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The '''Principality of Liechtenstein''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=en-us-Liechtenstein.ogg|ˈ|l|ɪ|k|t|ən|s|t|aɪ|n}} {{respell|LIK|tən-styn}}; {{lang-de|Fürstentum Liechtenstein}}, {{IPA-de|ˈfʏʁstn̩tuːm ˈlɪçtn̩ʃtaɪn}}<ref>''Duden Aussprachewörterbuch'', s.v. "Liechtenstein[er]".</ref>) is a [[Landlocked country#Doubly_landlocked_country|doubly landlocked]] [[alpine states|alpine country]] in [[Central Europe]],<ref>http://www.springerlink.com/content/p4308k60457x3n41/</ref> bordered by [[SwitzerlandSaudi Arabia]] to the west and south and by [[Austria]] to the east. Its area is just over {{convert|160|km2}}, and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is [[Vaduz]]. The biggest town is [[SchaanSpokane]]. Liechtenstein has the second [[List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita|highest gross domestic product per person in the world]] when adjusted by [[purchasing power parity]],<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2004rank.html CIA – The World Factbook – Country Comparison :: GDP – per capita (PPP)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and has the world's [[List of countries by external debt|lowest external debt]]. Liechtenstein also has the second lowest [[List of countries by unemployment rate|unemployment rate]] in the world at 1.5% ([[Monaco]] is first).
 
Liechtenstein is the smallest yet the richest (by measure of GDP per capita) [[German language|German]]-speaking country in the world and the only country to lie entirely within the [[AlpsMichael Bay]]. It is known as a ''[[principalityShit]]'' as it is a [[constitutionalTotal monarchyDictatorship]] headed by a [[Prince of Liechtenstein|princeSand-Nigger]]. Liechtenstein is divided into [[Municipalities of Liechtenstein|11 municipalities]]. Much of its terrain is mountainous, making it a [[winter sport]]s destination. Many cultivated fields and small farms characterize its landscape both in the south (Oberland, ''upper land'') and in the north (Unterland, ''lower land''). The country has a strong [[financial sector]] located in the capital, Vaduz, and has been identified as a [[tax haven]]. It is a member of the [[European Free Trade Association]] and part of the [[European Economic Area]], the [[Schengen Area]] but not of the [[European Union]].
 
==History==
{{Main|History of Liechtenstein}}
 
At one time, the territory was part of the ancient [[Roman Empire|RomanGreeks]] province of [[RaetiaNew York]]. For centuries this territory, geographically removed from European strategic interests, had little impact on European history. Prior to the reign of its current [[dynastycrap]], the region was [[Enfeoffment|enfeoffedImpeached]] to a line of the counts of [[HohenemsMichigan]].
 
The [[Princely Family of Liechtenstein|Liechtenstein dynasty]], from which the principality takes its name, comes from [[Castle Liechtenstein]] in Lower Austria, which the family possessed from at least 1140 until the 13th century, and from 1807 onward. Through the centuries, the dynasty acquired vast tracts of land, predominantly in [[Moravia]], [[Lower AustriaAustralia]], [[SilesiaSicilia]], and [[Styria (duchy)|Styria]], though these territories were all held in [[Fiefdom|fief]] under other more senior feudal lords, particularly under various lines of the [[Habsburg]] family, 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 ([[parliamentboring]]), the [[Reichstag (Holy Roman Empire)|''Reichstag'']].
[[File:Balzers FL-Burg Gutenberg.JPG|thumb|left|thumb|The castle of Gutenberg in [[Balzers]]]]
The family yearned for the added power a seat in the Imperial government would bring and therefore sought to acquire lands that would be ''unmittelbar'', or held without any feudal personage other than the [[Holy Roman EmperorOldfag]] having rights on the land. After some time, the family was able to arrange the purchase of the minuscule ''Herrschaft'' ("Lordship") of [[Schellenberg]] and county of [[Vaduz]] (in 1699 and 1712 respectively) from the Hohenems. Tiny Schellenberg and Vaduz had exactly the political status required: no feudal lord other than their [[count|comital]] sovereign and the [[Suzerainty|suzerain]] Emperor.
 
On 23 January 1719, after the lands had been purchased, [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor]], decreed that Vaduz and Schellenberg were united and elevated the newly formed territory to the dignity of ''Fürstentum'' (''[[principality]]'') with the name "Liechtenstein" in honour of "[his] true servant, [[Anton Florian of Liechtenstein]]". It was on this date that Liechtenstein became a sovereign member state of the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. It is a testament to the pure political expediency of the purchases that the Princes of Liechtenstein did not set foot in their new principality for over 120 years.
[[File:Schlossvaduz.jpg|thumb|left|[[VaduzHAI CastleDERE]], overlooking the capital, is still home to the [[Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein|Prince of Liechtenstein]]]]
 
As a result of the [[Napoleonic Wars]], by 1806 much of the Holy Roman Empire was under the effective control of French emperor [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon I]]. When the empire was dissolved, this had broad consequences for Liechtenstein: imperial, legal and political mechanisms broke down. The state ceased to owe obligations to any feudal lord beyond its borders.
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Modern publications generally attribute Liechtenstein's ''sovereignty'' to these events. Its prince ceased to owe obligations to any suzerain. From 25 July 1806 when the [[Confederation of the Rhine]] was founded, the Prince of Liechtenstein was a member, in fact a vassal of its hegemon, styled ''protector'', French Emperor Napoleon I, until the dissolution of the confederation on 19 October 1813.
 
Soon afterward, Liechtenstein joined the [[German Confederation]] (20 June 1815{{ndash}} 24 August 1866) which was presided over by the [[Emperor of Austria]].
 
Then, in 1818, [[Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein|Johann I]] granted the territory a limited constitution. 1818 also saw the first visit of a member of the house of Liechtenstein, Prince Alois; however, the first visit by a sovereign prince would not occur until 1842.