faduzes. The name of the settlement, like most other towns in the Rhine Valley region, is of Romance origin. The name can be traced back to Old Rhaeto-Romance root auadutg, meaning aqueduct, which in turn evolved from the Latin aquaeductus.[3]

History
See also: County of Vaduz

Vaduz is mentioned in historic 12th-century manuscripts as Faduzes. In 1322 a mention of the castle is made, which was sacked by the Swiss in 1499 during the Swabian War. The entire city was also destroyed.

In the 17th century the Liechtenstein family was seeking a seat in the Imperial diet, the Reichstag. However, since they did not hold any territory that was directly under the Imperial throne, they were unable to meet the primary requirement to qualify.

The family yearned for the added power a seat in the Imperial government would bring, and therefore sought to acquire lands that would be reichsunmittelbar, or held without any feudal personage other than the Holy Roman Emperor himself having rights on the land. After some time, the family was able to arrange the purchase of the minuscule Herrschaft ("Lordship") of Schellenberg and countship of Vaduz (in 1699 and 1712 respectively) from the Hohenems. Tiny Schellenberg and Vaduz possessed exactly the political status required: no feudal lord other than the Emperor.

Thereby, on 23 January 1719, after purchase had been duly made, Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, decreed Vaduz and Schellenberg were united, and raised to the dignity of Fürstentum (principality) with the name "Liechtenstein" in honour of "[his] true servant, Anton Florian of Liechtenstein". It is on this date that Liechtenstein became a sovereign member state of the Holy Roman Empire. As a testament to the pure political expediency of the purchases, the Princes of Liechtenstein did not set foot in their new principality for over 120 years.

Geography

Climate

Vaduz features an oceanic climate with warm summers and chilly winters. Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as Marine West Coast Climate (Cfb).[4] The city experiences a noticeable increase in precipitation during the summer, but in general all twelve months see some precipitation. Vaduz receives, on average, approximately 900 mm (35.43 in) of precipitation per year. Vaduz's warmest month, July, sees average high temperatures reach 25 °C (77 °F) while average low temperatures are about 14 °C (57 °F). The city's coldest month, January, sees average highs of 3 °C (37 °F) and average lows of −3 °C (27 °F).

Climate data for Vaduz (1991–2020)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 5.0
(41.0)		 6.8
(44.2)		 11.8
(53.2)		 16.0
(60.8)		 20.1
(68.2)		 23.2
(73.8)		 24.9
(76.8)		 24.3
(75.7)		 20.0
(68.0)		 15.7
(60.3)		 9.5
(49.1)		 5.5
(41.9)		 15.2
(59.4)
Daily mean °C (°F) 1.4
(34.5)		 2.7
(36.9)		 6.8
(44.2)		 10.7
(51.3)		 14.7
(58.5)		 17.9
(64.2)		 19.4
(66.9)		 19.1
(66.4)		 15.0
(59.0)		 11.1
(52.0)		 5.7
(42.3)		 2.2
(36.0)		 10.6
(51.1)
Average low °C (°F) −2.0
(28.4)		 −1.1
(30.0)		 2.3
(36.1)		 5.6
(42.1)		 9.7
(49.5)		 13.0
(55.4)		 14.6
(58.3)		 14.6
(58.3)		 10.8
(51.4)		 6.9
(44.4)		 2.2
(36.0)		 −1.1
(30.0)		 6.3
(43.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 41
(1.6)		 34
(1.3)		 54
(2.1)		 57
(2.2)		 90
(3.5)		 116
(4.6)		 130
(5.1)		 144
(5.7)		 96
(3.8)		 68
(2.7)		 56
(2.2)		 54
(2.1)		 940
(37.0)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 14.2
(5.6)		 14.4
(5.7)		 6.4
(2.5)		 0.4
(0.2)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 4.7
(1.9)		 11.9
(4.7)		 52.0
(20.5)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 7.4 6.6 9.0 8.9 11.8 12.9 13.2 13.3 10.1 8.7 8.7 8.7 119.3
Average snowy days (≥ 1.0 cm) 3.9 3.9 2.1 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.4 3.3 14.8
Average relative humidity (%) 75 69 66 63 67 70 71 74 76 76 77 77 72
Mean monthly sunshine hours 72 92 131 156 168 181 197 183 147 114 67 53 1,563
Percent possible sunshine 40 44 47 49 46 48 52 54 52 48 36 34 47
Source: MeteoSwiss (snow 1981–2010)[5][6]

Landmarks

The most prominent landmark of Vaduz is Vaduz Castle, the home of the reigning prince of Liechtenstein and the Liechtenstein princely family. The castle is visible from almost any location in Vaduz, being perched atop a steep hill in the middle of the city. The Cathedral of St. Florin, Government House and City Hall are also well-known landmarks, displaying the various styles and periods of architecture that the city is known for.

Demographics

As of 2019, 5,696 people lived in Vaduz.[1] Foreigners resident in the city make up 42% of the population.[7] With 67% the population is predominantly Roman Catholic, while the percentage of Catholics is significantly higher among residents with Liechtenstein nationality (81%) than among foreigner residents (47%). The largest minority religions in the city are Protestantism (10%) and Islam (8%).[8]

Religion in Vaduz - 2015[8]
religion percent
Roman Catholicism
 
 67%
Protestantism
 
 10%
Other Christians
 
 3%
Islam
 
 8%
Others/undeclared
 
 4%
Non-religious
 
 9%
Note: Percentage is more than 100 due to rounding.

Culture

The National Art Gallery as well as the National Museum are located in Vaduz. The art gallery (Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein) is a museum of modern and contemporary art, also showing displays from the private princely Liechtenstein Collection, the main public display of which is in Vienna. The building is an architectural landmark built by the Swiss architects Morger, Degelo and Kerez. It was completed in November 2000 and forms a "black box" of tinted concrete and black basalt stone. The museum collection is also the national art collection of Liechtenstein. The Liechtenstein National Museum is showing a permanent exhibition on the cultural and natural history of Liechtenstein as well as special exhibitions. There are also the Postage Stamp Museum and a Ski Museum.

Economy and transport

Vaduz has a lively tourist industry, despite being one of the very few capital cities in the world without an airport – the nearest major airport is Zurich, at a distance of 120 km (75 mi).

Bus connections to rail hubs

There are frequent bus connections between nearby mainline railway stations including Buchs, Sargans and Feldkirch, operated by Liechtenstein Bus.

Schaan-Vaduz railway station

Vaduz has no railway station as such and is not directly served by a railway line. Schaan-Vaduz is one of the four train stations serving Liechtenstein It is located in the town of Schaan, a couple of kilometres north of Vaduz. It is owned by the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB). The station is served by eighteen regional, stopping trains per day, nine in each direction between Switzerland and Austria. It is situated on the international and electrified Feldkirch-Buchs line, between the station of in Buchs SG (in Switzerland) and the stop of Forst Hilti (in the northern suburb of Schaan).

Education

Vaduz has two primary schools, Äule Primary School, near the Vaduzer-Saal;[9] and Ebenholz Primary School,[10] near the University of Liechtenstein, which is also located in the city. Both schools have the same secretariat and administration.[9] The school assignments of children are largely determined by their street addresses.[10] There are four kindergarten sites, of the Kindergarten Bartlegrosch, in Vaduz.[11]

Realschule Vaduz and Oberschule Vaduz are in the Schulzentrum Mühleholz II in Vaduz. Liechtensteinisches Gymnasium is also located in Vaduz. Realschule Schaan and Sportschule Liechtenstein are in nearby Schaan.[12]

Notable people
Prince Franz Josef II
Marlies Amann-Marxer, 2013
Aurelia Frick, 2017

Footballers
Ronny Büchel, 2009
Sandro Wieser, 2015
  • Rainer Hasler (1958–2014) footballer who played as a defender, selected by the Liechtenstein Football Association as the country's Golden Player
  • Ronny Büchel (born 1982) a former international footballer, played 72 games for the national side
  • Philippe Erne (born 1986) an international footballer, 34 games for the national side
  • Marco Ritzberger (born 1986) a retired footballer, played for FC Vaduz and played 35 games for the national side
  • Mathias Christen (born 1987), international footballer, played 36 games for the national side
  • Andreas Christen (born 1989) is an international footballer, played 27 games for the national side
  • Lucas Eberle (born 1990) a Liechtensteiner footballer, played 12 games for the national side
  • Nicolas Hasler (born 1991) a Liechtensteiner professional footballer, played 55 games for the national side
  • Sandro Wieser (born 1993) professional footballer, played 47 games for the national side
  • Dennis Salanović (born 1996) a Liechtensteiner international footballer, played 29 games for the national side
  • Maximilian Göppel (born 1997) a Liechtensteiner footballer who plays for FC Vaduz and the Liechtenstein national team.

Other athletes
Tina Weirather, 2017

See also

Notes and references
  1. "Bevölkerungsstatistik: Vorläufige Ergebnisse 31. Dezember 2019" (PDF). Llv.li. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  2. Duden Aussprachewörterbuch (in German) (6 ed.). Mannheim: Bibliographisches Institut & F.A. Brockhaus AG. 2006.
  3. Hans Stricker, Toni Banzer, Herbert Hilbe: Liechtensteiner Namenbuch. Die Orts- und Flurnamen des Fürstentums Liechtenstein. Band 2: Die Namen der Gemeinden Triesenberg, Vaduz, Schaan. Hrsg. vom Historischen Verein für das Fürstentum Liechtenstein. Vaduz 1999, S. 430–435.
  4. Weatherbase climate summary accessed 12 August 2013.
  5. "Climate Normals Vaduz (Reference period 1991−2020)" (PDF). Swiss Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology, MeteoSwiss. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  6. "Climate Normals Vaduz (Reference period 1981−2010)" (PDF). Swiss Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology, MeteoSwiss. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  7. "Bevölkerungsstatistik: Vorläufige Ergebnisse 31. Dezember 2018" (PDF). Llv.li. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  8. "Tabellen Volkszählung 2015 - Bevölkerungsstruktur Band 1" (XLS). Llv.li. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  9. "Äule Primary School." Commune of Vaduz. Retrieved on May 12, 2016. "Giessenstr. 11 9490 Vaduz"
  10. "Ebenholz Primary School." Commune of Vaduz. Retrieved on May 12, 2016. "Fürst-Franz-Josef-Strasse 38 9490 Vaduz"
  11. "Kindergarten." Commune of Vaduz. Retrieved on May 12, 2016. "Kindergarten Bartlegrosch Bartlegroschstrasse 31 9490 Vaduz " and "Schwefelstrasse 15 9490 Vaduz" and "Schimmelgasse 13 9490 Vaduz" and "Weiherweg 15 9490 Vaduz"
  12. "Weiterführende Schulen Schaan." Commune of Schaan. Retrieved on May 12, 2016. "Realschule Schaan Duxgass 55 9494 Schaan" and "Sportschule Liechtenstein Duxgass 55 9494 Schaan" and "Realschule Vaduz Schulzentrum Mühleholz II 9490 Vaduz" and "Oberschule Vaduz Schulzentrum Mühleholz II 9490 Vaduz"
  13. Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), Volume 13, Joseph Gabriel Rheinberger retrieved 17 November 2018
  14. IMDb Database retrieved 17 November 2018
  15. IMDb Database retrieved 17 November 2018

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