Capital Zaqopolis | Establishment 19 November 2005 | |
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Time zone Zaqistan Standard Time (ZST) | ||
Welcome to zaqistan
Zaqistan, officially the Republic of Zaqistan, is an art project founded in 2005 in Box Elder County, Utah by Zachary ("Zaq") Landsberg. Some have referred to it as a micronation and, like all other micronations (not to be confused with microstates), it is not officially recognized by any other sovereign state.
Contents
Discover zaqistan
Background
Landsberg, a sculptor who lives in Brooklyn, claims he bought the two-acre property in 2005 for $610 on eBay and visits the site once or twice per year. State and local officials have stated that he pays property taxes on the land, which has no buildings on it. Landsberg, who refers to the property as an art project, has installed sculptures, a "border patrol gate", and sells "passports" on his website.
Location
The self-proclaimed Republic of Zaqistan is located in the Newfoundland Evaporation Basin of the The Great Salt Lake in the Great Basin Region of North America. It is extremely remote, being 50 miles (80 km) from any gas station, 15–20 miles (24–32 km) on dirt roads from the highway and then 2 miles (3.2 km) hiking though the desert after that. The nearest town is Montello, Nevada, about 60 miles away.
Zaqistan is 100 miles (160 km) to the northwest of Salt Lake City, approximately 25 miles (40 km) south-south-west of Park Valley, Utah. The ghost town Terrace is 6.2 miles (10 km) away.
Publicity
Marking its five-year anniversary, a video documentary art project was created by the Zaqistan Arts Council, formed by Sofia Gallisá, Zaq Landsberg, Scott Riehs, and Jeff Sisson. In September, 2015, during the preparations for the nation's decennial, Utah's KSL News broadcast the story and interviewed Landsberg. In October 2015, Associated Press picked up the story which resulted in it also being run in various publications.
