小國家的大美麗 The Big Beauty of a Little Country
阿爾卑斯山中的一個峽谷裏，隱匿着一個美麗的小國家，它面積不大，人口不多，卻有着自己獨特的人文風情和美不勝收的風景……現在就跟小編一起踏上“列支敦士登之旅”吧，相信你也會愛上這個“小不點”國家的。
Further north lies another pint-sized country that’s 1)tucked away, not on a hill, but in the mighty Alps.
再往北坐落着另一個迷你小國，它不是藏在一座小山上，而是隱匿在雄壯的阿爾卑斯山間。
Two centuries ago there were dozens of independent states in German-speaking Europe. Today there are only four: Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
兩個世紀以前，歐洲有許多的獨立國家都講德語。可現在只剩四個：德國、奧地利、瑞士和列支敦士登。
Nestled between Switzerland and Austria, the Principality of Liechtenstein is defined by the mighty Alps to the east, the baby Rhine River to the west, and a stout fortress protecting the mouth of its valley to the south. This quirky remnant of medieval feudal politics is just about 62 square miles. It’s truly land-locked, without a seaport or even an airport.
坐落在瑞士和奧地利之間，列支敦士登公國東有阿爾卑斯山，西臨萊茵河的一小部分，南邊還有一座堅固的堡壘保護着列支敦士登所處峽谷的咽喉地帶。這個中世紀封建制度遺留下來的詭異的小國，面積只有62平方英里。列支敦士登也是真正意義上的內陸國家，沒有海港，甚至連個飛機場都沒有。
Liechtensteiners, who number about 35,000, speak German, are mostly Catholic and have a stubborn independent 2)streak.
列支敦士登有三萬五千人口，都說德語，大多數是天主教徒，有着相當頑固的獨立主義思想。
Women weren’t given the vote until 1984.
直到1984年，女性才擁有選舉權。
The country’s made up of 11 villages. The village of Triesenberg, high above the valley, gathers around its onion-domed church, which recalls the settlers who arrived here centuries ago from the western part of Switzerland.
整個國家由十一個村組成。特里森貝格村位於峽谷高處，村子的中心是一座洋蔥形圓頂教堂，這讓幾世紀前來到這裏的開拓者彷彿看到了瑞士西部的影子。
The town of Vaduz sits on the valley floor. While it has only 5,000 people, it’s the country’s capital. Its 3)pedestrianized main drag is lined with modern art and hotels bordering a district of 4)slick office parks.
瓦杜茲鎮坐落在山谷的底部。雖然鎮上只有5000人口，但這裏是列支敦士登的首都。小鎮主要的步行街兩邊陳列着現代藝術雕像，並分佈着旅店，與窗明几淨的商務辦公區相鄰。Historically, Europe’s tiny countries have offered businesses special tax and accounting incentives. For a place with such a small population, Liechtenstein has a lot of businesses. Many European companies locate here to take advantage of its low taxes.
由於一些歷史原因，歐洲的小國家們爲企業提供稅收和貿易結算的優惠政策。對於一個人口這麼少的國家而言，列支敦士登的貿易往來已經很多了。很多歐洲公司總部都設在這兒，爲的就是享受它的低稅收政策。
And that’s how the Prince of Liechtenstein, whose castle is 5)perched above his 6)domain, likes it. The billionaire prince 7)wields more real political power in his 8)realm than any other European royalty.
這也是列支敦士登王子喜歡的方式，他的城堡高踞於他的領地上。這個已然是億萬富翁的王子在自己的王國揮灑着比其他歐洲貴族更多的政治實權。
The National Museum tells the story of the Prince and his country. Their family 9)crest dates to the Middle Ages, when the Liechtenstein family was close friends with the Hapsburg family, who ruled the 10)Holy Roman Empire. The Liechtenstein family purchased this piece of real estate from the Holy Roman Emperor. In 1719, the domain was granted principality status, answering only to the emperor. The Liechtenstein princes, who lived near Vienna, saw their new country merely as a status symbol and didn’t even bother to visit for decades. In fact, it wasn’t until the 20th century that the first Liechtenstein prince actually lived here.
國立博物館講述了王子和他的國家的故事。他們的家族徽章可以追溯到中世紀，當時列支敦士登家族與統治神聖羅馬帝國的哈布斯堡家族是很親密的朋友。列支敦士登家族從神聖羅馬帝國皇帝手上買下了這塊地產。1719年，這塊領土被正式冊封爲公國，只受羅馬皇帝管轄。而住在維也納附近的列支敦士登的王子們，只不過把自己的新國家當成地位的象徵，幾十年都懶得去探訪一次。實際上，直到20世紀，纔有第一位列支敦士登王子真正居住在這裏。
In 1806, during the Napoleonic age, Liechtenstein’s obligations to the Hapsburg emperor disappeared, and the country was granted true independence. Later, after World War I, tough times forced the principality to enter into an economic union with Switzerland.
1806年，在拿破崙統治期間，哈布斯堡王朝對於列支敦士登的統治結束了，而這個國家也獲得了真正意義上的獨立。再之後，經歷了第一次世界大戰，困難的境況迫使列支敦士登公國與瑞士形成了經濟共同體。
To this day Liechtenstein enjoys a close working relationship with its Swiss neighbours, and, like Switzerland, a big part of its modern economy is tourism and sports, hosting visitors enjoying its dramatic natural beauty. 11)Ski lifts, busy both winter and summer, take nature-lovers to the dizzying 12)ridge that serves as the border with Austria. Even in little, little Liechtenstein the views are big and the hiking possibilities go on and on.
直到今天，列支敦士登還是和自己那些瑞士鄰居們有着親密友好的合作關係。和瑞士一樣，旅遊和各種運動是列支敦士登的一大部分現代經濟來源，它們能讓遊客們沉浸在美麗的大自然風景中。空中纜車在冬夏都很流行，可以把大自然愛好者帶到那些令人暈眩的的山脊上，那裏正好是與奧地利的交界處。就算是在很小很小的列支敦士登，風景一樣很壯觀，而去徒步旅行可供選擇的地方也越來越多。
