Schaan (; dialectal: Schaa)
History
Recent archaeological finds have shown that Schaan has been inhabited for over 6,000 years: In the year 15 BC, the
Roman Empire, under
Augustus, conquered the territory of the present Principality of Liechtenstein and established the Roman province of
Raetia. In the 1st century AD, a military road was built from
Milan to
Bregenz, running along the Luzisteig on the right bank of the Rhine. This led to the building of settlements in modern-day Schaan. In 1887, two Roman legionnaire's helmets were found buried during digging work above Dux. Bearing the engraved names of the legionaries
Publius Cavidius Felix and
Numerius Pomponius and dated to the 1st century AD, it is likely that they were intended as a variety of commemoration of the two men. They are now housed in the museums of Bregenz and Zurich.
The most important Roman building on the territory of the municipality is a fort built in the valley, whose purpose was to afford protection against the ever more frequent Alemanni invasions. Remains of its foundations and the gate tower are again visible from St. Peter's Church, Schaan. A 5th century baptistery was found during excavations inside this church, suggesting early Christianization. During excavations there, traces of a prehistoric settlement were also found.
The Alemannic settlement is evidenced by numerous grave finds. At that time Schaan consisted of two separate parts. The Romanized Räter-people had their centre at St. Peter, while the Alemannic population settled in the area of Specki. This dichotomy can still be seen today in the existence of two alpine cooperatives, the North-Alemannic cooperative Gritsch and the southern Rhaeto-Roman cooperative Guschg.
Administration
Schaan is locally administered by the mayor and a 12-person municipal council, elected every four years since 1975. The incumbent mayor is
Daniel Hilti, since 2003.
List of mayors (1864–present)
| +
!scope=col | Name
! scope="col" | Term
! colspan="2" scope="colgroup" | Party
!scope=col | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Geography
Schaan is the northernmost municipality in the Liechtenstein Oberland. It is bordered to the south by the capital,
Vaduz, to the east by
Planken and
Triesenberg, and to the north by the municipalities of
Eschen and
Gamprin. In the west, the
Rhine forms the natural border with
Switzerland, and in the east, the town is dominated by the
Drei Schwestern mountain range. Schaan also has four exclaves within other municipalities, and two enclaves within its primary municipality. Because of this, Schaan borders
Austria in three separate locations.
Transport
Schaan-Vaduz railway station
Schaan-Vaduz is one of the four train stations serving
Liechtenstein, located in the town of Schaan, 3.5 km from
Vaduz. It is owned by the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB). The station is served by eighteen trains per day, nine in each direction between Switzerland and Austria. It is situated on the international and electrified Feldkirch-Buchs line, between the station of Buchs SG (in
Switzerland) and the stop of Forst Hilti (in the northern suburb of Schaan). It is served only by regional trains.
Schaan Forst Hilti railway station
The station is served by eighteen trains per day, nine in each direction between Switzerland and Austria. It is located in front of the
Hilti's headquarters, on the outskirts of Schaan.
Climate
Schaan has an
Oceanic climate (Koppen: Cfb) using the -3°C isotherm, or a humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb) using the 0°C isotherm.
Education
There are four kindergarten sites: Malarsch, Pardiel, Rebera, and Werkof. The Gemeinschaftszentrum Resch, Primarschule provides primary education.
[" Strassenplan" ( Archive). Commune of Schaan. Retrieved on May 12, 2016.]
Realschule Schaan and Sportschule Liechtenstein are in Schaan, while Realschule Vaduz and Oberschule Vaduz are in the Schulzentrum Mühleholz II in Vaduz. Liechtensteinisches Gymnasium is also in Vaduz.[" Weiterführende Schulen Schaan." Commune of Schaan. Retrieved on May 12, 2016. "Realschule Schaan Duxgass 55 9494 Schaan" and "Sportschule Liechtenstein Duxgass 55 9494 Schaan" and "Realschule Vaduz Schulzentrum Mühleholz II 9490 Vaduz" and "Oberschule Vaduz Schulzentrum Mühleholz II 9490 Vaduz"]
There is a private Waldorf school which has students from, in addition to Liechtenstein, Austria and Switzerland. It was established in 1985.[" Waldorfschule." Commune of Schaan. Retrieved on May 12, 2016.]
Notable people
-
Sabine Dünser (1977–2006), Liechtensteiner gothic and symphonic metal singer and lyricist
-
Paul Frommelt (born 1957, Schaan), retired Alpine skier
-
Peter Jehle (born 1982, Schaan), footballer who plays for Liechtenstein club FC Vaduz as a goalkeeper
-
Gerta Keller (born 1945, Schaan), Professor of Paleontology and Geology at Princeton University since 1984.
-
Maria von Linden (1869–1936), German bacteriologist and zoologist
-
Roman Hermann (born 1953, Schaan), Liechtensteiner former cyclist
-
Ivan Quintans (born 1989, Schaan), a Liechtensteiner footballer
==Gallery==
External links
