This article by political scientist and long-standing high-ranking diplomat Roland Marxer provides an insight into Liechtenstein-Czech relations seen through the eyes of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Principality of Liechtenstein. For Liechtenstein as a state, for the princely family, but also for individual Liechtenstein nationals who did not belong to the princely family, a difficult situation arose after the Second World War, largely as a result of the Beneš decrees. Liechtenstein repeatedly stated to Czechoslovakia that it considered the confiscation of Liechtenstein property as assets of persons of "German nationality", which took place in 1945, to be an unacceptable violation of international law. Especially since the beginning of the 1990s, numerous initiatives have been taken at both bilateral and multilateral level in order to achieve lasting recognition of the sovereignty of Liechtenstein by Czechoslovakia, or more exactly, by its two successor states. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the associated changes in Eastern Europe, the European political landscape changed fundamentally, raising promising hopes for future cooperation in Europe. It must have seemed strange that three European states which were members of different European and international organizations and, as a result, were committed to cooperation that pursued the same goals, still did not have a resolution – in addition to the still unresolved issues of compensation – to mutual recognition and the establishment of diplomatic and consular relations. An agreement on the establishment of diplomatic relations and future cooperation was signed on 8 September 2009. On 7 April 2010, a Memorandum on the Establishment of the Czech-Liechtenstein Commission of Historians was signed, followed by a visit by the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs to Vaduz.
One of the objectives of the Czech-Liechtenstein Commission of Historians was to try to chart the contemporary state of research into several historical themes which had been suggested as a result of the Czech-Liechtenstein declaration of 2009. This concerns the history of the Principality of Liechtenstein with a particular focus on Czech-Liechtenstein relationships, as well as on the history of the Princely House of Liechtenstein, again in relation to its activities on the territory of the Czech lands as well as in Central Europe. This overview of the literature shows that the history of the Liechtenstein family and its standing in Central European and European history has been a long-term presence in European historiography. The history of the Liechtenstein family has been studied within the context of aristocratic history/the history of social elites, the history of states, cultural and art history, as well as regional and local historiography. Within Czech historiography, the Liechtenstein family is typically present as part of the history of the Czech state and the history of Czech society, particularly in connection with the history of the medieval Czech kingdom, the history of the Battle of White Mountain, as well as relating to research into the foundation of the Czechoslovak Republic and the history of memory and identity. Therefore, the history of the Liechtenstein family differs substantially from the traditional histories of the nobility and individual aristocratic families. In terms of the historiography of Liechtenstein itself, there is a relatively close connection between the history of the Liechtenstein family and the Liechtenstein state.
In its first part, the present article presents the role of Peter Geiger as an historian and as cochairman of the Liechtenstein-Czech Commission of Historians. PD Dr. Peter Geiger has been the co-chairman of the Liechtenstein-Czech Commission of Historians for the last ten years. Between 2010 and 2020, he was one of its basic building blocks. In the commission, Associate Professor Geiger dealt mainly with the modern history of Liechtenstein and selected aspects of Liechtenstein-Czech relations. He prepared a crucial article on how frequently Czechoslovak and Czech topics figured in the pages of the Liechtenstein press, and thus what impression the ordinary citizen of the Principality of Liechtenstein could form of the original homeland of their princes. In the context of his research into Liechtenstein continuities and discontinuities, he again described the transformation of Liechtenstein from a somewhat marginal territory within the Liechtenstein states into the centre of life of the princely family. Peter Geiger's professional interest in the Liechtenstein-Czech Commission of Historians was divided between the history of the family and the history of the country and its inhabitants, especially in the area of property gains and losses. He therefore wrote two fundamental studies on the topic of the "Liechtensteins, Liechtenstein and Czechoslovakia in the 20th Century". The first of these deals with the efforts of the Liechtenstein family from 1938–1945 to regain and save the property they lost in connection with the so-called first land reform. Geiger's articles on the expropriation of Liechtenstein citizens living in Czechoslovakia after 1945 can thus be considered a fundamental topic. In the second part of the article, other contributions are then thematised and contextualised; these included in this "Liechtenstein" volume of the Studia Historica Brunensia journal.
The study examines the issue of the acquisition of a princely title by Karl of Liechtenstein, which was granted to him in 1608 by the Austrian archduke, Hungarian king and Moravian margrave Matthias. In the first part, it focuses on the issue of the authority through which Matthias could award one of the highest aristocratic titles in the Holy Roman Empire including the Habsburg monarchy. A historical-legal, diplomatics and sigillography analysis of the origin of the princely privilege proves that Matthias did so in the form of an "usurpation" of the traditional imperial ennoblement right. The first part of the study simultaneously concerns the question of the historical circumstances which led to the Liechtensteins' titular elevation. In the second part of the study, the author indicates the efforts made by Karl of Liechtenstein, his brothers and especially Karl's descendants to gain for recognition of the princely title from the direct imperial power and its use for the acquisition of immediate imperial principality, which through the Liechtenstein primogeniture would ensure the exceptionally politically and socially prestigious membership of the collegium of the imperial princes. This aim was in fact fulfilled only in the first half of the 18th century by the purchase of the Schellenberg and Vaduz estates and their elevation to immediate imperial principality. Although the Liechtensteins were the first of a number of so-called new princes from the milieu of the Habsburg monarchy of the 17th century, as they strove to rise among the elite of imperial society they were overtaken by other new princes: the Wallensteins, Auerspergs, Lobkowitzs, Dietrichsteins and Schwarzenbergs.
The present article presents the text of a lecture given by Her Serene Highness Maria-Pia, Ambassador of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the Czech Republic, on the occasion of the "Days of Liechtenstein History in the Czech Republic" organized by the Czech-Liechtenstein Commission of Historians on 9 November 2019 at the Moravian Museum, in the Historical Hall of the Dietrichstein Palace in Brno. The lecture dealt with the position of the Principality of Liechtenstein in the contemporary world, including the legal status of Liechtenstein, issues of its involvement and involvement in international institutions, as well as selected issues on Czech-Liechtenstein relations. As the author puts it, Liechtenstein is today a prosperous country that offers its citizens social, economic and political stability. It is a country with a fully functioning labour market, a sustainable and healthy environment, a free space in all respects and with real opportunities for political participation. The text also outlines the basic characteristics of the political, constitutional and economic systems of Liechtenstein. In further sections, she then deals with some historical factors that have led to the current position of Liechtenstein in Europe and in the world. This mainly concerns the beginnings of Liechtenstein statehood, which is traditionally associated with the purchase of the Vaduz and Vaduz counties and Schellenberg territories by the Princely House of Liechtenstein in 1699/1712, but also, the ongoing impact of events from the Second World War. In Liechtenstein at that time there was a relatively strong pro-German group called the "Volksdeutsche Bewegung", but almost 95 percent of the population was in favour of maintaining independence from the Third Reich. Following the year 1945 property of citizens of Liechtenstein was seized in Czechoslovakia, something which is still understood as an unresolved question in Liechtenstein. The motto of Liechtenstein is: For God, Prince and Fatherland! Although this might sound old fashioned, it has become the motto of the success of modern Liechtenstein, a monarchy with strong civil rights. A country in which a prince with vision has successfully sought to persuade the second sovereign, the people, when necessary. A country in which people are aware of their democratic rights, also actively pursuing them and understanding work as the core of their social DNA. A country where the government is ready to take on unpopular issues and to propose solutions that are acceptable to the people. It is not a land of miracles, but is still a successful and modern country in the middle of Europe, worth living in and connected to Europe in every way.
In a lecture given at the Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University in Brno as part of the "Days of Liechtenstein History in the Czech Republic" event, former Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to the Czech Republic Ferdinand Trauttmannsdorff presented two projects by the Czech-Liechtenstein Commission of Historians. The first concerns the publication of „Fürstenhaus Liechtenstein – Böhmische Länder – Fürstentum Liechtenstein. Ad honorem Thomas Winkelbauer", which was published in the Studia Historica Brunensia journal. Authors from the Czech-Liechtenstein Commission of Historians have published a series of articles dealing with various aspects of the history of the Liechtenstein family and their ties to the Czech Lands, the history of the Principality of Liechtenstein, as well as with some more general topics from European history. The second topic presented was the publication of an English language version of the commission's "Summary Report of the Czech-Liechtenstein Commission of Historians", entitled "Czech-Liechtenstein Relations. Past and Present". The author of the lecture emphasized in particular the passages devoted to the places of Liechtenstein's memory and the construction of various historical stereotypes typical of Czech-Liechtenstein relations over the long run. He also emphasized some of the chances that, in his opinion, an improvement in Czech-Liechtenstein relations and the resolution of issues still considered as unresolved could bring in the future not only to both countries involved, but also to Europe as a whole.