Alpine: The royal family's castle home in Liechtenstein perches above the small capital city of Vaduz. JP/Deanna Ramsay

A castle perches gracefully on a hill. Snow-capped peaks jut between expanses of clouds. A river lazes through a wide valley. Liechtenstein.

The quiet Central European country of 36,000 couldn't seem farther from bustling, tropical Singapore, yet the nations do share similarities, the most obvious being geographic size, but also strong, stable economies.

In June, another link between the two tiny states will be established with the 'Princely Treasures from the House of Liechtenstein' exhibit at the National Museum of Singapore, the first time works from the Liechtenstein royal family's art collection will be exhibited in Southeast Asia.

The collection was started in the 17th century by Karl I (1569-1627), and is one of the largest private art collections in the world. With pieces from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance to Baroque and Dutch masterworks, the range reflects centuries of European art history.

Prince Alois, the hereditary prince and acting head of state, said of the collection, 'It's very much on one side joyful ' the family had the possibility to furnish the rooms of the family houses ['¦] but then it's also something we like to share with others. Because it's a very well-known collection ' one of the most important private collections in the world ' it works as a kind of ambassador for Liechtenstein and for the family.'

Evocative: Peter Paul Rubens' exquisite Mars and Rhea Silvia (1616/17) is one of the works from the Princely Collection going on show at the National Museum of Singapore in June. Courtesy of the Princely Collections

The royals continue to collect art, acquiring works to fill gaps in the collection, including hundreds of pieces in the last few years. According to Liechtenstein Princely Collections director Johann Kraftner, the collection continues to live and to grow, including through exhibitions at select museums throughout the world and at the family's two palaces in Vienna: the recently renovated and reopened neo-Rococo City Palace and the family's former summer residence, the dramatically frescoed 18th-century Garden Palace, renovated and reopened in 2004.

National Museum of Singapore director Lee Chor Lin said after a whirlwind tour of the royal family's art in Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, and Vienna, 'It became so obvious to me that [the collection] is the face, it is the pride and joy of Liechtenstein, and for them to bring 91 works to a country that's never been known for artistic excellence, I think it's a great step for them to take and it shows how important this is in the progress of the bilateral relationship between Singapore and Liechtenstein.'

The exhibition is coming to Singapore after a tour of three Japanese cities, but Kraftner said Singapore's show would be different, combining classic works of such noted artists as Raphael, Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck with modern touches like massive black-and-white images of Baroque rooms used as a sort of wallpaper.

Academic: The wood-paneled library of the Liechtenstein royal family's former summer residence in Vienna, the Garden Palace, features gorgeous ceiling frescoes and 100,000 books. JP/Deanna Ramsay

'Through this modern design it will be much easier to approach young people and people in Singapore from a completely different culture ['¦]. It's an approach to the period and people will learn how a Baroque room looked, but it's not silk on the wall, it's not a textile on the wall, it's a very abstract thing on the wall. But I think this approach can work in a modern society like Singapore,' he said.

The juxtaposition between traditional and modern surfaces again and again in Liechtenstein, with a monarchy that traces its family lineage to the 12th century while also positioning itself as a contemporary financial hub.

The royals' castle in Vaduz boasts a 13th-century tower and cobblestone paths amid interior storage rooms with modern security and climate controls. Windowless spaces contain rows of priceless paintings, Chinese porcelain, a dazzling suit of armor and a stash of intriguing weaponry, all closed to the public as the family still resides there.

In one stone-walled living room with a delicate Rubens landscape on the wall and a Van Dyck around the corner, Prince Alois, 44, said, 'It's a great pleasure to grow up like this, at the same time it's also a great responsibility.'

In Vienna, the City Palace boasts a large pietra dura work, the 18th-century Badminton Cabinet, which is the most expensive piece of furniture ever sold, at £20 million (US$30 million).

The site also contains three floors of underground vaults to store some of the thousands of pieces in the collection, getting there requiring a security process Hollywood heist films should emulate.

The Garden Palace contains masterpieces from the early Renaissance to the High Baroque, the graceful, airy building also housing an impressive wood-paneled library of 100,000 volumes spanning the 15th to the 19th centuries that one could spend weeks reveling in.

Noteworthy: Raphael's Portrait of a Man (1502/04) will be traveling to Singapore for the 'Princely Treasures from the House of Liechtenstein' exhibition, the first time pieces from the royal family of Liechtenstein's art collection will be on show in Southeast Asia. Courtesy of the Princely Collections But can 'Princely Treasures from the House of Liechtenstein', with its deeply European art, resonate with visitors in the faraway island city-state of Singapore?

The National Museum is putting its own spin on the exhibition, showing about a dozen pieces from the museum's own collection alongside the paintings, sculpture and furniture from Liechtenstein to create a dialogue and to help make the European works more relevant to a Southeast Asian audience.

'I think that within our very modest collection of portraits you can see the shadow of Van Dyck, for example our John Singer Sargent is very much a Van Dyck continuation by way of French portraiture. So taking these things out puts things in context, puts our portrait tradition in context,' Lee said, later referencing images of peranakan businessmen by Singapore painters taught in the British tradition.

Of particular interest in the local context may be the central European works from the 19th century termed Biedermeier ' 'the modern art of its era', according to Kraftner. The lesser-known style emerged alongside the continent's middle class, and is known for its simplicity, realism and use of color. The focus is on the social and natural worlds in these works, with soft landscapes and sparkling images of domesticity emerging at a time when more and more were able to afford and as a result to support the arts.

Prince Alois referenced Liechtenstein and Singapore's close economic relationships and similar roles as banking centers, adding that the countries also faced similar challenges. 'We are very happy now on the cultural side we can further deepen our relationship,' he said.

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'Princely Treasures from the House of Liechtenstein' will be at the National Museum of Singapore from June 27 to Sept. 29.