Wirtland (micronation)

Wirtland (also known as Hayalistan in Turkish and Виртландия in Bulgarian and Russian) is an internet-based micronation founded in 2008.

History and government

Wirtland was founded on August 14, 2008 as a public initiative and is principally represented through its official website. Wirtland purports to be an experiment into legitimacy and self-sustainability of a country without its own soil, which transcends national borders without breaching or lessening the sovereignty of any involved. Wirtland is currently governed by a chancellor, and aims to become a parliamentary democracy.

In January 2010 Wirtland proposed to acquire land by consent from Nauru. If successful, it would be the first case of a peaceful formation of a new country 'from scratch', making Wirtland eligible for international diplomatic recognition according to Article 1 of Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States.

Population

The population of Wirtland consists of citizens, known as Witizens, and tourists. Citizenship is open to anyone, as prospective citizens need only write a letter of interest to the government to become a citizen and receive a "residence permit" or personal ID card. Wirtland offers equal democratic rights and does not discriminate on the basis of national origin, age, religion, race, or [...]. The citizenship application form is available in English, Spanish, Bulgarian, Russian, Portuguese, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese, Turkish, Korean, and Thai languages.

Media reaction

Fox News and Bulgarian national bTV were the first TV channels to report on Wirtland. bTV organized an online interview with three witizens of Bulgarian origin on February 11, 2009 whilst Fox 45 Morning News of Baltimore, Maryland featured an interview about Wirtland with reporter Larry Fiorino on January 20, 2009. Wirtland has also been covered by CNN Türk, Voice of Russia, Daily Record, PC World, Computerworld, Milliyet, Sabah, Dneven Trud.

Wirtland's coins and cinderella stamps

In 2009 Wirtland released its first gold coin, known as the "Wirtland Crane" (10 International Currency Units, ICU) and its first silver coin "Silver Crane" (2 ICU). Wirtland will issue uniquely hand-painted cinderella stamps.

National identity card

Wirtland issues personal plastic ID cards. Every citizen is eligible for receiving the personal ID card. New applications for ID card are accepted from everyone over 18 y.o., who wants to become a citizen of Wirtland.

Further reading

bg:Виртландия es:Wirtland eo:Virtlando ru:Виртландия