Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein follows the east bank of the Alpine Rhine, then climbs into the mountains, and both countries around it are landlocked too, so reaching any coast means crossing two borders. A principality, it is a constitutional monarchy in which the reigning prince shares power with an elected parliament, the Landtag. Gutenberg Castle stands on its rock above Balzers, the Walser village of Triesenberg clings to the slope, and the Rätikon range rises behind to the Grauspitz and the ski runs of Malbun.

The country is named after a family, not a place. The Liechtensteins bought the lordship of Schellenberg in 1699 and the county of Vaduz in 1712 to win a princely seat in the Holy Roman Empire, and in January 1719 the emperor made the two a principality. It became sovereign in 1806, abolished its army in 1868 and joined a customs union with Switzerland in 1923. The princes lived in Vienna until 1938, when Franz Joseph II settled in the castle above Vaduz.

On the first Sunday of Lent villages light the Funken, tall bonfires crowned with a straw witch, to burn away winter, and fireworks burst over the castle on the national holiday in August. Käsknöpfle, small cheese dumplings with fried onions, is the dish families argue over. Factories matter as much as banks: firms in Schaan and Eschen make Hilti power tools, false teeth and car steering systems, and many workers commute each morning from Austria and Switzerland.