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Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy headed by the prince of Liechtenstein.

Liechtenstein is bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and Austria to the east and north. It is Europe's fourth-smallest country, with an area of just over and a population of 38,749 (). Divided into 11 municipalities, its capital is Vaduz, and its largest municipality is Schaan. It is also the smallest country to border two countries. Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked country between Switzerland and Austria.

Economically, Liechtenstein has one of the highest gross domestic products per person in the world when adjusted for purchasing power parity. The country has a strong financial sector centred in Vaduz. It was once known as a billionaire tax haven, but is no longer on any official blacklists of uncooperative tax haven countries. An Alpine country, Liechtenstein is mountainous, making it a winter sport destination.

Liechtenstein is a member of the United Nations, the European Free Trade Association, and the Council of Europe. Although not a member of the European Union because it was not designed with microstates in mind, it participates in both the Schengen Area and the European Economic Area. It has a customs union and a monetary union with Switzerland.

History

Early history

The oldest traces of human existence in the area of present-day Liechtenstein date back to the Middle Paleolithic era.History
swissworld.org. Retrieved 27 June 2009 Neolithic farming settlements appeared in the valleys around 5300 BC.

The Hallstatt and La Tène cultures flourished during the late Iron Age, from around 450 BC—possibly under some influence of both the Greek and Etruscan civilisations. One of the most important tribal groups in the Alpine region were the Helvetii. In 58 BC, at the Battle of Bibracte, Julius Caesar defeated the Alpine tribes, thereby bringing the region under close control of the Roman Republic. By 15 BC, Tiberius—later the second Roman emperor—with his brother, Drusus, conquered the entire Alpine area. Liechtenstein then became integrated into the Roman province of Raetia. The area was garrisoned by the Roman army, which maintained large legionary camps at Brigantium ( Austria), near Lake Constance, and at Magia (Swiss). The Romans built and maintained a road which ran through the territory. Around AD 260 Brigantium was destroyed by the Alemanni, a Germanic people who later settled in the area around AD 450.

In the Early Middle Ages, the Alemanni settled the eastern Swiss plateau by the 5th century and the valleys of the Alps by the end of the 8th century, with Liechtenstein located at the eastern edge of Alemannia. In the 6th century the entire region became part of the Frankish Empire following Clovis I's victory over the Alemanni at Tolbiac in AD 504.Switzerland history
Nationsencyclopedia.com. Retrieved 27 November 2009
Nationsonline.org. Retrieved 27 November 2009.

The area that later became Liechtenstein remained under Frankish hegemony ( Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties) until the Treaty of Verdun divided the Carolingian empire in AD 843, following the death of Charlemagne in 814. The territory of present-day Liechtenstein formed part of East Francia. It would later be reunified with Middle Francia under the Holy Roman Empire, around AD 1000. Until about 1100, the predominant language of the area was Romansch, but thereafter German began to gain ground in the territory. In 1300 another Alemannic population—the Walsers, who originated in Valais—entered the region and settled; the mountain village of Triesenberg today preserves features of the Walser dialect.

Foundation of a dynasty

By 1200, dominions across the Alpine plateau were controlled by the Houses of Savoy, Zähringer, Habsburg, and Kyburg. Other regions were accorded the Imperial immediacy that granted the empire direct control over the mountain passes. When the Kyburg dynasty fell in 1264, the Habsburgs under King Rudolph I (Holy Roman Emperor in 1273) extended their territory to the eastern Alpine plateau that included the territory of Liechtenstein. This region was enfeoffed to the Counts of Hohenems until the sale to the Liechtenstein dynasty in 1699.

In 1396 Vaduz (the southern region of Liechtenstein) gained imperial immediacy, i.e. it became subject to the Holy Roman Emperor alone.

The family from which the principality takes its name originally came from Liechtenstein Castle in Lower Austria, which they had possessed from at least 1140 until the 13th century (and again from 1807 onwards). The Liechtensteins acquired land, predominantly in Moravia, Lower Austria, Silesia, and Styria. As these territories were all held in feudal tenure from more senior feudal lords, particularly various branches of the Habsburgs, the Liechtenstein dynasty was unable to meet a primary requirement to qualify for a seat in the Imperial diet (parliament), the . Even though several Liechtenstein princes served several Habsburg rulers as close advisers, without any territory held directly from the Imperial throne, they held little power in the Holy Roman Empire.

For this reason, the family sought to acquire lands that would be classed as (not sellable) or held without any intermediate feudal tenure, directly from the Holy Roman Emperor. During the early 17th century Karl I of Liechtenstein was made a (prince) by the Holy Roman Emperor Matthias after siding with him in a political battle. Hans-Adam I was allowed to purchase the minuscule ('Lordship') of Schellenberg and the county of Vaduz

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