National Day has been celebrated on 15 August since 1940. It combines a public holiday with a religious festival day that has been observed in the Alps for centuries, making it a day with deep roots in both tradition and community spirit. The whole country has the day off, and towns fill with flags and decorations.
The highlight for most people is the open-air party at Vaduz Castle. The castle gates are opened and residents walk up the hill to be welcomed personally. There is live music, local food and drink, and a feeling of the whole country gathering in one place - which is quite possible when your country has fewer than 40,000 people.
As night falls, fireworks are launched from the clifftop, bursting in colour above the castle and reflecting in the Rhine below. Families watch from the valley as streams of light fill the sky. It is the kind of celebration that people who grew up in Liechtenstein remember for the rest of their lives.