Travelling to utopian wonderlands called Micronations

Weird but fascinating lands of conviction and denial
2021-01-08
/
/ Kolkata
The very concept of a Micronation reflects mostly an out-of-the-box or eccentric idea of a place where except for the limited number of inhabitants, sometimes in single or double digits only, everyone else is a tourist or a visitor.
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Netflix film Rose Island was based on a true story

In December 2020, when Netflix released Rose Island, a film based on the untold story of Giorgio Rosa, an Italian engineer who built his own island in the late 1960s in the Adriatic Sea, equipped with a restaurant, a bar, a souvenir shop and even a post office, all on a platform in the international waters and declared it an independent State, the word ‘Micronation’ suddenly started trending.

Unfortunately, Italy did not take too kindly to the arrival of an independent State near its shore and destroyed it using dynamite within 55 days of its declaration of independence. Days later, a storm submerged the structure entirely. Today, its remains rest on the seabed of the Adriatic, close to the coastal city of Rimini. Over 50 years later, tourists make it a point to take a boat tour to see the remains of the island.

The welcome signboard for those arriving at Key West International Airport

In the late 1960s, Leicester Hemingway, brother of Nobel laureate American author Ernest Hemingway was involved in another such project, a small timber platform in the international waters off the west coast of Jamaica. This territory, basically a small barge, which he called ‘New Atlantis’ was damaged by storms and finally pillaged by a few Mexican fishermen. In 1973, Hemingway was reported to have moved on from New Atlantis to promoting a bigger platform near the Bahamas which he called Land of the Sea. Ernest Hemingway’s adopted hometown of Key West was later itself part of another micronation, Conch Republic.

 

What is a Micronation?

It is a geographic area (generally small, but not as a rule) with independent political authority whose members claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state and in most cases pending or lacking legal recognition from the world governments or major international organisations. Micronations are also distinct from Microstates, such as Andorra, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, San Marino or Vatican City, whose sovereignty over extremely small territories and populations is internationally recognised. The trend shows they are mostly the outgrowth of an individual’s free-thinking idealism.

Is tourism possible in Micronations?

There are many micronations that have been claimed over the years by individuals around the world. Many of them were destroyed by military forces of the concerned countries, and their remains now attract tourists from near and far. At the same time some of them still exist, posing relatively less or no imminent threat to the rest of the world, and giving the tourists a fun ride with a sneak peek of the wonderland.

Many international tourists take a trip to these micronations as part of their travel itinerary, but it is still an unknown phenomenon among the Indian outbound tourists who mostly prefer the tried and tested routes. Micronations which exist still now mostly have flexibility on entry and exit as long as you don’t mess with them and hence a little bit of authentic research would suffice the purpose. Without getting into the web of international geopolitical and diplomatic complexities, let us find out from a tourist’s perspective which are the most exciting micronations worth-travelling to.

Republic of Molossia

Founded by Kevin Baugh in 1999, Molossia is comprised of two pieces of land in Dayton, Nevada (United States) which take up about 6.3 acres. But its small size doesn’t stop it from having its own postal service, space programme, and currency, the value of which is tied to the price of a Pillsbury cookie. The nearest sizable city is Reno, 43 km away. You are required to make a reservation via email in advance with the number of people in the group. The President sets specific dates for entry into the micronation; slots are available approximately once per month during tourist season (April – October). Those wishing to visit can only stay a maximum of three hours and one hour is plenty of time to see the sites. At the front gate, there is a mini embassy called the 1 Custom House in the micronation’s Red Square. Passports can be stamped, but this is not mandatory for entry. Interestingly, missionaries and salesmen are not allowed to enter and there is a list of things like firearms and explosives that visitors can’t carry.

Liberland

Due to the Danube’s changing course, some large areas of land, administered by Serbia, are claimed by both Croatia and Serbia, whereas smaller areas administered by Croatia are claimed by neither country, making them no one’s land. A Czech libertarian politician VítJedlička seized the opportunity to claim one chunk of unclaimed land (GornjaSiga, roughly 3 sqm) and founded Liberland in 2015. Its government, based around crypto-currency and bitcoin economy, has already received hundreds of thousands of applications for citizenship. Tourists, especially the backpackers, visiting both Croatia and Serbia make a trip to the area mostly out of curiosity to know how it looks like. However, an impromptu attempt to cross the so-called border or visit the place is strictly discouraged; the Liberland Settlement Association (LSA) will help the interested visitors cross the border. There is not much to see yet as the majority of the land is covered by forest. There are reports of some abandoned chalets and small houses. Many young travellers who arrive by LSA assistance do some maintenance and building volunteering and their basic needs are taken care of by the LSA.

Freetown Christiania

Founded in 1971 on an abandoned military barracks in Copenhagen, Denmark, Christiania is a self-governing free town, a city within the city, as an alternative to mainstream culture. Cannabis is sold openly on the stalls, and smoked openly throughout the area, despite it being illegal in Denmark. Nonetheless, it’s considered safe and popular as a tourist site. The area runs much like a commune, priding itself on its collectivist and self-sustaining ethos featuring many brightly coloured walls and buildings but no cars, which are outlawed within its limits. There are hundreds of buildings on Christiania, in all sorts of imaginative shapes, sizes and colours, ranging from old army buildings dating back to the by-gone barrack days, to elaborate self-build homes. There is graffiti art everywhere, too. All the buildings have their own stories. There is almost always something going on, in one of the many clubs and venues dotted around the central part near Pusher Street, or the open-air scene on Café Nemoland.

Westarctica

The Protectorate of Westarctica, founded in 2001 by Travis McHenry claims the territory known as Marie Byrd Land, located between New Zealand and Chile ranging an area of 620,000 square miles of Antarctica land, and though it claims over 2,000 citizens, none of them resides within the claimed territory. Westarctica is the only nonprofit organisation in the world dedicated entirely to Western Antarctica’s fragile ecosystem. In 2018, the government of Westarctica established an honorary consul in Nerja, Spain. The breathtaking icy beauty of Antarctica and increasing interest of tourists in seeing the same has brought the spotlight on Westarctica as well. Westarctica’s claimed territory is the entire western portion of Antarctica. The countries that have claimed Antarctic territory have sliced the continent into pie shapes with the South Pole at the centre. Westarctica’s slice of the pie is one of the biggest – mostly barren ice fields, but also with several rocky mountain ranges, two dormant volcanoes, and miles upon miles of coastline populated with penguins. It is interesting that the claimant of the land Travis himself is yet to set his foot on the land, as it is indeed a very expensive trip! But there are tourist groups as well as expedition groups who are doing rounds of the beautiful place.

Principality of Sealand

About 10 km off the coast of Suffolk, England sits a small abandoned World War II sea-fort, rising out of the metal legs, very similar to that one of Rose Island. Since 1967, one family, the Bates, has resided there, claiming it as their own sovereign nation with its own flag, currency, and passports. After an electrical fire damaged the facility in 2006, Prince Michael Bates attempted to sell the platform for USD906 million, sources say. Finding no buyer, Sealand’s government and the Bates family decided to renovate the base and keep it for themselves, making sure the Principality lives on. It currently has a population of four and holds the Guinness World Record for the smallest area to lay claim to nation status. Michael Bates stated that Sealand was also receiving hundreds of applications for passports every day. This is one of the most tough-guarded micronations as tourist visits are not normally permitted, and you will most likely need to pre-arrange a boat to take you there. Those willing to relive the experience of destroyed Rose Island may set out for a short boat trip to Sealand depending on the approval of entry.

Most micronations do not offer great optics. But what each one offers is a dramatic story of a free soul, which our society-at-large fails to decode. And those stories make great travel memories.

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