Czech ex-pat Vit Jedlicka established the Free Republic of Liberland on disputed land between Serbia and Croatia.
Proudly flying the flag.(Via Geek)
It's not every day that a new nation is born, and even less common that it doesn't come about through bloody warfare. This one came about by accident, but its new citizens aren't looking back.
Vit Jedlicka was a member of the Party of Free Citizens in his native Czech Republic. He started talking about founding a new country as a political stunt. He was never serious about it, until the people around him started to be. After a while, he had little choice but to actually go ahead and do it. That's how the Free Republic of Liberland was born.
Home sweet home.(Via Geek)
Jedlicka chose a tiny 7km2 plot of land on the west bank of the Danube River to become Liberland. The area is technically a no man's land because it is disputed territory between Serbia and Croatia. The country has a flag, as seen above, as well as a coat of arms and a motto: "To live and let live." So I guess they won't be declaring war anytime soon. Although, if they wanted to, they would have the manpower.
Jedlicka's team of volunteers originally put out a call for 5,000 immigrants to help establish Liberland, but they underestimated how dissatisfied Europeans are with their governments right now. Responding to Jedlicka's claim that no Liberlander would ever be oppressed by the government, more than 160,000 people have applied for citizenship. Volunteers are now combing through the applications to find the candidates who will bring the most to the fledgling nation.
Liberland will need the best of the best to get on its feet, because it's already facing real challenges. It turns out the so-called no man's land it was established on was already claimed by another micronation project: Paraduin. The Paraduinese removed Liberland's flag, and the countries may end up in a real war over this rugged patch of woods. We can only hope they settle it peacefully with a tug-of-war or similar summer camp contest instead of actual fighting. It's bad business for a new country when all of its citizens die immediately.