Liechtenstein, a beautiful small country.

Speaking of Liechtenstein, many people in China may not be familiar with it. In fact, Liechtenstein, Andorra, San Marino, Monaco and Vatican are very famous in the west. Anyone who travels to Europe will be curious about visiting these small countries.

Liechtenstein is located between southeastern Switzerland and Austria, facing Switzerland across the Rhine River. Take a bus from the Swiss border and cross a road bridge on the Rhine River for dozens of meters, which is Liechtenstein. Its land area is only 160 square kilometers, which is equivalent to 1% of the area of China. It is 26 kilometers long from north to south and about 6 kilometers wide from east to west. It only takes more than half an hour to drive around its border.

Vaduz, the capital of this country, is just across the street from north to south, with its back on the Alps and the Rhine River in the south. The natural scenery of valleys and rivers presents a multi-level three-dimensional effect, which is particularly magnificent. There are no airports and railway stations here, and the national traffic only depends on roads. Visitors will also find that there are no cities in this country, only towns and villages, and towns and villages are connected together. Vaduz, the capital, has a population of more than 5,000, which is equivalent to a town in China. The national population is about 30,000, among which foreigners from Switzerland, Austria and Germany account for about 40%. In fact, the local native population is only 1.6 million. Many Swiss and Austrian people work in Liechtenstein, driving to companies and enterprises here in the morning and driving back to their respective countries at night.

Liechtenstein is a veritable miniature country in Europe, and it has many unique places. One is small government. The Principality of Liechtenstein is a constitutional monarchy. The hereditary archduke is generally called the king and is the head of state. The government consists of five members, who are elected by parliament and appointed by the king. These five members are the Prime Minister, two deputy prime ministers and two members who are also in charge of other departments. The government office building, located in vaduz, the capital, is an unremarkable three-story white building.

The basement of the building is a "prison" for temporarily holding prisoners. Secondly, Liechtenstein is an undefended country without an army. There are only 25 policemen and more than 20 auxiliary policemen in China, who are responsible for maintaining public order. Its national defense has always been undertaken by Switzerland, which has no standing army. The third is that there is no currency of your own country. Its legal tender is Swiss francs. When shopping in stores, foreign currencies such as US dollars can also be used after being exchanged according to the exchange rate between bank foreign exchange and Swiss francs.

In addition, according to the agreement, Liechtenstein's customs, posts and telecommunications and foreign affairs are also managed by Switzerland. This country has only one diplomatic representative abroad for many years, and that is the representative of Liechtenstein in Bern, the capital of Switzerland. After the new king Hans Adam II succeeded to the throne, he hoped to expand Liechtenstein's influence in the world and set up permanent representatives in Austria and the Council of Europe. However, Switzerland still represents its diplomatic interests in other countries and international affairs.

When you first arrive in Liechtenstein, you will feel quiet, comfortable and the air is fresh. There are small buildings, farmhouses, villas and churches in the lush forest on the hillside. There are herds of cattle and sheep grazing on the grass on the hillside, and the front room of the farmhouse is full of flowers, showing a rural scenery in mountainous areas.

There are no tall buildings, clean streets, modern town facilities, shops, hotels, post offices, museums and hospitals in vaduz, the capital. Urban and rural residents have close contacts, live in harmony and have a good social order. It is said that there has been no violent conflict, terror and major theft in this small country for many years, and there are even few fights, and the society is very stable. People living here live and work in peace and contentment, abide by the law and love their homes, and few people are willing to leave their homes to make a living in other countries.

On the streets of vaduz, you will see an ancient palace castle standing halfway up the mountain. According to records, this castle was built 700 years ago and has been expanding since then. It is the symbol of Liechtenstein. The prince's castle consists of several towers, with tight walls and high dispersion. It stands on the cliff with green trees and white clouds under the blue sky, giving people a sense of mystery. Starting from vaduz, there is a winding mountain road leading to the ancient castle, which is a special route for the prince and the royal family to go up and down the mountain. The signpost erected at the entrance of this road reads "tourists stop" in four big letters. The castle is the residence of the prince and the royal family and is generally closed to tourists. Visitors to vaduz can only flinch from this "mysterious castle".

Liechtenstein has been ruled by the Austro-Hungarian Empire for many years. /kloc-At the beginning of the 7th century, an Austrian prince named Liechtenstein bought vaduz and its neighboring territories from a ruined earl at that time. The prince established a principality here in 17 19, and named it after his surname "Liechtenstein". 1868, in order to avoid being involved in the war conflict between Austria and Prussia, Prince John II announced the abolition of the army and demanded peace and neutrality. Since then, Liechtenstein has become an "oasis of peace", spared the damage of two world wars and maintained peace and tranquility for more than 100 years.

Although Liechtenstein is a constitutional monarchy, the rule of princes in past dynasties is more enlightened. Parliament is elected by direct democracy, and members of the government cabinet are elected by parliament. The prince gets along well with his subjects. Everything governs the country according to the constitution. There has never been a major dispute between the royal family and the government. The prince is the head of state, and some companies at home and abroad also own a large number of shares. In addition, the wealth left by princes in previous dynasties made it unnecessary for them to receive government salaries. Someone once said that if the royal family is short of money, it is enough for the prince to auction a famous painting he collects.

Liechtenstein is in the forefront of rich countries in the world. Since the 1990s, its per capita annual income has exceeded $30,000, which is higher than that of the United States and some other developed European countries.

Before World War II, Liechtenstein was still a small poor country, and its livelihood depended only on agriculture, animal husbandry and handicrafts. So, how did this small country become a rich and developed country? One way of saying this is to rely on issuing stamps. Indeed, Liechtenstein has the title of "the country of stamps". Vaduz, the capital, is famous for its exquisite stamp printing. There is a unique stamp museum and a shop specializing in selling stamps. The first thing that tourists think of when they come here is to buy exquisite stamps issued by Liechtenstein as collections or souvenirs.

It is understood that this small country has issued stamps since 19 12, and several sets of dozens of new stamps are issued every year and sold all over the world. The stamps printed here have advanced technology, a wide variety, a wide range of themes, novel design, exquisite binding and high collection value. In order to develop the stamp industry, Liechtenstein mobilized artists from all over the country to design stamps, invited some European artists to design stamp patterns at high prices, and sometimes printed stamps based on famous paintings collected, which was favored by stamp collectors all over the world. Every year, thousands of stamp collectors and stamp collectors all over the world order the new commemorative stamps issued here. The annual stamp revenue accounts for more than 10% of the national gross national product.

It should be said that stamp duty income is only a part of Liechtenstein's national income. The national income of this country mainly depends on the tax of foreign-funded industry and commerce. In addition, Liechtenstein also uses its natural conditions to develop tourism. Especially in recent years, the tourism industry here has developed rapidly, with more than100000 foreign tourists visiting here every year, which is equivalent to four times the population of this country. At the same time, traditional handicrafts have developed accordingly, and the income in this area is also considerable.

I have been to Liechtenstein many times and often hear some interesting things about this small country from some foreign friends. A foreign friend told me that the first time he took a bus from Switzerland to Liechtenstein, he couldn't find the customs. He drove across the small bridge on the Rhine River and instantly entered the capital vaduz Street. Shortly after getting off the bus, he remembered that he had not gone through the entry visa formalities, fearing that he would be blamed by the customs when he left the country. So he took his passport and asked around where the customs checkpoint was and wanted to go through the entry formalities. Later, someone told him that this is a country without customs and national defense, and it is easy to go in and out without inspection. It suddenly dawned on him that there was a country without customs in the world, which was really wonderful.

Swiss friends often tell such a story. There are not many staff in the Liechtenstein government office building. At night, after the staff get off work, the last person will habitually lock the door. One winter evening, the Vice Premier stayed in the office until 9: 30 in the evening because of his busy business. When he came home from work, he found the door locked. So he slammed on the door, hoping to attract the attention of passers-by and let pedestrians go to the door cabinet to open the door, but there was no response.

At this moment, a man with sleepy eyes and unkempt hair staggered out of the basement of the government building. Holding a bunch of keys in his hand, he opened the door for the vice premier who was eager to go home. When the vice premier asked him who he was, he replied, "I am a prisoner in the basement of the building." "Why do you have the key to the gate?" The deputy prime minister asked again. The prisoner replied, "Of course." "What are you going to do now?" The deputy prime minister asked. His answer is: "Go back to the basement cell of the building and lock yourself up." This is really an interesting thing that sounds incredible.

The story of a grand funeral for the last soldier is also very interesting. Dozens of soldiers have died in the decades since Liechtenstein announced the dissolution of its army in 1868. The last soldier died in 1905. At that time, the government decided to hold a grand funeral for the death of the last veteran and built a marble tombstone for him to commemorate that a small country no longer had a single soldier and became a truly peaceful country without soldiers. The name, date of birth and date of death of the deceased are engraved on the tablet, which will be remembered by future generations. It seems that anything special is worth remembering or remembering.