Since my childhood I have been interested in
international politics and geography. For many years I have also studied enclave
and exclave topics. They are usually small land areas outside their home
countries, totally surrounded by the neighbouring country. (As enclaves are not
counted territories of embassies, foreign military forces etc.)
In Europe there are several enclaves. At earlier times they were many, but most
disappeared after amicable settlements between the countries involved. Lithuania
had e.g. from the beginning of the 1990s until 1996 one exclave, Pagiriai, inside
Byelorussia. It disappeared during the demarcation between the two countries and
was the shortest ever known existing enclave. To live inside an
enclave is usually combined with several practical inconveniences, e.g. one
often need double set of telephone lines and currencies and has everyday to
maintain contact with the authorities both countries. At the same
time most inhabitants proudly express their area's peculiarity and history.
In these pages you may find a list of all TYPE
A and B enclaves (see below under "Categories"), which are both enclaves and exclaves that I know of, arranged alphabetically
according to the part of world and country to which they are politically
attached.
Under «Other» I have listed a small
number of today's areas of other types.
Together with Mr. Peter Smaardijk I have created this table of enclaves,
exclaves and the like categories. Each category is named by a letter and name of
an example (e.g. «Category A» or «Jungholz category area». Acknowledgement for map: Mr. Peter Smaardijk.
Gambia
As «F» but having access to the sea, and therefore not an enclaved
state (see definitions below).
B
Jungholz
An area connected with its motherland with only one
single geographical point.
H
Schmalkalden/Suhl
Just after WW1 (the only example known), and not really a 100% enclave,
due to different levels. Within Thuringia this Prussian exclave existed
divided between the two Prussian provinces of Saxony and Hesse-Nassau. The two
entities together only are making an enclave of Thuringia and an exclave of Prussia,
and the two separately are exclaves of the respective provinces.
C
Nakhichevan
An exclave but not an enclave as the exclave is not enclaved within any single
country's territory(see definitions below).
I
Lichtenbusch
Also named «Practical enclaves» or «Enclavic situations».
Important here is that one don’t have to violate foreign territory to
get from the area to its motherland, but it might take some
fence climbing or difficult hikes (see definitions below).
D
Occusi-Ambeno
As «A» but having access to the sea, and therefore not an enclave or
exclave, but is a fragment of a country (see definitions
below).
J
Neutral
Territory
A territory which belongs to a
government but which de facto is shared between two (or more)
countries.
E
Kaliningrad
As «C» but having access to the sea, and therefore not an enclave or
exclave, but is a fragment of a country (see definitions below).
K
Condominium
A joint or concurrent dominion of a territory
by two or more states.
F
Lesotho
Enclaved state.
A land-locked independent country,
completely
surrounded by one other state. «Being independent countries, such enclaved states cannot be
exclaves.» (Rolf Palmberg)
Definitions
Base Area: Sovereign military territory
belonging to a country which only creates jurisdictional, not territorial
enclaves (see below).
Fragment: An incomplete or isolated
portion of land belonging to a country situated with a territorial boundary to a
neighbouring politically alien territory. As a fragment can not be counted an
exclave or a territory under the jurisdiction of a state of which it does not
form an integral part (a colony, dependency (e.g. British
Overseas Territories), crown land, biland, base
area or embassy
territory). The government of the state decides
if the territory is an integral part of the state or not. Sea; i.e. International Waters: A country's custom zone,
fishery zone, economical zone and other zones which are not a part of its
territorial waters. No Man's Land: A territory which does not belong to any government.
