House of Liechtenstein

House of Liechtenstein
Coat of arms of Liechtenstein
Country	Principality of Liechtenstein
Place of origin	Liechtenstein Castle
Founded	1608 (as a princely house)
Founder	Karl I (first prince)
Current head	Hans-Adam II
Titles	Prince of Liechtenstein Duke of Troppau Duke of Jägerndorf Count of Rietberg
Style(s)	Serene Highness
Website	www.fuerstenhaus.li

The House of Liechtenstein, from which the principality takes its name, is the family which reigns by constitutional, hereditary right over the nation of Liechtenstein. Only dynastic members of the family are eligible to inherit the throne. The dynasty's membership, rights and responsibilities are defined by a law of the family, which is enforced by the reigning prince and may be altered by vote among the family's dynasts, but which may not be altered by the Government or Parliament of Liechtenstein.^[1]

History[]

The family originates from Liechtenstein Castle in Lower Austria (near Vienna), which the family possessed from at least 1140 to the 13th century, and from 1807 onwards. Heinrich I von Liechtenstein (d. 1265) was lord of Nikolsburg, Liechtenstein and Petronell.

Through the centuries, the dynasty acquired vast swathes of land, predominantly in Moravia, Lower Austria, Silesia and Styria, though in all cases, these territories were held in fief under other more senior feudal lords, particularly under various lines of the Habsburg family, to whom several Liechtenstein princes served as close advisers. Thus, without any territory held directly under the Imperial throne, the Liechtenstein dynasty was unable to meet a primary requirement to qualify for a seat in the Imperial Diet (Reichstag).

A seat in the Imperial government would add power, and would be afforded by lands which would be immediate, or held without any feudal personage other than the Holy Roman Emperor himself having rights on the land. The head of the family was able to arrange the purchase from the Hohenems family of the minuscule Lordship of Schellenberg in 1699, and the County of Vaduz in 1712. Schellenberg and Vaduz indeed had no feudal lord other than their comital sovereign and the suzerain Emperor.

On 23 January 1719, after the purchase had been made, Charles VI as Holy Roman Emperor decreed Vaduz and Schellenberg to be united and raised to the dignity of a Principality by the name of "Liechtenstein", in honour of "[his] true servant, Anton Florian of Liechtenstein". On this date, Liechtenstein became a member state of the Holy Roman Empire. The Princes of Liechtenstein did not set foot in their new principality for several decades, a testament to the pure political expediency of the purchases.

According to the Constitution of the Princely House of Liechtenstein of 26 October 1993, all members other than the reigning prince shall bear the titles of Prince or Princess of Liechtenstein and Count or Countess of Rietberg.

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  Karl I, Prince of Liechtenstein (1569 - 1627), created Prince in 1608, Viceroy of Bohemia 1622

• 

  Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein (1662 - 1712), acquired the territory of the Principality

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  Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein (1760 - 1836), the last prince to rule under the Holy Roman Empire and the first ruler of a sovereign state from 1806

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  Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein (1840 - 1929), allied the principality with Switzerland after the downfall of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1918

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  Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein (1906 - 1989), remained neutral throughout World War II

21st-century princely family (closest members)[]

Styles of Princes(ses) of Liechtenstein
Reference style	His/Her Serene Highness
Spoken style	Your Serene Highness

Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein (born 1945), current head of the house and sovereign ruler of the principality

• The Prince (the monarch)
  • The Hereditary Prince and Hereditary Princess (the Prince's son and daughter-in-law)
    • Prince Joseph Wenzel (the Prince's grandson)
    • Princess Marie-Caroline (the Prince's granddaughter)
    • Prince Georg Antonius (the Prince's grandson)
    • Prince Nikolaus Sebastian (the Prince's grandson)
  • Prince Maximilian and Princess Angela (the Prince's son and daughter-in-law)
    • Prince Alfons (the Prince's grandson)
  • Prince Constantin and Princess Marie (the Prince's son and daughter-in-law)
    • Prince Moritz (the Prince's grandson)
    • Princess Georgina (the Prince's granddaughter)
    • Prince Benedikt (the Prince's grandson)
  • Princess Tatjana (the Prince's daughter)
• Prince Philipp Erasmus and Princess Isabelle (the Prince's brother and sister-in-law)
  • Prince Alexander and Princess Astrid (the Prince's nephew and niece-in-law)
    • Princess Theodora (the Prince's great-niece)
  • Prince Wenzeslaus (the Prince's nephew)
  • Prince Rudolf and Princess Tılsım (the Prince's nephew and niece-in-law)
    • Princess Laetitia (the Prince's great-niece)
    • Prince Karl Ludwig (the Prince's great-nephew)
• Prince Nikolaus and Princess Margaretha (the Prince's brother and sister-in-law)
  • Princess Maria-Anunciata and Emanuele Musini (the Prince's niece and nephew-in-law)
  • Princess Marie-Astrid (the Prince's niece)
  • Prince Josef-Emanuel (the Prince's nephew)
• The Dowager Marchioness of Mariño (the Prince's sister)

Tree list[]

Below are all male and male-line dynastic descendants of Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein. The numbers represent the positions in the line of succession.

Palaces and residences[]

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  Vaduz Castle, the Sovereign's residence in the Principality of Liechtenstein

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  Liechtenstein Castle in Lower Austria, ancestral seat, now family museum

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  Liechtenstein Garden Palace in Vienna (painted by Bellotto 1759/60), now home to the princely 16th to 18th century art collection

• 

  Liechtenstein City Palace in Vienna, private residence and home to the princely 19th century art collection

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  Wilfersdorf Castle, Lower Austria, the prince's Austrian country estate

• 

  Valtice Castle in the Czech Republic (principal seat of the Liechtenstein family until after World War II, when the government confiscated it)

• 

  Lednice Castle in the Czech Republic (confiscated in 1945)

• 

  Velké Losiny Castle in the Czech Republic (confiscated in 1945)

• 

  Riegersburg Castle, Austria, seat of a branch line

• 

  Frauental Castle, Austria, seat of a branch line

• 

  Waldstein Castle, Deutschfeistritz, Austria, seat of a branch line

• 

  Rosegg House, Austria, seat of a branch line

• 

  Hollenegg Castle, Austria, seat of a branch line

See also[]

• Liechtenstein Museum (for the important princely art collection)
• Line of succession to the Liechtensteiner throne
• List of monarchs of Liechtenstein
• List of princesses consort of Liechtenstein

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to House of Liechtenstein.

• Official website