When is Liechtenstein National Day?
Staatsfeiertag (National Day) is a public holiday in Liechtenstein and is always celebrated on August 15th.
It commemorates the birthday of Prince Franz Josef II.
History of Liechtenstein National Day
August 15th was first declared as a national holiday by the government of the Principality of Liechtenstein in 1940.
The date had a double meaning in Liechtenstein as August 15th was already a public holiday to mark the Feast of the Assumption, but also served to celebrate the birthday of Prince Franz Josef II, who was born on August 16th 1906.
This holiday is unusual in that it began during a war. Just days before, Adolf Hitler had said in a speech that "Small states have no right to exist.", so the establishment of this National Day by this smallest of states can be seen as much as an act of defiance as patriotism.
Prince Franz Josef II died in 1989 and the holiday remained on August 15th rather than switch to the birthday of his son and successor, Prince Hans-Adam II whose birthday is February 14th.
Although it is a nice touch to honour the previous Prince who reigned for over 50 years, having the national day in the summer rather in winter is a more practical solution as celebrations would be affected by the weather. Similar decisions have been taken with royal birthdays in Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the UK.
Did you know?
Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan are the only double land-locked countries: every country that surrounds them is land-locked.
In 1990, Staatsfeiertag was declared by law as the official state holiday of Liechtenstein. Since then, a state ceremony to mark the day has taken place on the castle meadow next to castle Vaduz.
The small principality is the fourth-smallest state in Europe and is one of the few nations in the world that adheres to a no defence policy, meaning that the country doesn’t have armed forces. Their safety is only guaranteed by a small Police force, which in 2011 counted 91 agents, 34 civilians and 38 paramilitaries.
Their lack of armed forces means that their celebrations of National holidays exclusively revolves around the role played by civilian authorities in the Principality’s life.
In the afternoon the centre of Vaduz is full of visitors of all ages enjoying traditional celebrations and a funfair. The National Day is brought to a spectacular close with a 30-minute firework display next to Vaduz Castle.
Of course, the history of the world's sixth-smallest country goes back much further than 1906. It was on January 23rd 1719 when the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI elevated the principality of Liechtenstein to the status of an imperial principality.
