Liechtenstein Off the Beaten Path Tips by mtncorg

This tip covers one of the more important of the palaces in the history of the royal family of Liechtenstein and it like much of the family's history, occurs in faroff Vienna and not along the Rhine.

The royal family of the house of Liechtenstein is one of the older families in Europe, being founded in the 12th century and taking the name of Burg Liechtenstein, a castle south of Vienna that the family has reclaimed. Much of the families principal holdings over the years were in Moravia - today, the Czech Republic. The country still has problems with the Czech and Slovak Republics. They do not want to officially recognize Liechtenstein because of the vast holdings the Family held in those countries. Liechtenstein denies a desire to press claims and the matter stands there.

The family was one of the shining lights in the Hapsburg Empire and the family served closely after some reversals of fortune in the 14-15th centuries. The family was elevated to that of hereditary Imperial Princein 1608. It took 100 years, but the family was finally able to buy the counties of Schellenberg - northern Liechtenstein near Planken - and Vaduz in 1699 and 1712, united both counties and creating the Principality of Liechtenstein by Imperial Decree in 1719. All of this was about elevating the family within the Court in Vienna and the family, itself, never visited the region. The family lived in Feldsberg (Valtice), Moravia in the 18th Century but moved closer to the powers that be - Vienna - in the 19th Century.

http://www.fuerstenhaus.li/museum.0.html?&lang=en for more on the history of the Ruling Family of the House of Liechtenstein.

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Website: http://www.fuerstenhaus.li/museum.0.html?&lang=en
Other Contact: Majoratspalais, Bankgasse 9,Wien

They lived in the simple home pictured here for most of the 19th Century - the Majoratspalais on Bankgasse, just off the Ring. The family has always been involved in amassing some of the world's greatest art treasures and these were housed in this palce until 1807 when they were relocated to the much grander Gartenpalais, now the Liechtensteinmuseum, a grand house of baroque art opening to the public in the spring of 2004 - Vienna, maybe being a place in which more people can be witness to the fine collection the family has amassed than the Kunstmuseum in Vaduz, and maybe a much more dramatic setting, as well. The Majoratspalais still served as a family residence for when the family was in Vienna, though some of the building has been rented out to Austrian government agencies over the last years. The family is planning on opening up the entrance and grand staircase to the public in 2005. It is well worth a walk by if you are around the Hofburg in Vienna, just to see that some of the Hapsburg Empire is alive and well at its core.

http://www.fuerstenhaus.li/museum.0.html?&lang=en for more on the history of the Ruling Family of the House of Liechtenstein.

http://www.liechtensteinmuseum.at/en/pages/home.asp for more on the new to open Liechtensteinmuseum located in the Gartenpalais - also in Vienna.

http://www.kunstmuseum.li/web2306e/index.html for the present art museum in Vaduz which serves as the present port for the public to witness the art holdings of the Liechtenstein family. It is an austere building more of the Bauhaus tradition. The new location in the Gartenpalais will be much more in keeping with the richness of baroque treasures.

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Website: http://www.fuerstenhaus.li/museum.0.html?&lang=en