Gapla: Difference between revisions
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Despite Gapla's plans to be carless, Gapla produces ceremonial license plates as souvenirs and for use on emergency vehicles. | Despite Gapla's plans to be carless, Gapla produces ceremonial license plates as souvenirs and for use on emergency vehicles. | ||
' | While Gapla was founded and restored in California, following the Danubian reformations, and nonprofit initiatives in the region such as the [[Gaplan Representation Organization]], it has increasingly incorporated Southeastern European culture as the proportion of citizens living near Gapla's territory have increased. | ||
=== National holidays === | === National holidays === | ||
Revision as of 19:39, 23 April 2026
Federated States of Gapla | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
| Motto: "Erit Ergo Justitia" (Latin) "Justice will be Served" | |
| Anthem: "Hail Gaplastovia" | |
State seal | |
| Capital | New Gaplastovia |
| Official languages | English |
| Recognized languages | |
| Ethnic groups (citizens) |
|
| Demonym(s) | Gaplan |
| Government | Federative Representative Constitutional Monarchy |
• Monarch | Wyatt of the Danubias |
| Hendrik Täks | |
| Amalia Battle | |
| Legislature | Provisional Government |
| Establishment | |
• Establishment of Gapla-Phoenix | 24 August 2015 |
• Restoration | 28 February 2019 |
• Federation | 6 March 2019 |
• First constitution | 23 March 2019 |
• Current name | 2 May 2019 |
| 10 September 2019 | |
| 16 June 2023 | |
| 20 October 2023 | |
| 31 January 2024 | |
| Area | |
• Total | 0.83 km2 (0.32 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 2024 estimate | 70 (citizens) 450+ (e-Residents) |
• Census | 2026 |
| Currency | Gapla Dollar (GPD) |
| Time zone | Time in Gapla |
| Date format | yyyy.mm.dd |
| Drives on | Right |
| Internet TLD | .fg (planned) |
Website my | |
Gapla, officially the Federated States of Gapla (FSG) and co-officially the Gaplan Federation, is a country located in Southeast Europe, along the Danube. It borders Croatia to the west and shares a river border with Serbia to the east. A federation of two constituent states and two territories, its territory of Greater Danubia consists of former terra nullius. The country has more than 450 e-Residents, 70 of whom are citizens, and covers approximately 205 acres.
The Croatia–Serbia border dispute involving conflicting territorial claims along the Danube emerged following the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. Croatia claims that the border should follow cadastral records from Yugoslavia, which defined internal administrative boundaries between its constituent republics. In contrast, Serbia claims that the border should follow the Danube's thalweg, a principle traditionally applied to international borders. The dispute intensified after Croatia's declaration of independence in 1991, with both countries inheriting conflicting interpretations of their international border. As a result of this dispute, four pockets of territory on the west bank of the Danube river were left unclaimed by both Croatia and Serbia, resulting in terra nullius. Gapla claims the pocket west of Apatin as its constituent state of Cristus and Pocket 2 as its constituent state of Gaplastovia, and is the only legitimate claimant to these territories, following the de facto dissolution of Ongal and the Gapla's subsequent claim.
Gapla's government is comprised of a judicial branch, a federal branch (comprising of a legislature and an executive), and a royal branch (a ceremonial monarchy). Within the executive, nine members are elected: mayors are elected for each municipality, governors are elected for each state, and a president and deputy president are elected for the entire country. The remaining eleven members of the National Assembly are elected using party-list proportional representation in annual elections. In an effort initiated in 2023, the country renounced its status as a traditional micronation and changed its primary goal to become a settled country. In early 2024, the Gaplan government became inoperative as the Provisional Government took control of the country to expedite the effort.
Etymology
The etymology of the name "Gapla" is largely unknown. The name—credited to Wyatt Baek—was first used for the Republic of Gapla, a predecessor state of modern Gapla and a constituent republic of Gapla-Phoenix. However, Baek claims that the name predated Gapla-Phoenix, but also claims that he does not remember the name's etymology. Some Gaplan historians claim that Baek deliberately chooses not to reveal the name's etymology, a claim he has denied.
A common hypothesis is that the name "Gapla" originated from a portmanteau of "Gap" and "LA" (i.e., the "gap" in the United States near the city of Los Angeles), as pre-Danubian Gapla claimed territory near Los Angeles. However, this hypothesis has been widely discredited by Gaplan historians as unlikely.
Upon restoration in 2019, the country's official name was originally "Principality of Gapla," the official name was changed to the current name a few months later.
History
Government and politics
Gapla has a competitive multi-party system within a provisional government. Governance is localized in municipalities.
Constitutionally, Gapla is a federative semi-presidential ceremonial constitutional monarchy. In theory, a directly elected president leads the executive and appoints a cabinet, the unicameral National Assembly (led by the prime minister) is the legislature, and the Supreme Court (led by the chief justice) is the judiciary, although the National Assembly may establish lower courts. The sovereign prince (Prince of the Danubias) is the monarch, and issues a variety of orders, awards, and honorary titles, including the Order of the Majestic Danube. Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the president and serve life tenure.
The executive has ten ministries, led by ministers appointed by the president. Some ministries are subdivided into offices, led by officers appointed by ministers, and some offices are in turn divided into suboffices, led by subofficers appointed by officers. In addition, independent bureaus within the executive (and sometimes the monarchy) may be created by the president.
While the monarchy is ceremonial and serves as a cultural and fundraising organization, most Gaplans—including the sovereign prince—support its abolition. However, abolition has failed in the Provisional Government due to concerns regarding compensation for titleholders. Prior to the Danubian reformations, contributing territory to Gapla granted membership in the monarchy. While the primary method of becoming a member of the monarchy has been purchasing the title, the Provisional Government voted to cease title sales by the government in 2026, although members of the monarchy may still sell their titles to others. Others have been granted titles for their contributions to Gapla. Members of the monarchy frequently participate in government, including as president and deputy president.
However, following the Danubian reformations in 2023, Gapla has been under an unelected provisional government officially known as the Council of Ministers. New members are selected through a competitive admissions process including an online application form, interview, and standardized testing. Current members, known as Provisional Governors, vote on the admission of applicants.
Leaders and elections
The president and deputy president (formerly vice president) serve as the head of government and deputy head of government respectively, and are elected annually for a term of one year, although they may resign in favor of another Gaplan citizen. In theory, they are elected directly, however, they are currently elected by members of the Provisional Government.
Elections use ranked-choice voting, specifically single transferable vote. The most recent election was the 2026 Gaplan presidential election. The current president is Hendrik Täks, and the current deputy president is Amalia Battle.
Administrative divisions
Gapla is a federation of two constituent states (Gaplastovia and Cristus), which exercise some self-governance, and two territories (Brighton Beach and the Fluvial Territory), which are governed from the federal capital of New Gaplastovia.
The two constituent states are subdivided into five municipalities. Gaplastovia is subdivided into New Gaplastovia and Elemental, and Cristus is subdivided into Cristovija, Folia Tail, and Emeralkia. Each state is governed by a directly elected governor, each territory is governed by an administrator appointed by the President of Gapla, and each municipality is governed by a directly elected mayor.
In addition, each municipality has a ceremonial prince or princess, while each territory has a ceremonial duke or duchess.
List of administrative divisions
The following is a list of administrative divisions of Gapla.
| Name | Flag | Area | Leader | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| States (2) | ||||
| Gaplastovia | 
|
0.37 km2 (91.4 ac) | Wyatt Baek | |
| Cristus | 
|
0.39 km2 (96.7 ac) | Connor Klinkosch | |
| Territories (2) | ||||
| Brighton Beach | File:BBFlag.png | Unknown | Brighton Liang | |
| Fluvian Territory | File:FluvianFlag.png | 0.07 km2 (17.2 ac) | Hendrik Täks | |
Geography
Gapla's territory, known as Greater Danubia, consists of two mostly forested pieces of territory along the Danube commonly known as "Pocket 2" and the pocket west of Apatin. The state of Cristus encompasses the entirely forested pocket west of Apatin, "Pocket 2" is shared between the state of Gaplastovia (the forested part) and the territory of Brighton Beach (the sandy part). Gapla also claims the Fluvian Territory, an unclaimed piece of internal waters along the Danube, under terra nullius.
While Gapla claims the area from its land to the Danube's thalweg as well as the Fluvian Territory as part of its internal waters, it allows free navigation along the Danube due to its unilateral accession to the Danube River Conference of 1948.
Gapla's territory, including its internal waters, covers 0.83 km2 (205.3 ac), making it the fifth-smallest country in the world after Sealand, Duckionary, Vatican City, and Verdis. Gapla is approximately two-fifths the size of Monaco.
Economy
Gapla has a free market, capitalist economy with minimal government regulation and protectionism, and emphasizes free trade. Gapla's official currency and sole legal tender is the Gapla Dollar (symbol: G$), a fully digital currency. While the Gapla Dollar holds legal tender status, Gaplans are permitted to use other currencies in place of the Gapla Dollar. However, many Gaplan-owned businesses have adopted the Gapla Dollar, and its uses include bakery items, 3D prints, arts and crafts, and websites.
Bank of Gapla
The Bank of Gapla is Gapla's central bank and its only government-owned bank. While private banks operate in Gapla, most Gaplans deposit their funds directly to the Bank of Gapla due to Gapla's small size. The Gapla dollar is frequently exchanged for U.S. Dollars through in-person transactions and on the Bank of Gapla's online banking website at a rate of 20 Gapla Dollars per U.S. Dollar. The Bank of Gapla's online banking website also allows users to send and receive money and view their balance.
The Bank of Gapla also issues the GaplaCoin (GPC), an SPL-based Solana cryptocurrency that is pegged at a 1:1 ratio to the Gapla Dollar, although its use is limited. The cryptocurrency was formerly an ERC-20 token on an Ethereum testnet.
The Bank of Gapla also offers an API, which allows users to create online stores and automate payments.
Revenue
Gapla's revenue sources include the National Shop, citizenship contributions, and Gaplan book sales, although most of these books have been pulled out of print as they became increasingly outdated. Secondary sources of revenue include digitally-generated, printable stamps from the postal service and limited tourism to Greater Danubia, including tourist visas.
While noble title sales were historically one of Gapla's major revenue sources, the Provisional Government voted to cease noble title sales by the government in 2026, although holders of noble titles may still sell their titles to others.
Demographics
Describe demographics (census results & e-Residency distinction)...
Culture
Gapla's culture is characterized by a strong on innovation, evidence-based education, and merit, with progressive city planning components including carless cities and environmental protection as well as traditional European village architecture.
Despite Gapla's plans to be carless, Gapla produces ceremonial license plates as souvenirs and for use on emergency vehicles.
While Gapla was founded and restored in California, following the Danubian reformations, and nonprofit initiatives in the region such as the Gaplan Representation Organization, it has increasingly incorporated Southeastern European culture as the proportion of citizens living near Gapla's territory have increased.
National holidays
Gapla observes seven national holidays.
Restoration Day (formerly Independence Day) is celebrated on 28 February to commemorate the restoration of Gapla. Founder's Day (formerly Freedom Day) is celebrated on 13 January to commemorate Wyatt Baek's birthday. Union Day on 6 March is celebrated to commemorate the union of the three original states. Federation Day on 2 May is celebrated to commemorate the adoption of the current official name. National Day is celebrated on 24 August to commemorate the establishment of Gapla-Phoenix. Revolution Day is celebrated on 10 September to commemorate the Gaplan Revolution.
Danubian Day is celebrated on 18 June to commemorate the Danubian reformations, despite the reformations starting two days earlier on 16 June. This is because the holiday was adapted from the pre-Danubian Princess Day, commemorating the joint birthday of then-princesses Chelsea Chen of Elemental and Emma Bunnell of Emeralkia.