Funken Sunday, the night Liechtenstein burns away the winter

Of all Liechtenstein’s traditions, this is the one I’d least want to miss. On the weekend after carnival, nearly every village builds an enormous pyre, sits a rag witch on top and sets it alight at dusk, with neighbours gathered round, doughnuts in hand and children carrying torches. There’s nothing staged for tourists about it, which is exactly why I value it so much.

What exactly goes up in flames?

The Funken is a wooden pyre built in each municipality, sometimes several per village. Some of the wood comes straight from Christmas, as dry trees are collected in January and end up in the pile, according to the tourist board. It’s a curious fate for the tree that decorated the living room a few weeks earlier, and it closes the circle that begins with Christmas in Liechtenstein.

At the top of the pyre sits the Funkenhexe, the Funken witch, a doll packed with gunpowder. When the flames reach her she explodes, and that’s the moment everyone’s waiting for. Tradition says the quicker the pyre burns and the witch bursts, the sooner winter packs its bags.

A village party with doughnuts and rockets

These days the Funken has a festive air. The tourist board explains that many places set up a Festwirtschaft, a food and drink bar run by local clubs, selling Funkaküachle, a pastry fried in lard, and that rockets and bangers go off. In Triesenberg the Historisches Lexikon mentions Funkenküchlein as part of the village tradition.

Many villages add a torch or lantern procession, usually led by the children, and some light a smaller children’s Funken first. In Vaduz in 2026, for example, the children’s procession set off at 18:00, their Funken went up at 18:30 and the main one at 19:00, in the Haberfeld.

When is Funken Sunday?

It takes place on the weekend after carnival Tuesday, spread across Saturday and Sunday depending on the village. In 2026 it fell on 21 and 22 February, and the official programme listed more than twenty bonfires around the country. There’s no 2027 programme yet, but once you know when carnival falls, you know when to look for the Funken. Stringing the two together, carnival in Liechtenstein and then the bonfires, makes for what I think is the best week of the winter.

Where to see it

Almost every municipality has one, and some, like Eschen, have several, each run by a different neighbourhood club. On paper my favourites are those with a special setting. The bonfire at Bendern goes up on the church hill, the spot where the oath of loyalty to the prince was taken back in 1699, straight after a procession of lanterns and torches. Few places in the country carry more history, and I like the idea of seeing off the winter there. Schaan’s starts with a torchlit walk from the Dux chapel, and Schaanwald builds a children’s Funken from midday.

Most are lit between 18:30 and 20:00, and the parties start several hours earlier. I’d get there in good time to grab a spot and something to eat.

What to bring and getting about

It’s an outdoor party in February, and you’ll feel it. In Vaduz the February average is around 2.7°C with frost on more than half the nights, according to MeteoSwiss data, so bring a warm coat, a hat and footwear you don’t mind getting muddy. A little cash for the stalls won’t hurt either, even though LIEmobil buses don’t take it.

Some villages make it easy to get there. In 2026 the Mäls Funken, in Balzers, laid on a shuttle bus from 18:00, Vaduz had food and drink going from the Friday evening, and one of the Eschen clubs kicked off at 15:00 with a doughnut party, the Küachlefest.

How I’d do it

I’d pick one of the smaller villages, arrive mid-afternoon for the party and the doughnuts, and find a spot well back and out of the smoke before the pyre goes up, as there’s gunpowder and fireworks involved. With children, the torch procession is what they’ll remember. Most villages have a bus back to Vaduz, though at that hour it’s worth checking the last one before you set out. The rest of the year’s festivities are in Liechtenstein traditions.