Schellenberg

For people with the surname Schellenberg, see Schellenberg (surname). For the assault by British and Imperial forces during the War of the Spanish Succession, see Battle of Schellenberg.

Schellenberg
Municipality
Skyline of Schellenberg
Flag Coat of arms
Schellenberg, shown within Liechtenstein Schellenberg, shown within Liechtenstein
Coordinates:
Country	Liechtenstein
Villages	none
Area
• Total	3.5 km2 (1.4 sq mi)
Elevation	626 m (2,054 ft)
Population (31.12.2014)
• Total	1,053
• Density	294/km2 (760/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	9488
Area code(s)	7011
ISO 3166 code	LI-08
Website	www.schellenberg.li

Lordship of Schellenberg
Herrschaft Schellenberg
State of the Holy Roman Empire
9th century – 1719
Capital		Schellenberg, Vaduz
Government		Principality
Historical era		Middle Ages
•	Conquered by Rome	15 BC
•	County created by     Charlemagne	the 9th century
•	Purchased by     Counts of Vaduz	1437
•	Acquired, with Vaduz,     by Austria	1499
•	Liechtenstein dynasty     become Fürsten	1706
•	Acquired by     Liechtenstein dynasty	1719
Preceded by Succeeded by Raetia Liechtenstein

Schellenberg is a municipality in the lowland area of Liechtenstein, on the banks of the Rhine. As of 2014, it has a population of 1,053 and covers an area of 3.5 km² (1.4 sq mi).

History

Early history

The area was first settled by Celts, then by Rhaetians. Rome conquered the area in 15 BC, and made it part of the province of Rhaetia. The Province later became a county (countship) under Charlemagne. The county was repeatedly divided among heirs.

The Lordship of Schellenberg was purchased by the Counts of Vaduz in 1437 and the two states have been united in fact ever since. After the Swabian War in 1499, both came under Austrian suzerainty. Different dynasties of counts bought and sold them, until their purchase in the early 18th century by the Liechtenstein 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

In the municipality, there is a monument at the border town of Hinterschellenberg that commemorates the asylum given to Russian soldiers. At the close of World War II, Liechtenstein granted asylum to approximately five hundred soldiers of the First Russian National Army, a collaborationist Russian force within the German Wehrmacht. 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 agreed to resettle the asylum seekers permanently. In contrast, the British repatriated the Russians who fought on the German side to the USSR.

Transport

In Schellenberg, there is a small road crossing to Austria, manned by Austrian, Swiss border guards.

See also

• Hinterschellenberg

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of Schellenberg at Wiktionary (German)

• Official website (German)
• History of Schellenberg PDF (548 KiB) (German)