Editing History of Liechtenstein (section)

==Middle Ages==
{{see also|County of Vaduz|Lordship of Schellenberg}}
[[Image:Schlossvaduz.jpg|thumb|right|[[Vaduz Castle]], built during the Middle Ages]]
The area, part of [[Raetia]], was incorporated into the [[Carolingian empire]], and divided into countships, which became subdivided over the generations. Because the [[Duchy of Swabia]] lost its duke in 1268 and was never restored, all vassals of the duchy became immediate vassals of the Imperial Throne (as has happened in much of Westphalia when the duchy of Saxons was divided and partially dissolved in aftermath of the defeat of [[Henry the Lion]]). Until about 1100, the predominant language of the area was [[Romansh language|Romansch]], but thereafter [[German language|German]] gained ground, and in 1300 an Alemannic population called the [[Walser]]s (originating in [[Valais]]) entered the region. In the 21st century, the mountain village of [[Triesenberg]] still preserves features of Walser dialect.<ref>P. Christiaan Klieger, ''The Microstates of Europe: Designer Nations in a Post-Modern World'' (2014), p. 41</ref>

The medieval county of [[Vaduz]] was formed in 1342 as a small subdivision of the Werdenberg county of the dynasty of [[Counts of Montfort (Swabia)|Montfort of Vorarlberg]]. The 15th century brought three wars and some devastation. Centuries later, [[Carl Alexander Heideloff]] was the one who built the Lichtenstein Castle (with the help of peasants).   But the 17th century was a lowpoint, with some plague, some skirmishing from the struggles of the [[Thirty Years' War]] but most of all from a [[witch hunt]], in which more than 100 persons were persecuted and executed.

The Principality takes its name from the Liechtenstein family, rather than vice versa, and the family in turn takes its name from [[Liechtenstein Castle]] in [[Lower Austria]], which it owned from at least 1140 until the 13th century and from 1807 onwards. Over the centuries, the family acquired huge landed estates, mostly in [[Moravia]], [[Lower Austria]] and [[Styria (duchy)|Styria]].

All of these rich territories were held in fief under other more senior feudal lords, particularly under various lines of the [[Habsburg]] family, to which many Liechtensteins were close advisors. Thus, without holding any land directly under the [[Holy Roman Emperor]]s, the Liechtenstein dynasty was unable to meet the primary requirement to qualify for a seat in the [[Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire)|Imperial Diet]], (German ''Reichstag''), although its head was elevated to princely rank in the late 17th century.