Top 5 micronations in Europe

share | tweet | MORE |

 

Seborga

Micronations are a curious thing indeed. They can’t be defined as countries, but only entities that claim to be independent without being recognized as such by other world governments or international organizations. And after this rather stiff introduction, let’s see what’s the fun part about these strange little ‘nations’.

Remember when you used to imagine lands and countries when you were a kid? Well, this is exactly what happens in micronations, but this time for real. While many micronations exist only on paper or on the internet, several are quite real. So here are the top 5 micronations in Europe.

Principality of Seborga

Italy’s currency has been the euro for quite some time, but in a 2.8 square mile corner of Northern Italy, time seems to have stopped. This little patch of land, which calls itself the Principality of Seborga, uses the world’s most valuable currency unit, the luigino. Only the principality’s around 360 inhabitants use this coin, and they live completely apart from the influence of the EU. Seborgans bow down to Prince Giorgio, who has been ruling the country since 1963. The territory of the principality coincides with the town of Seborga, a beautiful little historic town, surrounded by orchards.

Republic of Saugeais

This long-lived micronation in the French department of Doubs has been around for a long time, and it is larger than your average town-sized micronation, as proved by the fact that it has 11 departments. The capital of the nation, Montbenoit, is ripe with monuments, historical buildings and museums, and it is surrounded by lots of beautiful natural site. If you like skiing, you will definitely enjoy Saugeais in winter, and in summer there’s a lot of the surrounding landscape that can be explored and admired.

Principality of Sealand

The Principality of Sealand is an abandoned WWII aircraft platform off the coast of the North Sea, about 10 kilometers from the coast of Suffolk. In 1967, former British Major Paddy Roy Bates occupied the platform and declared that it is an independent nation.

Germany and the UK recognize the nation to some extent, but it’s still not a microstate. You can actually buy a title of lady or lord of Sealand on the nation’s website: sealandgov.org.

Republic of Kugelmugel

The Republic of Kugelmugel is probably the last thing that you’d imagine to be a country, self proclaimed or otherwise. Located in Vienna, Kugelmugel is a ball-shaped house that was declared to be a micronation after disputes between the Austrian authorities and the house’s creator, Edwin Lipburger. There is only one address in the nation: Anti-Fascism Square, 2, and it has 389 citizens. You can find in in Wiener Prater public park.

Hay-on-Wye

Hay-on-Wye is actually a very picturesque small town in Wales, often described the town of books. In 1977, a local bibliophile named Richard George William Pitt Boot declared himself the King of Hay-on-Wye as a publicity stunt that worked very well on the long term.

The town became a well known tourist destination for book lovers, and while it is a tongue-in-cheek micronation, it is still a micronation according to some.

You might also like

share | tweet | more |

 

 

Comments on Top 5 micronations in Europe

Enter your comment below, or trackback from your own blog. You can also subscribe to these comments via RSS

mike wrote on December 24, 2010:

Awesome, I really never heard about those countries. Great article!

stefan wrote on January 2, 2011:

Sealand seems to be interesting. Which form of governement did they adapted, and how much costs there a weekend in a hotel?

 

Leave a comment:

* your name

* your email address (will not be published)

your website

 

*=required