Reids Flat, Australia

Empire of Atlantium

The smallest country in Australia is a principled little thing with a friendly emperor.

The Empire of Atlantium is the world’s “foremost aspirant extraterritorial, transnational, intercultural, panarchist state.” If that sounds like a load of heady political posturing, that’s because it’s meant to… at least in part.

Founded in 1981, the Empire of Atlantium is a progressive global sovereignty advocacy group and micronation that has its headquarters the Province of Aurora 300 kilometres southwest of Sydney. At roughly twice the size of the Vatican and half the size of Monaco, Emperor George II (formerly Cruickshank) founded the 0.29 square miles extra-territorial enclave as a just-serious-enough experiment in nationhood that was as much a reaction to those libertarians who were building their own micro-nations in spirits—both political and humorous—he found dubious.

Atlantium has its own Government House (the Domus Aurea), post office, and assorted commemorative monuments—including a 13-foot-tall pyramid, which is one of only two in all of Australia. Souvenirs available for purchase include stamps, coins, banknotes, postcards, and flags.

The terrain is largely undeveloped bushland, making it an ideal place to experience a plethora of Australian native fauna, including kangaroos, wallabies, goanas, wedge-tailed eagles, echidnas, and assorted birdlife.

Tours of Atlantium are conducted in-person by the Emperor himself, who comes off as an affable guy rather than a tyrannical zealot. Otherwise how else would visitors take him up on his offer of staying at the Government House, which is officially listed as a property available for rent on AirBnb?

An annual gathering of Atlantian supporters, citizens and government representatives from around the world is held in October. Like all the finest micronations, Atlantium remains unrecognized by the United Nations, the larger nation in which it is situated, or really any global government, but that hasn’t stopped it from massing more than 2,000 “citizens” from all over the world who have come to appreciate the jovial, well thought-out approach its founders took in building their utopia.