The Unterland, the northern half hardly anyone visits

If the Oberland is postcard Liechtenstein, the Unterland is where people simply get on with living. Five villages around an isolated hill, cut off from the south by a flat band of meadows, with more history than it lets on and barely a tour coach in sight. I recommend it to repeat visitors or anyone with half a day to spare and an urge to walk without hurrying.

The first piece of the country

The Unterland is the old lordship of Schellenberg, and it was the first thing the Liechtenstein family bought. Prince Johann Adam Andreas acquired it in 1699, and on 16 March that year the locals swore allegiance to him on the church hill at Bendern. The tourist board says the spot symbolises the start of today’s Liechtenstein, and to me it’s the best place to begin making sense of the country. The hill has its own page under Bendern.

The constitution calls this half «Landschaft Schellenberg (Unterland)». It brings together five municipalities, Eschen, Mauren, Gamprin, Ruggell and Schellenberg, with 14,965 residents at the end of 2025 across 35 km², barely a fifth of the country. It’s smaller than the south but noticeably more crowded, above all in Mauren and Schaanwald, the most densely packed municipality of all.

An island hill in the middle of the plain

The whole Unterland revolves around the Eschnerberg, an isolated hill between 440 and 650 metres that stretches for about 8 km from Bendern to Nofels, already part of Feldkirch, and touches all five municipalities. It was the heart of the old lordship, and a historic ridge path still runs along it. I describe it, archaeology and all, on the Eschnerberg.

Up on the hill stand the two ruins of the lords of Schellenberg, built from the late 12th century. The upper one is a short stroll away and, according to the tourist board, one of the country’s favourite outings. They’re covered on the Schellenberg castles. North of the hill, the Ruggeller Riet drops to 430 metres, Liechtenstein’s lowest point, and fills with Siberian irises in May.

What I’d see in half a day

With a morning free, I’d head up to Schellenberg for the ruins and, if it’s an opening Sunday, the rural museum in a log house from 1518, which is free. Then I’d drop down to Bendern and its church hill, and finish in the Ruggell fen if it’s spring. With more time, the 1778 mill at Eschen and the Roman villa remains at Nendeln and Schaanwald round off the day. The Gampriner Seelein, the country’s largest natural lake, was formed in the Rhine flood of 1927 and has been protected since 1961, and I cover it with the others on the lakes of Liechtenstein.

The Liechtenstein Trail has two stages in this half. Stage four runs from Nendeln to Ruggell via Bendern and the Küefer-Martis-Huus, and stage five leaves Ruggell through the Riet and past the Schellenberg ruins to the customs post at Schaanwald. The last one is described in full on stage 5 of the Liechtenstein Trail.

Why does the Unterland vote separately?

Because of a row about money. In the 1870s the Austrian gulden, then the country’s currency, lost value, and the Oberland, which traded with Switzerland, wanted to move to gold. The Unterland traded with Vorarlberg and saw no reason to change. When the Landtag passed the gold standard in December 1876, the northern MPs had already resigned, and on 13 January 1877 between 300 and 600 Unterlanders marched into Vaduz threatening to take their region over to Austria.

The Prince dissolved parliament, and the compromise came the following year with two separate constituencies. Ever since, the Unterland has elected its own MPs, now 10 of 25, and it’s guaranteed at least two of the five government seats. The Historisches Lexikon notes this gives it a blocking minority it has never used. The southern half is covered on the Oberland of Liechtenstein.

A different accent a few miles away

You can hear the difference. The Unterland says «Stoo» for stone, «Blooma» for flower and «Füerscht» for prince, where the south says «Stää», «Bluema» and «Förscht». And even within the Unterland, Eschen and Mauren call a part a «Taal», whereas in Gamprin, Schellenberg and Ruggell it becomes a «Tool». For a country this size, I find that variety one of its most surprising features.