The World's Weirdest Micronations (PHOTOS)

Micronations are a lot of things, but actual nations they are not.

Essentially a state that is formally declared yet not internationally recognized, Wikipedia notes that, "Micronations differ from secession and self-determination movements in that they are largely viewed as being eccentric and ephemeral in nature, and are often created and maintained by a single person or family group." Wikipedia maintains a list of them here.

Writing in Smithsonian magazine last year, Robin Reid explains that:

The difference between the two is recognition; according to The Lonely Planet Guide to Home-Made Nations, "...a nation is only recognized as a nation if other nations that have been recognized by other nations recognize it." And micronations are never seen as such by anyone other than their founders and residents (who usually are the founders).

As such, micronations tend to be diverse, obscure, and often quite eccentric. From the pirate radio origins of Sealand to the genuinely feudal history of Lundy, both the form and origins of these places are amusingly bizarre.

Here are 13 of our favorites.

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Sealand

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Paddy Roy Bates, aka HRH Prince Roy, commandeered this World War II base off England's coast, originally created to combat mine dropping German planes, in 1967. Prince Roy first used the isolated island to broadcast pirate radio to the UK illegally - nowadays semi-legal internet moguls have been seeking use of the micronation, including Swedish file sharing organization the Pirate Bay.

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Paddy Roy Bates, aka HRH Prince Roy, commandeered this World War II base off England's coast, originally created to combat mine dropping German planes, in 1967.
Prince Roy first used the isolated island to broadcast pirate radio to the UK illegally - nowadays semi-legal internet moguls have been seeking use of the micronation, including Swedish file sharing organization the Pirate Bay.

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The Most Bizarre Micronation

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Top 5 Weird Micronations

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Comments

[nexxtep54]

07:40 PM on 05/06/2010

Soooo, how long is this article going to sit here taking up Brittney's media spot?

[Cookie Monsta]

12:35 PM on 05/05/2010

I would like to mention the micro-nation I live in, Riverwest, Wisconsin. While not a true micro-nation in that we are still part of Wisconsin, we have seceded from the City of Milwaukee and have our own currency. As an anarcho-syndicalist commune each individual still contracts with the City of Milwaukee for city services. ;-D

[SickHippie]

12:55 AM on 05/13/2010

Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony!

[paulmala]

05:53 AM on 04/23/2010

I've been to the Principality Of Hutt River, and i was going to purchase a passport :P
But they were so damned expensive! still got some photos and whatnot, was a fun trip :)

[Pilatunes]

11:17 AM on 04/19/2010

I often wondered...if as a result of some earthquake, volcanic activity, or what have you a new piece of land emerged from the ocean outside another nations territorial waters, if you happened to be close by and got there first, could you 'claim' it, and establish your own nation?

I keep hoping...I will establish my own 200 mile limit and ban fishing altogether.

[Oleg1]

12:51 PM on 04/14/2010

I've never heard of KugelMugel!
A good friend of mine lives in the 2nd Bezirk.
I wanna get some pics!
May I can post some later on.

[Patrick Shaw]

11:46 AM on 04/13/2010

Actually there is another micro-nation that was / is also a scam (all really are) found by a shyster named Prince Lazarus Long or Howard Turney ;

http://groups.google.com/group/cytogenix-inc/web/cryogenic-solutions-the-beginning-part-one?hl=en

It is part and parcel of several penny stock swindles associated with Howard Turney.

His first being the answer to the abortion dispute....freeze aborted fetuses and later reanimate them.

Then the fraud migrated to alleged DNA sciences.

Micro-nations are all frauds. Be careful.

[Talossa]

04:02 PM on 04/14/2010

There are many frauds out there in the world of micronations -- my own nation, the Kingdom of Talossa, was created in 1979 (it's still here!) but has suffered several break-offs by people who wanted to use it to make money. Even though we still own the trademark to the name, there isn't much we can do about it. But we are one of the micros that charges no dues or admission fees. There is a political party registration charge ($10 per party per election) to cover the cost of mailing out ballots and maintaining our non-profit registration each year.

www.talossa1979.com

[iMissMollyIvins]

02:05 PM on 04/12/2010

Recycled. It's not news and it's not new so why use up the bits and bytes?

[Oleg1]

12:42 PM on 04/14/2010

And yet you're here posting and creating revenue stream for this website. So who wins?

[SickHippie]

12:58 AM on 05/13/2010

The oil companies! Oh wait, wrong thread...

[Mannerjaa]

05:58 AM on 04/12/2010

In Hong Kong, there was a place called Kowloon Walled City and it was probably the most densely populated area in the history of earth. Because the authority of that area belonged to China and not the British who ruled the rest of Hong Kong, the Walled City was left almost ungoverned.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Walled_City

[Palaver]

10:42 PM on 04/08/2010

Most of these pics are bad. I actually wanted to see these places--not the people associated with them--or old maps.

[Talossa]

01:07 AM on 04/08/2010

Sad that the original Kingdom of Talossa, which I founded in 1979, didn't make the list. :-(

www.talossa1979.com

[JumpySnark]

02:05 PM on 04/13/2010

Fantastic! Your story is much more compelling than the dreck the HuffPo editors put up. Long live King Louis the First!

[Talossa]

08:29 AM on 04/14/2010

Feel free to join -- it's free, and we have an election coming up this month! :-)

[jfair80]

03:51 PM on 04/05/2010

The Republic of Melchizedek, I think Abraham would approve and donate towards the cause.

[OldeTymeLiberalDude]

12:49 PM on 04/05/2010

I pledge allegiance to Peteoria....a sovereign nation landlocked in the town of Quahog, Rhode Island....all hail King Peter!

[Yank in France]

01:09 AM on 04/05/2010

I must say I am a little disappointed in the HP's sense of investigative journalism. How about a little more commentary on the chateau with women bossing around obedient male slaves.

Well, I am not too sure how obedient they really are, and I wonder if my former French wife was not one of the chateau's mistresses!? -:)

[BradleeA]

03:20 PM on 04/05/2010

Anytime you lump "journalism" with Huffington Post, you will be disappointed.

[Yank in France]

03:55 PM on 04/05/2010

My comment was meant to be humorous, Bradlee.

[wellingtonian]

07:33 PM on 04/04/2010

Wasn't there some dude in California who claimed he was the King of America, and printed his own money that he was actually able to use in San Fransisco? I've been trying to think of who it was for ages and it's bugging me now

[trutheau]

05:42 AM on 04/05/2010

I remember hearing about this. He called himself a General or Colonel. And he dressed up in military wear. Hhe was obviously a bit nutty, so people were pretty gentle to him, letting him use his own money.
It was San Francisco, but he's from the early days of San Francisco.

[carmenjonze]

08:59 AM on 04/05/2010

Emperor Norton.

[SusanElizabeth1949]

09:02 AM on 04/08/2010

Emperor Norton is who you are thinking of

[Scent]

05:14 AM on 04/04/2010

IT a sign of the times that the only functioning micronations are the ones offering shelter and serveices to criminals.