Lightenstone (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)

Principality of Lightenstone Fürstentum Liechtenstein Timeline: Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum OTL equivalent: Liechtenstein and Southeast Alaska
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  Für Gott, Fürst und Vaterland (German) ("For God, Prince and Fatherland")
Anthem:  Oben am jungen Rhein
Capital		Vaduz
Other cities		Johannesberg
Official languages		German
Ethnic groups		Lightenstoners, Swiss, Austrians, Germans
Religion		Christianity; Irreligion; Islam
Demonym		Lightenstoner
Government		Unitary state; Semi-direct democracy; Constitutional executive monarchy
-	Prince	Hans-Adam II
-	Regent	Alois
-	Prime Minister	Daniel Risch
Legislature		Landtag of Lightenstone
Establishment
-	Union between Vaduz and Schellenberg	January 23, 1719
Area
-	Total	89,160 km2  34,425 sq mi
Population
-	estimate	68,516
Currency		Euro (EUR)
Time zone		CET (UTC+1) (Metropole) PST (UTC-8) (Sitka)
Internet TLD		.li
Calling code		+423
Membership international or regional organizations		United Nations

Lightenstone (German: Liechtenstein), officially the Principality of Lightenstone (German: Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking transcontinental principality consisted two separate continental parts: the European part located in the Alps enclaved by Switzerland and the North American part located on the northwestern coast of northern America between Canada to the east and north and the U.S. state of Alaska to the northwest. The capital, Vaduz, is a cultural and financial center, while Johannesberg in North America is the largest city.

While its metropole in Europe is just over 160 km² (62 mi²), the North American part of Lightenstone covers an area of 89,000 km² (34,363 mi²), making it 89,160 km² in totality. The total population is, however, only 68,516 (in 2019). European part of Lightenstone is renowned for its alpine scenery, medieval castles, and towns connected by a network of paths, while North American part, Sitka, is known for its dense evergreen and temperate rain forests. Tourism and mining are leading sectors of Lightenstone’s economy and are sponsored by the government.

When adjusted for purchasing power parity, Lightenstone's gross domestic product per person ranks among the greatest in the entire globe. In Vaduz, the nation's banking sector is strong. It was originally recognized as a shelter for billionaires, but it is no longer included on any official lists of nations that do not cooperate with tax authorities. Lightenstone is a member of the United Nations, the European Free Trade Association, and the Council of Europe. Although not a member of the European Community, it participates in both the Schengen Area and the European Economic Area. It has a customs union with Switzerland, a member state of the European Community.

Politics and government

Vaduz Castle, the palace and official residence of the Prince and the Princely Family of Lightenstone.

Lightenstone has a monarch as head of state, and an elected parliament that enacts the law. It is also a direct democracy, where voters can propose and enact constitutional amendments and legislation independently of the legislature. The Constitution of Lightenstone was adopted in March 2003, replacing the 1921 constitution. The 1921 constitution had established Lightenstone as a constitutional monarchy headed by the reigning prince of the Princely House of Liechtenstein; a parliamentary system had been established, although the reigning Prince retained substantial political authority.

The reigning Prince is the Head of State and represents Lightenstone in its international relations (although Switzerland has taken responsibility for much of Lightenstone's diplomatic relations). The Prince may veto laws adopted by parliament. The Prince may call referendums, propose new legislation, and dissolve parliament, although dissolution of parliament may be subject to a referendum.

The centre of government in Vaduz.

Executive authority is vested in a collegiate government comprising the Chief of Government and four government councillors (ministers). The head of government and the other ministers are appointed by the Prince upon the proposal of parliament and with its concurrence, and reflect the balance of parties in parliament. The members of the government are collectively and individually responsible to parliament; parliament may ask the Prince to remove an individual minister or the entire government.

Legislative authority is vested in the unicameral Landtag, elected for maximum four-year terms according to a proportional representation formula. Parties must receive at least 8% of the national vote to win seats in parliament. The Landtag proposes and approves a government, which the Prince formally appoints. The Landtag may also pass votes of no confidence in the entire government or individual members. The Landtag shares the authority to propose new legislation with the Prince and with the number of citizens required for to initiate a referendum.

The office of Vaduz Regional Court at Vaduz.

Judicial authority is vested in the Regional Court at Vaduz, the Princely High Court of Appeal at Vaduz, the Princely Supreme Court, the Administrative Court, and the State Court. The State Court rules on the conformity of laws with the constitution and has five members elected by parliament. The Supreme Court is the highest judicial body in Lightenstone which made up of a president and three judges who both regulate each other. There is also the Constitutional Court, consisted of a president and four judges, with the Prince appoints half of them and the Landtag the rest.

History

German Confederation (1815–1866)

Prince John I of Lightenstone (1760–1836; r.1805–1836), the last to rule under the Holy Roman Empire.

After narrowly avoiding annexation to Bavaria in 1806, Lightenstone became an independent country later that year when it joined Napoleon's Rhine Confederation after the breakup of the Holy Roman Empire. From July 25, 1806, the Prince of Lightenstone was a member, in fact, a vassal, of its hegemon, styled protector, the French Emperor Napoleon I, until the dissolution of the confederation on October 19, 1813. The French Empire under Napoleon held the country for a short years, but Lightenstone restored its independence in 1815. Lightenstone eventually joined the German Confederation presided by the Emperor of Austria.

In 1818, John I enacted the earliest constitution of Lightenstone, although it was limited in its nature. In that same year Prince Aloys became the first member of the House of Lightenstone to set foot in the principality that bore their name. The next visit would not occur until 1842. In 1836, Lightenstone's first factory opened, making ceramics. In 1861, the Savings and Loans Bank was founded, as was the first cotton-weaving mill. Two bridges over the Rhine were built in 1868, and in 1872 a railway line across Lightenstone was constructed. In 1862, a new constitution provided for a representative Landtag.

A map of the German Confederation.

After the seven-week Austro-Prussian War in 1866, Prussia accused Lightenstone of being the cause of the war through a miscount of the votes for war. Lightenstone refused to sign a peace treaty with Prussia and remained at war without an actual battle. In 1868, after the German Confederation dissolved, Lightenstone disbanded its army of 80 men due to financial reasons. Until the end of World War I, Lightenstone was closely tied first to the Austrian Empire and later to Austria-Hungary; the ruling princes continued to derive much of their wealth from estates in the Habsburg territories, and spent much of their time at their two palaces in Vienna.

Sitka Purchase (1865–1880)

Prince John II of Lightenstone (1840–1929; r. 1858–1929), the architect of modern Lightenstone.

During his 71-year reign, Prince John II initiated the modernization of the agriculturally oriented principality: from 1869, Lightenstone was connected to the world with the Morse telegraph, which was the most modern and fastest means of communication at the time. A railway line between Switzerland and the Austro-Hungarian Empire was constructed through Lightenstone. The telephone followed in 1898, and in 1887 Lightenstone built a railway network connected the whole principality. However, the prince was rather unsociable and almost permanently absent from the principality, preferring to reside in Vienna.

In 1865, Russia approached John II to offer the purchase of its territorial possession in North America. With a vast area of 1,518,800 km² (586,412 sq mi), Russian America was 11,000 times larger than the princely land of Lightenstone. John was hesitant at first on the purchase, believing the land was not so profitable. After the conclusion of War for Southern Secession, Russia had also entered negotiations with the United States. The United States, like Russia, was eager to prevent British expansion of influences, that discreetly supported the Confederate States, to the eastern Pacific and they were already near to the conclusion of negotiations.

Novo-Arkhangelsk, the capital of Russian America, ca. 1827.

At the end, the prince agreed to buy only 89,000 km² of the Russian American territory to the northwest of Western Canada, while the United States got the larger rest. Lightenstone and Russia set the purchase price at 2,350,000 Austro-Hungarian kroner, or around US$431,848 (US$7,551,845 in 2020) (26.4 kroner/US$4.85 per km²), while the United States bought the rest of Alaska for $7.2 million. The Lightenstonish portion was renamed as the Free State of Sitka (Freistaat Sitka).

Sitka was considered a personal possession of John II, not an integral territory of Lightenstone. It acted as a nation of its own, separate from Lightenstone, in a personal union with its prince. By the time of purchase, the territory was largely unexplored. John appointed many Austrian officials to supervise the region, including tariff collections and scientific explorations. Between 1876 and 1878, Austro-Hungarian explorer, Karl Weyprecht, was appointed by the first Governor-General of Sitka, Prince Alfred, to produce the first map of entire Lightenstonish America.

Changes of fortune (1880–1914)

A mining facility near Johannesberg, Sitka, ca. 1900.

John initially thought he had made a bad investment by purchasing the region with almost a quarter of his fortune worth as the trading activities in Sitka were not as fruitful as he wanted. However, it was proven the prince had made a wise decision when gold was discovered at Johannesberg in 1880. The gold rush of 1880 resulted in some of the largest gold mines in the world. The Johannesberg Company (Johannesberg Gesellschaft) was personally founded by John for gold extraction in 1881. The gold deposit in Johannesberg has yielded 100,000 kg of lode gold between 1880 and 1918, with 70,000 kg of them were mined by the company.

As settlements grew in Sitka by the arriving prospectors from Canada and the United States, John created the Lightenstonish American Commercial Company (Liechtensteinisch Amerikanische Handelskompanie), partially owned by European investors, in 1886, that operated retail stores and provided imported European goods in the region, in direct competition with the American-owned Alaska Commercial Company and the British-owned Hudson's Bay Company. The prince gained about 230,000,000 Austro-Hungarian kroner (US$42,192,465) in total until 1918, profited more than 300% of the purchase price per annum. Lightenstone's GNP per capita grew roughly 3.5% per year from 1870–1913, making it the fastest growing economy in Europe before World War I.

In 1884, John II appointed Carl von In der Maur, an Austrian aristocrat, to serve as the Governor of Lightenstone (Fürstlicher Landesverweser). He had a domineering style of governance, and often acted contrary to the wishes of the Landtag. Fond of his work as a bureaucrat and head of government of Lightenstone, In der Maur took a particular interest in the school system and endeavored to standardise primary education. His service lasted until his death in 1913, interrupted only between 1892 and 1897.

World War I (1914–1918)

Lightenstone did not participate in World War I, claiming neutrality. However, until the end of the war, Lightenstone was closely tied to Austria. In response, the Allied Powers imposed an economic embargo on the principality. It forced the country to severe its ties with Austria and concluded new customs and monetary union with another neighbor, Switzerland.

In 1919, the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg had held a referendum to join Switzerland; 80.75% of those voting supported a proposal for the state to join the Swiss Confederation. With the joining of Vorarlberg with Switzerland, Lightenstone became completely surrounded by the Swiss territory. Under this new circumstance, Lightenstone and Switzerland signed a treaty under which Switzerland assumes the representation of Lightenstone interests at the diplomatic and consular level in countries where it maintains a representation and Lightenstone does not.