Celtic Liechtenstein

The first known reference in recorded history to people living in the Liechtenstein area comes from around 400 BC. An unknown group of barbarians came down from the Alps and invaded northern Italy. These people, now know as Celts, defeated and, some scholars say, absorbed the Etruscans in the fertile Po valley.

The Celts were a group of tribes in a loose confederation that spoke a common language or variation of it. Philologists think that the Celtic language is descended from the original Ur-language and from the Indo-European language tradition. Thus the Celts hare though to have come from the east.

The Celts spread across central Europe by 1000 BC. In a second great wave in 700 – 400 BC, they conquered Western Europe and threatened southern Europe. It is thought that they displaced or absorbed the prehistoric people living there. In Liechtenstein, there are still legends of the “Little People” who lived in mountain caves after the Celts settled in the valley.

Their invasions and migrations were sporadic and irregular. A tribe would settle in one area for generations, and then, when they became too crowded or the soil in their area became unproductive, they moved to another place. They did not like the mountains and built fortified villages in the fertile lowlands along lakeshores and riverbanks. They were organized by tribes with several classes – priest, nobles, artisans and peasants. Their priests were called Druids and they were known to sacrifice human beings to their gods'

A related tribe, the Rhaetians lived in present day Swiss canton of Graubunden and neighboring Tyrol. They were thought to be of mixed Etruscan and Celtic origins. Around the shores of Lake Constance, lived the Windelici, an independent tribe of Celts

RHAETIA was the ancient name of the district which included present-day Liechtenstein. The district covered most of the Alps between the Po and Danube rivers, and was bounded on the north by Vindelicia, on the east by Noricum, on the south by Cisalpine Gaul, and on the west by the Helvetii. The Rhaetians, though a hardy and warlike people, were conquered by the Romans around 15 BC. Rhaetia then became a Roman province.

A number of Celtic objects have been uncovered at Schellenberg (Borscht) and on the hill where Gutenberg Castle stands. Celtic names like Eschen still exist. Eschen comes from “escans” which means “vanished lake”. Some residents of Liechtenstein bear Celtic instead of Germanic physical traits.

What were the Celts like and what was Life in Liechtenstein like then? My next article “Celtic Life in Liechtenstein” will tell you about it.

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