Day 03 Vaduz Cathedral

When you travel through the South Pacific or Asia, there comes a moment when you see your twentieth temple of the week and feel the urge to politely whisper, “Okay… enough.” Europe is similar. The churches and cathedrals are magnificent, moving, historic — but after a while, it can all become a bit of an architectural overload.

The Vaduz Cathedral, by comparison, is almost refreshing in its simplicity.

The Cathedral of St. Florin was built between 1869 and 1873, designed by the Austrian architect Friedrich von Schmidt, who was also behind parts of Vienna’s Rathaus. Originally a parish church, it wasn’t elevated to cathedral status until 1997, when the Archdiocese of Vaduz was created. The style is neo-Gothic, clean and restrained — pointed arches, delicate stained glass, and a single spire that watches quietly over the town. Beneath the church lie the tombs of Liechtenstein’s princes and princesses, tying the country’s spiritual and political history together.

Inside the vestibule, I noticed a small rack of children’s books. It made me smile — a universal question across all faiths and continents: How do we keep the kids quiet in church? That same logistical challenge has apparently been passed down since the invention of pews.

Nearby were bottles of holy water for sale at €5 each. I paused. I genuinely wondered if this was part of Jesus’ original marketing plan. Maybe it’s mentioned in the Gospel of Facebook, chapter 7, verse 12:
“Thou shalt hydrate thy soul… for a small convenience fee.”
I don’t know. Maybe I missed that day in Sunday School.

The cathedral itself is lovely — light-filled, peaceful, understated. But as often happens when we visit grand houses of worship, a deeper question rose up again. If there is a God —is this really what was intended? Across the world we’ve walked into cathedrals dripping in gold and marble, then stepped outside to find people begging for enough money to eat. Something about that contrast feels profoundly out of rhythm with the teachings those buildings were meant to honor.

To be clear, that’s not the case here in Vaduz. It’s simply a recurring thought — a reminder that beauty and wealth don’t always align with compassion and care. And maybe that’s why this cathedral, simple and honest, felt more human than most.

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