African King by Gunther Stilling
In many formal approaches, Stilling proceeds from the rules of classical aesthetics.
The study of Graeco-Roman antiquity and the Italian Renaissance, but also Mannerism and the Baroque have left their mark on Gunther Stilling's work, which would be inconceivable without his numerous stays in Italy. Stilling dedicates a major part of his work to the human head. His sculptures are given an additional dimension through sharp incisions, layers and geometric additions. The "non finito" in his works, the fragment, the alternating rough and smooth surfaces visualize transience, power and violence with their fissures.
Artist portrait Gunther Stilling Born 1943, Srpski Miletic, Yugoslavia
1964-1969 studied at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart with Prof. Hannes Neuner and Prof. Christoff Schellenberger. Sculpture with Prof. Rudolf Hoflehner. Training as a bronze caster with H. Heinzel. Since 1969 freelance work as a sculptor. 1973-1978 Assistant to Prof. CH Kliemann at the Institute for Fine Arts at the University of Karlsruhe. Beginning with etchings. Since 1975 member of the Artists' Association of Baden-Württemberg. 1978-1979 scholarship holder of the Kunststiftung Baden-Württemberg. Since 1979 professor for sculptural design at the University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern. Since 1980 second studio in Pietrasanta near Carrara, Italy. Beginning with stone work. 1992 Lectureship at the University of Karlsruhe Lectureship at the University of Brighton, England. Lives and works in Güglingen and Pietrasanta, Italy. His sculptures can be found in many squares and in public spaces in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
Vaduz is the capital of the Principality of Liechtenstein . The municipality in the Oberland is the residence of the prince as well as the seat of the state government , the state parliament and all courts . It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of the same name .
Vaduz is particularly well-known for its role as an international financial center . The municipality has six exclaves and is therefore an administrative unit divided into seven. The inhabitants are called Vaduzer , the adjective is Vaduzisch .
The municipality has an area of 17,284 km² and includes the village of Vaduz and its immediate surroundings as well as six exclaves. The area with the village of Vaduz borders Schaan to the north , Triesenberg to the east, Triesen to the south and the Swiss communities of Sevelen and Buchs SG , located on the other side of the Rhine , to the west . The highest point in the municipality is 2150 m above sea level. M. the silver horn .
Four exclaves are located in the Rhine Valley. These are the agriculturally used Vaduzer Riet between the Schaaner industrial area and Eschen / Nendeln , the forests of Forst at the foot of the Three Sisters massif and Rüttistein and Dachsegg above Planken . The forest plots are owned by the Vaduz citizens' cooperative , whose members are entitled to the annual loose wood. At around 900 m above sea level. Traces of a prehistoric settlement were found in Dachsegg.
Two exclaves are located in the mountain area: on the one hand, the cooperative Alps Pradamee and Hahnenspiel and on the other hand, the Alp Hinter Valorsch . The Pradamee and Hahnenspiel Alps in the Malbun high valley were formerly known as Vaduz Malbun .
The Alp Hintervalorsch was separated from Vorder- and Mittlervalorsch in 1643 because of a dispute between Vaduz and Schaan and has belonged to Vaduz ever since. [8th]
In 1781, the use of the alpine pastures was divided between the Vaduz upper and lower villages and separate alpine buildings were built on the Under Pradamee (1500 m above sea level) and the Upper Pradamee (1700 m above sea level). Since 1930, the municipality of Vaduz has received around one million cubic meters of drinking water from Pradamee every year. The separate dairy operation ended around the middle of the 20th century. Since then, part of the milk has been made into cheese on the Ober Pradamee.
In 1962, the first ski lift in Malbun was built in the Alp Pradamee area, which was replaced by new chairlifts in 2006 along with other old lifts.
The Alp Hahnenspiel is used as Galtalp . One at approx. 2000 m above sea level. The small cave located M. served as a burial place for a dead person during the early Bronze Age .
Alp Gaflei, which was purchased by the municipality of Vaduz in 1952, is located in the Triesenberg municipality. Although the alpine buildings have been demolished since 2006, the alpine pastures continue to be used.
Vaduz was first mentioned in 1175/1200 as de Faduzes , two mentions from 1021 are later forgeries. The name, like many others in the Rhine Valley, is of Romanesque origin and goes back to Old Romansh auadutg “moat; Canal for mills and sawmills; Mill flume”, which in turn comes from the Latin aquaeductus .
On May 3, 1342, the then dominion of the Counts of Bregenz was divided, creating the County of Vaduz . In 1392, under Counts Henry V. (I.) and Hartmann IV. (II.) of Werdenberg-Sargans-Vaduz, it gained imperial immediacy through a privilege from King Wenceslas . In the following decades and centuries, the county repeatedly became the scene of wars and looting, e.g. B. in the Old Zurich War (1444–1446) or in the Swabian War (1499–1500).
Over time, the rulers of Hohenems became increasingly indebted, so that they were ultimately forced to sell the county of Vaduz and the neighboring lordship of Schellenberg . In 1699, Prince Hans Adam of Liechtenstein acquired the rule of Schellenberg and in 1712 the county of Vaduz. On January 23, 1719, a diploma from Emperor Charles VI united. the county of Vaduz with the rule of Schellenberg and raised it to an imperial principality with the name Liechtenstein. As a result, Vaduz became increasingly important.
In 1806, Napoleon Bonaparte founded the Confederation of the Rhine , which also included Liechtenstein and thereby effectively became independent. This independence was confirmed at the Congress of Vienna and Liechtenstein was accepted into the German Confederation .
However, Liechtenstein – and thus also Vaduz – remained very backward for a long time. It was only the customs treaty concluded with Austria in 1852 that enabled economic conditions to improve, and a constitutional constitution of 1862 brought political change so that the prince could no longer rule without restrictions.
The First World War impoverished the population, and at the end of the war the customs agreement with the war loser Austria-Hungary was dissolved.
After the customs treaty with Austria was dissolved in 1919, Liechtenstein became increasingly closer to Switzerland , and in 1923 the customs treaty with Switzerland, which still exists today, was signed. After Austria was annexed to the German Reich in March 1938, the newly ruling Prince Franz Josef II, the first prince of Liechtenstein, decided - because of his rejection of National Socialism - to move his residence to Liechtenstein to Vaduz Castle . Liechtenstein remained neutral during the Second World War and was never involved in direct hostilities. Instead, the principality was able to use its locational advantages (no loss of army personnel, central location, customs union with Switzerland, tax advantages, political stability), so that many new industrial companies were founded in Vaduz, but also in the wider principality, and progress in the country began to make rapid progress .
As of December 31, 2018, Vaduz had 5,625 inhabitants and was the second largest municipality in Liechtenstein after Schaan (with 6,016 inhabitants). At around 42 percent, the proportion of foreigners in Vaduz was higher than in all other Liechtenstein communities.
According to the 2015 census, 66.5 percent of the total population is Roman Catholic , with the proportion of Catholics among the population with Liechtenstein citizenship (80.8 percent) being significantly higher than among the population with foreign citizenship (47.1 percent Catholics). 10.1 percent of Vaduz's residents are Protestants , and 2.6 percent belong to another Christian church (majority Christian Orthodox churches ). 7.7 percent are Muslim , and other religions make up 0.75 percent of the population. Non-religious people make up 9.2 percent of the population - the highest proportion in Liechtenstein.
In the historical lexicon of the Principality of Liechtenstein, Vaduz is defined as the main town. Despite these official declarations, the term main location appears to be controversial among the general public. The principality's tourism website often refers to Vaduz as the capital, as do several Vaduz hotels, several media outlets (such as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , Die Welt , the Geo , the Kronen Zeitung or the Deutschlandfunk), the Association of the Consular Corps in the Principality of Liechtenstein and the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Hubert Büchel said during his lecture in the Feldkirch Palais Liechtenstein in 1988 : “Vaduz with 5,000 inhabitants is of a size where we do not yet dare to speak of a ‘capital’, but at best of a ‘capital town’.”
In a travel magazine, the moderator Hape Kerkeling asked the FBP politician and former mayor of Vaduz, Manfred Bischof, whether one could “seriously speak of a capital” for a place with 6,000 inhabitants. Bishop replied that Vaduz could seriously be called a capital, since Liechtenstein is its own country and a country also has a capital.
The former Vaduz local councilor and former president of the Johann Schädler Agra Foundation , Stefanie Hasler, said on “ Vaterland TV ” at the end of 2022 that Vaduz is actually a capital and that “every now and then” he doesn’t dare to say so .
In March 2023, the Munich Merkur described Vaduz as the “de facto capital” of Liechtenstein.
Liechtenstein Art Museum : Opened in 2000, the state museum for modern and contemporary art houses the state art collection of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The facade, a colored and seamlessly cast concrete made of predominantly black basalt rock and colored river gravel, is treated in such a way that “a lively play is created on the reflective surface”.
Liechtenstein State Museum : The cultural and natural history of Liechtenstein is presented here . The museum includes two old buildings and a new building in Vaduz. In addition, the postal museum in Vaduz and a rural living museum in Schellenberg are assigned to the state museum.
“ Engländerbau ” with postal museum : The “Engländerbau” was built in 1933/1934 on behalf of an English company as a commercial building. Today it is an exhibition building that shows changing exhibitions of contemporary art. Since 2002, it has also been home to the Postal Museum, which is part of the State Museum and collects, preserves and makes available to the public important documents and artifacts from Liechtenstein philately and postal history.
Kurt Beck Watch Museum : Opened in March 2018 at Lettstrasse 39, the privately run museum shows around 250 antique watches by the collector Kurt Beck.
Vaduz Castle : The landmark of Vaduz was built in the 12th century and finally expanded in the 16th and 17th centuries. The castle has been owned by the Princes of Liechtenstein since 1712, but was not inhabited for a long time and fell increasingly into disrepair. It was only at the beginning of the 20th century that it was extensively renovated, and in 1938 Prince Franz Josef II became the first prince of Liechtenstein to move his permanent residence to the castle. Since then it has no longer been open to the public.
Schalun ruins : The medieval Schalun castle ruins (also called the “Wildschloss”) were built in the 12th century and were supplemented by other parts of the building over time. The ruins are located above Vaduz Castle at an altitude of approx. 850 m above sea level. M. Large parts of the foundation walls are still preserved today, especially the core of the castle with building remains up to ten meters high. The castle has been owned by the municipality of Vaduz since 1933.
“ Red House ”: It is a listed medieval stepped-gable house in the middle village of Vaduz. It belonged to the Vaistli between 1400 and 1500 : The house was acquired by an heir of the Vaistlis in 1525 from the monastery of St. Johann im Thurtal, and the associated vineyard ( Wingert ) has retained its resulting name, Abtswingert, to this day.
St. Florin Chapel: The St. Florin Chapel was a sacred building in the municipality of Vaduz that was probably built in the early modern period. In 1872 the tower and sacristy and in 1874 the remaining parts of the building were demolished, so that the chapel is no longer preserved today. A paving on the floor plan in the center of Vaduz refers to the former location of the chapel. In addition, a large part of the equipment has been preserved or found a new use: the bells of the chapel, for example, were used in the casting of the four bells of the new parish church of St. Florin.
St. Florin Cathedral : The neo-Gothic church was built between 1868 and 1873 and inaugurated on October 5, 1873. With the inauguration of the parish church, Vaduz became a parish, as the community had until then been attached to the original parish of Schaan . Until 1997, Liechtenstein belonged to the diocese of Chur . On December 2, 1997, the Archdiocese of Vaduz was established by Pope John Paul II and separated from the Diocese of Chur. At the same time as the founding of the Archdiocese of Vaduz, the parish church of St. Florin was elevated to the status of a cathedral.
St. Josef Chapel: It was built in 1930 and 1931. It is located in the Ebenholz district and is a branch church of the municipality of Vaduz. The chapel can be seen as an example of a clearly structured church type, as was often built in the 1930s.
The Ebenholz Evangelical Church is located in the Ebenholz district and was built in 1962 and 1963. The modern church building has a clear structure with a choir and a tower in the north and an organ gallery above the main entrance. The three bells come from the Schellenberg monastery church and were cast in 1880.
The Johanneskirche is the sacred building of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The church building was built in 1947 as an emergency church in Stuttgart and finally transferred to Liechtenstein as a gift in 1956. The organ, which dates from the early 18th century, is particularly significant.
Princely crypt : Until the Second World War, the princely crypt in Wranau served as a burial place for the princely family of Liechtenstein. When Franz Josef II became the first prince to move his residence to Vaduz, a new grave was built between 1958 and 1960 in the park south of the cathedral. Prince Franz Josef II was the first sovereign to be buried here in 1989. Since 1992 there has been a relief on the wings of the entrance door showing the resurrection of Lazarus .
Liechtenstein State Parliament Building : The state parliament building was opened in 2008 after 7 years of construction. Since then, it has served as a plenary hall for the state parliament of the Principality of Liechtenstein , where all members of the state parliament can sit at a single round table. Over a million clinker bricks, 600 tons of steel and 5,800 cubic meters of concrete were used in the construction, which cost 42.2 million Swiss francs.
Government building of Liechtenstein : The government building was built from 1903 to 1905 in the neo-baroque style. It contained major technical innovations for Liechtenstein, which was poor at the time: the first central heating system in Liechtenstein was installed in the government building. The building, popularly known as the “Big House”, has been a listed building since 1992.
Vaduz town hall : The town hall was built in 1932 and 1933. Of particular importance is a balcony fresco on the south facade depicting Saint Urban , the patron saint of winegrowers. The coat of arms of the municipality of Vaduz is carved on the entrance front .
“ Rheinbergerhaus ”: The building was built around 1550 and was first mentioned in documents in 1613. It is significant because the composer Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (1839–1901) was born in this house. At the age of twelve he left his hometown to receive musical training in Munich . He worked in Munich his entire life and died there. After the Second World War, he and his wife were transferred to Vaduz in 1945. A bronze portrait of Josef Gabriel Rheinberger was erected in front of his birthplace in 1939/1940.
Old Rhine Bridge : Since 1901, the old Rhine Bridge has connected Vaduz with the Swiss community of Sevelen . The 135 meter long bridge is the only remaining wooden Rhine bridge in Liechtenstein. The bridges of the other Liechtenstein communities were abandoned due to dilapidation or fires and replaced by concrete bridges. Since the opening of the new Rhine bridge, the bridge, which consists of five pillars, has only been accessible to non-motorized private transport. It was extensively renovated in 2009/2010.
The most important sports club is FC Vaduz . As of 2022, he has won the Liechtenstein Cup 48 times and plays in the second highest Swiss league, the Challenge League . FC Vaduz's venue is the Rheinpark Stadium , where the Liechtenstein national football team also plays its home games.
