Schellenberg (; dialectal: ''Schällabärg'') is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the lowland area of

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

, on the banks of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

. , it has a population of 1,107 and covers an area of

History

Early history

The area was first settled by

Celts The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

, then by

Rhaetia Raetia or Rhaetia ( , ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire named after the Rhaetian people. It bordered on the west with the country of the Helvetii, on the east with Noricum, on the north with Vindelicia, on the south-west wit ...

ns.

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

conquered the area in 15 BC, and made it part of the province of Rhaetia. The Province later became a county (countship) under

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

. The county was repeatedly divided among heirs.History of Schellenberg
/ref> The

Lordship of Schellenberg The Lordship of Schellenberg () was a historic state of the Holy Roman Empire, now located in the Principality of Liechtenstein. Its capital was the town of Schellenberg. Geography Located north of the County of Vaduz, its area corresponds to t ...

was purchased by the Counts of

Vaduz Vaduz (; or ; High Alemannic pronunciation: [])Hans Stricker, Toni Banzer, Herbert Hilbe: ''Liechtensteiner Namenbuch. Die Orts- und Flurnamen des Fürstentums Liechtenstein.'' Band 2: ''Die Namen der Gemeinden Triesenberg, Vaduz, Schaan.'' ...

in 1437 and the two states have been united in fact ever since. After the

Swabian War The Swabian War of 1499 ( (spelling depending on dialect), called or ("Swiss War") in Germany and ("War of the Engadin" in Austria) was the last major armed conflict between the Old Swiss Confederacy and the House of Habsburg. What had begun ...

in 1499, both came under

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n suzerainty. Different dynasties of counts bought and sold them, until their purchase in the early 18th century by the

Liechtenstein dynasty The House of Liechtenstein (), from which the principality takes its name, is the family which reigns by hereditary right over the principality of Liechtenstein. Only dynastic members of the family are eligible to inherit the throne. The dynasty ...

, which had been granted princely status in 1706, but which needed to acquire a territory with imperial immediacy in order to vote in the Diet of the Princes of the Empire. The emperor formally united Vaduz and Schellenberg in 1719 as the Principality of Liechtenstein.

World War II

The Russian Monument, located in

Hinterschellenberg Hinterschellenberg is a settlement in Schellenberg, Liechtenstein. Geography Hinterschellenberg is located in the town of Schellenberg, a few kilometres away from its downtown core. Main sights Hinterschellenberg contains the Catholic Chapel of S ...

, in the municipality commemorates the asylum given to Russian soldiers during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Near the end of World War II, Liechtenstein granted asylum to approximately five hundred soldiers of the

First Russian National Army The 1st Russian National Army was a Russian Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, pro-Axis army under Boris Smyslovsky, a Russian-Finnish aristocrat and former Tsarist military officer, during World War II. History Origins Before 1945 ...

, a collaborationist Russian force within the German

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

. This act was no small matter, as the country was poor and had difficulty feeding and caring for such a large group of refugees. Eventually,

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

agreed to resettle the asylum seekers permanently. In contrast, the British repatriated the Russians who fought on the German side to the USSR.

Administration

Schellenberg is administered by the mayor and a 9-person municipal council, elected every four years since 1975. The incumbent mayor is

Dietmar Lampert Dietmar Lampert (born 13 October 1966) is a politician from Liechtenstein who served in the Landtag of Liechtenstein from 2021 to 2025. He has also served as mayor of Schellenberg since 2023. Life Lampert was born 13 October 1966 in Schellenbe ...

, since

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

List of mayors (1864–present)

Geography

Schellenberg territory borders with the Liechtensteiner municipalities of

Eschen Eschen (; High Alemannic: ''Escha'') is a municipality in the north of Liechtenstein. It covers an area of , and is one of the five communes in the Unterland electoral district. As of 2024, it has a population of 4,629 inhabitants. Etymolog ...

Gamprin Gamprin () is a municipality of Liechtenstein, on the Rhine on the border with the municipality of Sennwald, in Switzerland. It had 1,690 inhabitants in 2019. The municipality contains the village of Bendern and scattered hamlets and the Liechte ...

Mauren Mauren (; High Alemannic: ''Muura'') is a municipality in Liechtenstein that is situated in the north of the country. It has a population of 4,401. The Curta mechanical calculator was produced by Contina AG, in Mauren.Ruggell Ruggell (; dialectal: ''Ruggäll'') is a municipality of Liechtenstein. It is the northernmost and lowest elevated municipality. As of 2019, it has a population of 2,322. History Ruggell has an ancient history, with evidence of human activity pre ...

. It borders also with the

n municipality of Feldkirch, in the federal state of

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( ; ; , , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest popu ...

Transport

In Schellenberg there is a small road crossing to

, manned by Austrian and Swiss border guards.

Notable people

* Gisela Biedermann, physician and politician *

Julia Hassler Julia Hassler (born 27 February 1993) is a national-record holding swimmer from Liechtenstein and three-time Olympian. She was the Liechtenstein flag-bearer in the closing-ceremony of the 2012 Olympics, as well as the opening ceremonies in 2016 ...

, Olympic swimmer. *

Fabienne Wohlwend Fabienne Wohlwend (born 7 November 1997) is a List of female racing drivers, racing driver from Liechtenstein who competed in the W Series (championship), W Series. Biography Formula 4 Wohlwend entered car racing in 2016, having been successful ...

, motor racing driver.

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Municipalities of Liechtenstein Austria–Liechtenstein border crossings Schellenberg