The Rhine, the river that is both border and threat

Plenty of people pass through Liechtenstein without going near the Rhine, because it runs along the country’s western edge and visits tend to stick to the village centres. Yet it’s the river that explains the country. It marks the border with Switzerland, decided where villages could stand and for centuries was the biggest threat they faced. I think it deserves a stop, even a short one.

A river that is a border

The Rhine separates Liechtenstein from the Swiss canton of St Gallen for 25 km, along the whole west of the country. This is the Alpine Rhine, formed where the Anterior and Posterior Rhine meet at Reichenau in Graubünden, running about 90 km down to Lake Constance. In total the river is around 1,320 km long before it reaches the North Sea. Here its average flow is 157 m³/s.

It wasn’t always a clear-cut border. According to the Historical Lexicon, until 1342 both banks had the same lords, the counts of Werdenberg-Sargans, and the parish of Bendern took in villages on the far side until the 17th century. The Rhine became a political frontier in the 15th century and, after the Reformation, a religious one too. Where the country sits among its neighbours is shown on the map of Liechtenstein.

Centuries of floods

Before it was tamed, the Rhine was a wide braided river, with gravel islands, side channels and riverside woods. In 1848 it averaged more than 220 m across along the Werdenberg stretch opposite. It shifted course and burst its banks, and villages built dykes that pushed water towards the other bank, sparking centuries of disputes with the Swiss communities across the water.

Two dates stand out. In 1846 the Rhine broke through above Vaduz, flooded more than 1,000 ha and reached the road beneath the castle. And on 25 September 1927 the dyke burst at Schaan, with an estimated flow of 2,700 m³/s. Since 1990 the state has paid for all the flood defences. More key dates are in the history of Liechtenstein.

From ferries to bridges

Until the 19th century the Rhine was crossed by ferry or at fords, and the ferries stopped for good in 1918. Stable bridges only came in 1867-1871, and all were wooden. Only one survives, the 1901 bridge from Vaduz to Sevelen, covered and open to walkers and cyclists only. I think it’s the finest way to get close to the river, and I cover it in detail in the guide to the old Rhine bridge. The other crossings, at Balzers, Schaan, Bendern and Ruggell, are concrete bridges today.

The Lexicon also records a cautionary tale about meddling with a river. Between 1953 and 1972 so much gravel was dug out that the bed dropped by 4 to 5 m, and in 1970 the Schaan to Buchs bridge collapsed when the water undermined a pier. Of the 30 fish species once found, 17 remain.

Where to see it and how to explore

I’d get close in three ways. On foot, crossing the wooden bridge at Vaduz and stopping in the middle. By bike, because EuroVelo 15, the Rhine cycle route, runs through the country as part of a network of more than 220 km of cycle paths; the routes are in my guide to cycling in Liechtenstein. And from above, from the castle path in Vaduz or from Triesenberg, where you see the whole valley and understand why the old villages kept their distance from the river.

The municipality of Vaduz is proud that the Alpine Rhine has white water with plenty of fish, and that its gravel banks and rock armour are breeding grounds for rare birds. Beside it lie the restored streams of the valley floor, such as the Giessen. I haven’t come across an official source describing a waymarked walk along the dyke, so I don’t recommend it as a route.

Crossing into Switzerland

The far bank is Switzerland, with no fixed check, because the two countries have been in a customs union since 1924 and are both in Schengen. Your phone is the one thing to watch, because EEA roaming rules cover this bank but not the far one, and UK networks price the two separately. Right by the water the handset may jump to a Swiss mast, so I’d pick the network by hand; details on my page about phones and roaming in Liechtenstein.