Gamprin, the field by the Rhine

Gamprin is a small village with two things nobody else in Liechtenstein has, the hill where the country as we know it began and the only natural lake that really deserves the name. Add a bathing lake for summer and you have a very full half day in the Unterland.

One municipality, two places

Gamprin is split between Gamprin village, home to the town hall and school, and the hamlet of Bendern, where the parish church sits on top of its hill. The Historisches Lexikon traces the name to the Romansh camp Rin, the field by the Rhine, and the first record dates from around 1150 as «Camporin». The village is scattered, with old quarters such as Au, Bühl, Badäl, Salums and Gölla, and to the west the Rhine forms the border with the canton of St Gallen.

There’s one fact I love. Since 1915 Gamprin has owned the Rauz alp in Austria’s Vorarlberg, which covers 7.02 km², more than the 6.2 km² of the municipality itself.

At the end of 2025 it had 1,773 residents, and on that year’s provisional figures it was the only municipality to shrink, by 0.6%.

The hill where the country begins

The municipality calls Bendern’s hill the birthplace of Liechtenstein. On 16 March 1699, after the Prince bought the lordship of Schellenberg, its subjects swore allegiance to him on the square now called Bongertplatz. The council’s website also notes that the Neolithic site of Lutzengüetle holds the oldest recorded life in the country’s territory. The hill, its church with exposed foundations and the 1898 Lourdes grotto are covered on the Bendern page.

Which is the largest lake in Liechtenstein?

The Gampriner Seelein. It formed in autumn 1927, when the great Rhine flood scoured out part of the plain at the narrow point between the Eschnerberg and the river. It has been a nature reserve since 1961 and holds 1.37 hectares of water, enough to make it the largest natural lake in the country. In 1979-80 it was cleaned up and topped up with water from the inland canal so it wouldn’t dry out, and in 1980 noble crayfish, which had vanished from the country, were reintroduced.

It’s a place to walk and watch, not to swim. I’d come in winter, when great egrets spend October to April here. I compare it with the country’s other waters on the lakes of Liechtenstein.

The Grossabünt bathing lake

For a swim there’s the Grossabünt, a leisure park the municipality opened in 2011 on land bought in 2000. At its heart is a natural bathing lake with over 3,500 m² of swimming water, 3.80 metres at the deepest, a bay for jumping off a rock and a separate shallow area, plus 2,700 m² of lawns, changing rooms, showers and toilets. It’s fed with groundwater of drinking quality and cleans itself, without chemicals, through a planted regeneration pond.

Three rules are worth knowing. There’s no lifeguard, swimming is only allowed from sunrise to sunset, and dogs aren’t allowed in the bathing area or on the lawns. The municipal website doesn’t mention an entry fee, so I can’t tell you whether you pay. The bistro opens daily from 09:00 to 20:00 in June, July and August, and closes when it rains. I set it alongside the country’s pools on where to swim in Liechtenstein.

Around it there’s a pump track, beach volleyball, pitches and a playground, and a bridge links the grounds with the walking area along the Rhine embankment. The Liechtenstein Trail passes through on stage four, with a pause at the lake before crossing Kratzera forest towards Ruggell. The forest also has a mountain-bike skills trail with natural obstacles, helmets compulsory.

The day Gamprin was guest of honour

At the national day on 15 August 2026, the guest municipality was Gamprin, which made its entrance in Vaduz at 14:00. How the day unfolds is on Liechtenstein’s National Day.

Getting there

Route 32 links Eschen, Gamprin and Ruggell, and route 35 runs from Nendeln to Bendern, Gamprin and Hinterschellenberg. There’s a LIEbike station at the Grossabünt, right by the lake. For drivers, the municipality points to the signed car parks off the Ruggeller Strasse and those by the town hall, but it recommends leaving the car behind.