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The Liechtenstein dynasty, 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 House of Liechtenstein are eligible to inherit the throne, and 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]
The family comes from Castle Liechtenstein in Lower Austria, which the family possessed from at least 1140 to the 13th century, and from 1807 onwards. 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 advisors. Thus, and 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 Prince or Princess of Liechtenstein and Count or Countess of Rietberg.
In 2008, the US Senate's subcommittee on tax haven banks charged that the LGT bank which the family owns, and on whose board they serve "is a willing partner, and an aider and abettor to clients trying to evade taxes, dodge creditors or defy court orders."[2]
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
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
Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein (1840 - 1929), allied the principality with Switzerland after the downfall of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1918
Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein (1906 - 1989), remained neutral throughout World War II
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.
Vaduz Castle, the Sovereign's residence in the Principality of Liechtenstein
Castle Liechtenstein in Lower Austria, ancestral seat, now family museum
Liechtenstein Garden Palace in Vienna (painted by Canaletto 1759/60), now home to the princely 16th - 18th-century art collection
Liechtenstein City Palace in Vienna, private residence and home to the princely 19th-century art collection
Wilfersdorf Castle, Lower Austria, the prince's Austrian country estate
Valtice Castle in the Czech Republic used to be the 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
1 Transcontinental country. 2 Entirely in Southwest Asia but having socio-political connections with Europe.
After partitions:
Dynasty, House of Savoy, House of Lorraine, Kingdom of Hungary, House of Vasa
House of Habsburg, House of Vasa, House of Bonaparte, House of Oldenburg, House of Romanov
Dynasty, Napoleon III, Napoleon, Jérôme Bonaparte, Napoleonic Wars
House of Vasa, House of Savoy, House of Bonaparte, House of Habsburg, House of Romanov
Princely Family of Liechtenstein, Liechtenstein, Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein, Joseph Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein, Pope
United Kingdom, Liechtenstein, Charles, Prince of Wales, Princely Family of Liechtenstein, London
Zurich, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Vaduz, Austria
Vienna, Brno, Karl Eusebius, Prince of Liechtenstein, Authority control, Dynasty
Vienna, Rome, Austria-Hungary, Kleinheubach, Austrian Empire