National holiday (Liechtenstein)

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Flags were hoisted in Schaan on the 2009 national holiday

The national holiday in Liechtenstein is celebrated on August 15 of each year as a national holiday .

Since the birthday of the then Prince Franz Josef II. (August 16) and the Assumption of Mary, one of the most important holidays in the Catholic Church, were only one day away and they wanted to anchor this day for a longer time, the government raised August 15 in 1940 , Assumption Day, on the national holiday and confirmed this after the Prince's death in 1989.

In the past, festivals were celebrated on round princely birthdays and government anniversaries, but these had never been set as state holidays before.

Due to the advancing National Socialism in the neighboring countries and also in Liechtenstein itself, this act also wanted to contribute to strengthening the national feeling and the awareness of the sovereignty of the principality and to set an example for the "unity of prince and people". Two years earlier, in 1938, the prince moved his residence from eastern Austria and southern Moravia to Vaduz Castle in order to counter unrest and national socialist aspirations in his country.

At that time, the prince, as head of state, was at the center of the national holiday, which was also known as the “prince's festival”.

The elements that still exist today as an expression of the state idea were used for the first time in 1940 and still exist today:

  • the fireworks at Vaduz Castle
  • the motto "For God, Prince and Fatherland" that lights up on the castle
  • a burning prince's crown on Tuass
  • Bonfire
  • singing the folk anthem
  • patriotic speeches
  • the flagging of the houses

Over time, the focus shifted from politics to the state and its sovereignty. In 1990 this was also anchored in the law, with the «promotion of reflection on the basic state values ​​and the awareness of togetherness.»

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Donat Büchel: National holiday. In: Historical Lexicon of the Principality of Liechtenstein online (eHLFL). Retrieved June 9, 2019 .
  2. ^ Paul Vogt: Bridges to the Past. 1990, p. 52.