I traveled to Liechtenstein in December of 2011. One of the smallest nations in the world, the country is quite beautiful and pristine with a small population, centered in the Alps Mountains, between Austria and Switzerland. We traveled here on a day trip and basically worked our way around the interesting sites in the capital Vaduz, with-in a few hours.
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Liechtenstein,
became an independent country
in 1719. The region was an ancient Roman province that was of
little influence
or importance. The province did become important in the Holy Roman
Empire in
the 1700's as the Liechtenstein family became voting members of the
Reichstag
(HRE Parliament.) After the chaos of Napoleon's invasion in 1806 and
withdraw
in 1815, the area became a member of the German Confederation, closely
associated
with Austria. In 1866, the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved and soon
after, Liechtenstein
disbanded it's military and declared its neutrality in Europe, but
remained close to Austria. The country was
seriously affected by World War I economically, even though it was
neutral, and
as a result, was forced to form a close relationship with Switzerland
because
Austria was a major player in the war and on the losing side. Today the
country is a tax haven for large corporations and wealthy people, who
pay
little to no taxes. Its current population is around 32,000 people.
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