10 enclaves of Europe

Many people use the word wrongly enclave as a synonym for place or place. In reality, this term refers to the territory (district, municipality, province, autonomous community, country ...) that belongs to a territorial jurisdiction completely surrounded by the territory of another or other jurisdictions. One of the best known cases is that of West Berlin, which, until 1990, was located within Democratic Germany but belonged to West Germany.

Separate mention deserves some sovereign countries that are completely surrounded by another. In Europe we can find San Marino, which is located in Italy, and the Vatican City, which is surrounded by the city of Rome, Italy. Beyond these places, on the old continent it is possible to find many other enclaves. We will tell you about some of the best known below!

Llivia

First of all, we want to talk about Llivia, a town belonging to the province of Girona despite being entirely surrounded by the French territory of the department of Pyrenees-Orientales as a result of the Treaty of the Pyrenees of 1659, when Spain yielded to rancid 33 towns.

Ceuta and melilla

We must also talk about Ceuta and Melilla, two autonomous cities in Spain that are located in North Africa. In this sense, it is important to note that in Morocco They want both cities to be part of the Alawite kingdom.

Gibraltar

This list could not be missing Gibraltar, a British territory located on a small peninsula at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, bordering Spain. As you well know, our country claims its sovereignty and, in fact, this enclave has been the subject of dispute in Spanish-British relations since the early eighteenth century.

Campione d'Italia

One of the best-known enclaves in Europe is Campione d'Italia, an Italian municipality in the province of Como (Lombardy region), which is on the territory of the Swiss Confederation. Of course, in this case the integration of the inhabitants with Switzerland is quite wide and in fact they use the Swiss franc.

Kaliningrad

Between Polinia and Lithuania is Kaliningrad, a territory inhabited by a million people that belongs to Russia. It is important to note that this is an important base Naval for the Russians, as it is the only one of its ports on the Baltic Sea whose waters do not freeze during the winter.

Najichevan

Another curious enclave is the Autonomous Republic of Nakhichevan, a territory belonging to Azerbaijan that is separated from the rest of the country by Armenia and Iran. Furthermore, it does border with Turkey.

Jungholz

We also want to talk about Jungholz, a city in the Austrian state of Tyrol, which can only be accessed through Germany. In fact, it is only connected to Austria by one point: the summit of the mountain Sorgschrofen. Thus, the lack of connection led this territory to be included in the customs area of ​​Germany until Austria entered the European Union.

Büsingen am Hochrhein

Another enclave that we want to highlight is Büsingen am Hochrhein, a small German town that is completely surrounded by the territory of the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen. This territory uses the services of both countries for their needs by phone, mail and public transport. Its official currency is the euro, but the truth is that its inhabitants usually use the Swiss franc.

Baarle-Hertog

We also found an enclave in the Netherlands. It is Baarle-Hertog, a municipality belonging to the Belgian province of Antwerp that has complicated borders with Baarle-Nassau. In fact, some houses are divided between the two countries.

Erenköy

Finally, we want to talk about Erenköy, a village formerly known as Kokkina that is located in Cypriot territory. After different conflicts, the village has been maintained as a Turkish-Cypriot military camp since 1976.

The World's Strangest Borders Part 3: Enclaves and Exclaves (April 2024)