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Kugelmugel is a former
micronationMicronations, sometimes also referred to as model countries and new country projects, are entities that claim to be independent nations or states but which are not recognized by world governments or major international organizations...
located in
ViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
,
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
Located in
ViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
PraterThe Wiener Prater is a large public park in Vienna's 2nd district . The amusement park, often simply called "Prater", stands in one corner of the Wiener Prater and includes the .-Name:...
, the
Republic of Kugelmugel declared independence in 1984, after disputes between
artistAn artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
Edwin Lipburger and Austrian authorities over building permits for the ball-shaped house he built at the address. The house is enclosed by a barbed-wire fence and is the only address within the proclaimed Republic. Its address is "2, Antifaschismusplatz" (
2, Anti-Fascism Square, 2 refers to the 2nd district Leopoldstadt), and the founder is one of the 389 citizens. Lipburger refused to pay taxes to the Austrian government and began to print his own
stampsA postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
, for which he received a prison sentence in court. Only a pardon by the Austrian
PresidentThe President of Austria is the federal head of state of Austria. Though theoretically entrusted with great power by the constitution, in practice the President acts, for the most part, merely as a ceremonial figurehead...
saved him from going to jail.
Austrian state officials later relocated the structure and surrounded it with barbed wire fencing.
Kugelmugel has since become a tourist attraction in Vienna due to its unique history and architecture. The word "Kugel" means "sphere" in
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
; the word "Mugel" is an
Austrian GermanAustrian German , or Austrian Standard German, is the national standard variety of the German language spoken in Austria and in the autonomous Province of South Tyrol...
expression for "bump" or "mogul".
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