Triesen, the old village among the vines south of Vaduz

Triesen is the village most people drive straight through between Vaduz and Balzers, and in my view that’s an error. It has the loveliest old centre in the south of the country, one of its oldest chapels and, if you look at a map, land that climbs from the vineyards to the highest point in Liechtenstein. Here’s how I’d see it in half a day.

Third in the country, and still growing fast

On 31 December 2025 Triesen had 5,785 residents, which puts it third behind Schaan and Vaduz. Provisional figures show it grew 1.5% in 2025, one of the biggest rises of the year. It covers 26.5 km² and its parish church stands at 512 m, at the foot of the slope up to Triesenberg. Just above sits Wangerberg, the Triesenberg hamlet above Triesen, whose people came down here for Mass until 1768.

The name is old and nobody’s quite sure what it means. The Historisches Lexikon records «Trisun» in a register from 1094 to 1101 and dismisses a supposed mention from 1153 as a forgery. The geography is clearer. The village sits on the fan of a huge post-glacial rockfall and, oddly, has no Rhine bridge of its own and no direct link to the Swiss motorway. To cross into Switzerland you go via Vaduz or Balzers.

What would I see in Triesen with half a day?

I’d start in the Oberdorf. The council describes a romantic old centre of old houses, flanked by vines and two stylish chapels, and mentions timber-framed houses on the upper slope that give you a feel for farming life as it was. Up here are the St Gallus parish church, St Mamertus chapel and the Lindenplatz.

St Mamertus is the reason to come. It stands on a ledge above the village at 561 m, with a bare stone tower and shingle roofs. The Lexikon dates the tower’s timber to 1347 and says frescoes from the mid-15th century came to light in 1967 and 1968. The council goes further and dates it probably to the 9th century. The sources don’t agree on which is the country’s oldest chapel, so I’ll call it one of the oldest and leave it there.

Then I’d drop down to the Unterdorf and the Marienkapelle, where a recent restoration uncovered baroque frescoes. A practical point that few people know. According to the council website, both chapels open for visitors who ask in advance, so I’d email the town hall with a few days’ notice.

The mill that changed the village

The other Triesen is the industrial one. In 1863 a cotton weaving mill went up in the Unterdorf and, as the Lexikon puts it, has defined that part of the village ever since. Today it’s a listed complex with a small stage, the Kleinkunstbühne Alte Weberei, and the Gasometer arts centre, which the council opened on the old factory site in 2006. Since 2001 Triesen has also been home to the Literaturhaus Liechtenstein.

St Gallus is worth five minutes too. Built from 1841 to 1843 and reworked between 1991 and 1994, it keeps the Gothic altarpiece of 1492 that came from St Mamertus and a font of Balzers marble dated 1678.

From valley floor to the roof of the country

What I like best about Triesen is what you can’t see from the village. Its land climbs to the Lawena and Wang alps and includes the Valüna alp on the far side of the ridge. The Lawena valley is, according to the Lexikon, the only high valley in the country that opens straight onto the Rhine, and the Grauspitz, at about 2,600 m and the highest point in Liechtenstein, belongs to Triesen as well. It’s not something to improvise, but it shows you that this valley village is really half mountain.

Fitting it into your trip

Triesen lies on the natural route between Vaduz and Balzers, so the easiest way to see it is by bus or on foot from the capital. I’d check the exact line and stop on LIEmobil’s timetable, and remember that the buses don’t take cash. If you’re walking, stage 1 of the Liechtenstein Trail, Balzers to Triesenberg, crosses the village past the old mill, the Gasometer and St Mamertus before climbing the hillside. On a tight budget, the Camping Mittagspitze is here too, 7 km from Vaduz, and I cover it in the youth hostel and campsite in Liechtenstein.

For a wet day, there’s an indoor pool by the school centre, and it’s included in the CHF 25 ALL INCLUSIVE Erlebnispass along with the pools in Balzers and Eschen. For a night out, Triesen also has the Casino Admiral, one of the four I compare in casinos in Liechtenstein.