Bendern

Bendern Economy and Overview

Bendern is a village of Liechtenstein that forms part of the municipality of Gamprin together with the town of Gamprin. Situated by the river Rhine and the Eschnerberg close to Gamprin, the locality sits next to the borders of Switzerland and links to the Swiss village of Haag, which is a hamlet of Sennwald, through a road bridge originally built in 1868.

The total population of the municipality stood at 1664 people as of 2015, with an area of 6.19 km2, making it the third smallest in the country. The village itself recorded about 470 residents as of 2007. The present-day economic landscape features about 100 businesses providing roughly 2500 jobs within the municipality. Additionally, the village hosts the Liechtenstein-Institut, an institution with a focus on research centered on the country. Until 2017, the village also served as the seat of the International Academy for Philosophy.

Historical roots of the area extend deeply into the past, beginning with a Celtic origin for the name and a first mention in 1045 as Beneduro. Swiss forces burned down the village during the Swabian War. From 1538 to 1636, the community hosted the Premonstratensians of St Luzi Abby in Chur who had fled the Reformation. The church hill of Bendern functions as a vital location for national history because the men from Liechtenstein's lowlands pledged allegiance to the Prince of Liechtenstein on March 16, 1699, after the Prince bought the Lordship of Schellenberg. The Bendern fountain was built to commemorate this event. Archaeological excavations reveal that the church history traces back to Carolingian-Ottonian and Roman times, with older prehistoric ceramic traces indicating ancient settlement. The baroque velum quadragesimale from the local church house Mariä Himmelfahrt, referred to as the Benderner Fastentuch, is preserved as a treasure in the National Museum in Vaduz, while the church holds a copy.

More information can be found at Bendern.