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What are Enclaves/Exclaves?

Translated from Brockhaus Bilder-Conversations-Lexikon für das deutsche Volk, 1841:   

„Enclaves are small territories of a state which are completely separated from the main area and situated within the borders of another state.“

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:   

In political geography, an enclave is a piece of land which is totally surrounded by a foreign territory. If another country has sovereignty over it, it is also called an exclave of that other country.

Exclaves may also exist on a subnational level when a subdivision exists outside of its parent division (see the section "subnational enclaves" below).

The word enclave crept into the jargon of diplomacy rather late in English, in 1868, coming from French, the lingua franca of diplomacy, with a sense inherited from late Latin inclavatus meaning 'shut in, locked up" (with a key, late Latin clavis). The word exclave is a logical extension created three decades later.

 Enclaves may be created for a variety of historical, political or geographical reasons. Some areas have been left as enclaves simply due to changes in the course of a river.

 Since living in an enclave can be very inconvenient and many agreements have to be found by both countries over mail addresses, power supply or passage rights, enclaves tend to be eliminated and many cases that existed before have now been removed.

In British administrative history, subnational enclaves were usually called detachments. In English ecclesiastic history, subnational enclaves were known as peculiars (Royal Peculiar).

Enclaved countries (Type 1 enclaves)

Some enclaves are countries in their own right, completely surrounded by another one, and therefore not exclaves. Two such sovereign countries exist in Europe (in the context of this book series: in italics):

  • The republic of San Marino, enclaved within Italy
  • Vatican City, within the city of Rome, in Italy

Coastal countries

Some countries may be enclaved inside another one, except for a small coastal section which allows them to have access to open waters. However, this access is more of a corridor.

  • The independent principality of Monaco within France.
Although Portugal borders just one other country, it has enough access to international waters not to be considered a near-enclave.

C is A's enclave and B's exclave.             

 

D is B’s exclave, but is not an enclave.

 

Coastal fragments (Type 3 enclaves)

Some territories cannot be reached from the country they belong to except by international waters. These are considered detached fragments of their motherland rather than enclaves, since they do not meet the criterion of being enclosed on all sides by foreign territory. Some examples:  

  • The British colony of Gibraltar, on the south coast of Spain.  
  • The Russian territory of Kaliningrad, between Poland and Lithuania, which, before World War II, was the northern half of the German province of East Prussia, itself an exclave after World War I. Kaliningradskaya Oblast is a good example of an exclave, in its definition of a territory that belongs to a political entity but is not connected to it by land (islands are not counted) and is surrounded by other political entities.
  • The far south coast of Croatia, part of the Dubrovnik-Neretva county including the historic city of Dubrovnik, is separated from its mainland by the corridor of Neum which is the only seacoast of Bosnia and Herzegovina .

Many countries have coastal fragments that cannot be directly accessed from the mainland except by boat or aeroplane. An extreme example of this is Alaska. On the Russian/Estonian border there are a few square kilometers on the southern coast of the Cudskoe Czero lake which belong to the Russian Pskov administrative area, but are separated from the rest of Russia by several km of the Estonian Administrative area of Värska. It lies between the Estonian villages of Popwitse and Podmotsa, but appears to contain no villages of its own.

True enclaves (Type 2 enclaves)

This refers to those territories where a country is sovereign, but which cannot be reached without entering another country. The best-known example was West Berlin, before the reunification of Germany, which was de facto a West German exclave within East Germany, and thus an East German enclave (many small West Berlin land areas, such as Steinstücken, were in turn separated from the main one, some by only a few meters). De jure all of Berlin was ruled by the four Allied powers; this meant that West Berlin could not send voting members to the German Parliament, and that its citizens were exempt from conscription.

 
From the numerous enclaves that used to exist in Europe, only the following ones now remain:  
  • The town of Baarle in the southern Netherlands is made up of the municipality of Baarle-Hertog, a group of 22 Belgian enclaves within the Netherlands; and of the Dutch municipality of Baarle-Nassau, which itself has 3 enclaves in Belgian soil and a small one inside one of the Belgian enclaves.
  • Büsingen, Germany is an exclave in the canton of Schaffhausen, northern Switzerland. Germany also has a group of 5 enclaves created by a railway track between the towns of Roetgen and Monschau (south of Aachen) that was granted Belgian sovereignty.
  • The town of Campione, in Italy, is enclaved in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland, although in practice it is administered as part of Switzerland. It is part of Swiss customs, uses the Swiss Franc, and its inhabitants don't have to pay any income tax to Italy, but it is under Italian sovereignty.  
  • The Spanish town of Llívia, an exclave in southern France, a few kilometers east of the Principality of Andorra.
  • In the eastern part of Belarus, the Russian exclave of San'kovo-Medvezh'e is made up of two villages.
  • The villages of Ormidhia and Xylotymvou in Cyprus, surrounded by the British Sovereign Base Area of Dhekelia. Inside this base, the Dhekalia Power Station also belongs to Cyprus although it's surrounded by British land and is even divided in two by a British road.
  • In Armenia, there exist three exclaves of Azerbaijan. Barxudarli (41°00′N 45°13′E) and Yuxari Askipara (41°04′N 45°01′E) in north-eastern Armenia. The other one, Karki (Kerki, 39°48′N 44°58′E), is located north of the region of Nakhchivan (which is a detached fragment of Azerbaijan stuck between Armenia, Iran and Turkey).
  • Reciprocally, there exists one Armenian exclave, a village called Artsvashen in north-western Azerbaijan (40°38′N 45°31′E).
  • There are two tiny Russian enclaves - villages of Akhty and Krakhoba in the northern rayon of Xacmaz (Khachmaz), Azerbaijan.
The life in such areas varies greatly from one to another. Whereas in modern times some European enclaves are usually legally well-defined and their population is often free to move from one country to another, others result from disagreement over border treaties. This causes their inhabitants to be at worst enclosed inside, at best seriously impaired in their usual life. Many exclaves today have an independence movement, especially if the exclave is far away from the Mainland.

 "Quasi" enclaves

Some territories, while not geographically detached from their motherland, are more easily reached by entering a foreign country, because of their location in a hilly area, or because the only road available enters that foreign place before coming back to the mother country. These territories may be called "pene-enclaves" or "quasi-enclaves" and can be found along many borders, particularly those that are not heavily defended. They will only be attached to the motherland via an extremely small or thin slice of land. Here are some examples:  

  • The Austrian municipality of Jungholz is surrounded by German territory virtually everywhere, except at one point: the top of a mountain.
  • The Kleinwalsertal, a valley part of Vorarlberg, Austria, can be reached by road from Oberstdorf, Germany, only.
  • The Swiss village of Samnaun could initially only be reached by road from Austria. Thus in 1892 the village was excluded from the Swiss customs territory. The exemption was maintained even when in 1907-1912 a road was built to the Engadin valley.
  • For similar reasons the Italian Livigno valley near the Swiss border is excluded from EU VAT.
  • Some villages in eastern Estonia can only be reached by a road which ventures inside Russian territory. One can drive on the road without any visa, but it is forbidden to stop before coming back to Estonia.  
  • Several farms on the border between Denmark and Germany.
  • The village of Lutepää in eastern Estonia, reached by road only by traversing Russian territory.  
  • The western-most region of County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland contains a pene-enclave jutting into County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland (United Kingdom).  
  • A valley, which includes five villages, called Macahel in northeast of Turkey can only be reached by road via Batumi in Georgia by vehicles, and as the snow shuts the paths which are completely within the borders of Turkey in winter, the road via Batumi is the only way for getting there.
Subnational enclaves

Sometimes, administrative divisions of a country, due to historical or practical reasons, caused some areas to belong to a division while being attached to another one. There are countless examples; here are some:  

  • In Austria, Vienna is an enclave of Lower Austria. Interestingly Vienna was also Lower Austria's capital until 1986.
  • In Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh is an enclave in Azerbaijan. The Nagorno-Karabakh region is under the military control of local Armenians, with tacit backing from the government of Armenia. Nagorno-Karabakh has declared itself independent, but no other government has recognised this status.
  • In Belgium, the Brussels-Capital Region is an enclave of Flanders. Strangely enough, it is also Flanders' capital. Flanders has an exclave, the municipality of Voeren, whereas Wallonia also has an exclave, the municipality of Comines-Warneton. The territory of the German speaking Community of Belgium is also composed of two parts separated by a part of the French speaking Community.
  • In Bosnia and Herzegovina the two enclaves, Orašje and Odžak are part of the Federation enclaved between Republika Srpska and Croatia and divided from the Federation by small strip of land called Posavski koridor that belongs to Republika Srpska. During the war in Bosnia there were also several enclaves controlled by Bosnia and Herzegovina which were surrounded by the army of Republika Srpska. The most famous was Sarajevo. Other besieged enclaves were Goražde, Srebrenica, Maglaj, Bihać and Orašje (which was connected with Croatian territory).
  • In France, the département of Vaucluse, part of the Provence, has a rather large exclave, the Enclave des Papes around the town of Valréas inside the neighbouring Drôme département, separated from Vaucluse proper by roughly 2.5 km at the closest point. The Enclave des Papes used to be part of the possessions of the Pope in France near Avignon and were all attached to Vaucluse when annexed after the départements were created (see Comtat Venaissin). The Enclave des Papes contains 4 towns, Valréas, Visan, Grillon and Richerenches.
  • In Germany, Bremerhaven is an exclave of the state of Bremen.
  • In Italy, the Comune di San Colombano, named after the Irish missionary Saint Columbanus is an enclave of the province of Milano between the provinces of Lodi and Pavia.
  • In Russia, Moscow is an enclave in Moscow Oblast, although it is the administrative centre of Moscow Oblast. Also, some small exclaves of Moscow in Moscow Oblast exist. Again, St. Petersburg is the administrative centre of Leningrad Oblast, being an enclave in it, although this enclave is not true as it has access to Baltic Sea.
  • In Russia, Adygea is an enclave in Krasnodar Kraj.  
  • In Spain, the Condado de Treviño is an enclave of the Basque province of Álava and administratively part of the province of Burgos in Castile-Leon. Also, Valencia has an exclave, Rincón de Ademuz between the provinces of Teruel in Aragon and Cuenca in Castile-La Mancha.
  • In Switzerland:
    • The divided canton of Appenzell is enclaved in the Canton of St. Gallen. Appenzell Innerrhoden is mostly surrounded by Appenzell Ausserrhoden, and both are completely surrounded by St Gall. Since its partition on religious lines in 1597, Innerrhoden has three exclaves, one of which, Grimmenstein, is enclaved by Ausserrhoden; the two larger exclaves are neighbours of both Ausserrhoden and Sankt-Gallen.
    • Bern has two small exclaves, Münchenwiler and Clavaleyres; the first is entirely surrounded by Fribourg, the second by Fribourg and Vaud's exclave. The secession of the new canton of Jura in 1979 left Bern temporarily with another exclave, Laufental, bounded by Jura, Solothurn (main and both exclaves), Basel-Country and France. Laufental joined Basel-Country in 1994.
    • Lucerne has two pieces separated from the main territory by the Vierwaldstättersee; one borders Schwyz, the other Nidwalden.
    • The "half-canton" of Obwalden is in two large pieces, separated by a strip of Nidwalden.
    • Nidwalden's district of Hergiswil is separated by an arm of the Vierwaldstättersee.
    • The canton of Fribourg has two pieces within the neighboring canton of Vaud, Surpierre and Vuissens, another one, Wallenbuch, within Bern, and a large exclave bounded by Vaud and Lake Neuchâtel. Conversely, Vaud has a piece bounded by Lake Neuchâtel and Fribourg.
    • Solothurn has two exclaves, Dorneck and Thierstein, both bounded on the south by Basel-Country and on the north by France; as well as the enclave of Steinhof which is entirely surrounded by Bern.
    • Schaffhausen, the only canton lying mostly on the north bank of the Rhine, is cut into three parts by German corridors to the Rhine. The middle part is the largest, and embraces the German enclave of Büsingen. The upper and middle parts border on Thurgau, the middle and lower parts on Zürich.
    • Vaud has one exclave, Avenches, bordered by Lake Neuchâtel, Fribourg and the tiny Bernese exclave of Clavaleyres. The coast of Lake Neuchâtel is thus in seven pieces belonging to four cantons: clockwise from the north they are Neuchâtel, Bern (main), Vaud (Avenches exclave), Fribourg (main), Vaud (main), Fribourg (exclave), Vaud (main).
    • The Canton of Geneva similarly has two small pieces within Vaud, together forming the commune of Céligny. The larger one has a shoreline on Lake Geneva.  
  • In the United Kingdom, there is the village of Pentreheyling in Shropshire. Shropshire is in England, yet it is impossible to reach any other settlement in England by road without first passing through Wales 
  • In Flintshire, Wales, on the Dee estuary, there are several bits of marshland that are separated from other bits of Wales.
Ethnic enclaves

Ethnic enclaves are communities of an ethnic group inside an area where another ethnic group predominates. Jewish ghettos and shtetls, barrios and Chinatowns are examples. These areas may have a separate language, culture and economic system. There is also a Hungarian ethnic enclave in Transsylvania in Romania.

Extraterritoriality

Embassies and military bases are usually exempted from the jurisdiction of the host country, i.e., the laws of the host nation the embassy is in do not typically apply to the land of the embassy or base itself. This exemption from the jurisdiction of the host country is defined as extraterritoriality. Areas of extraterritoriality are not true enclaves as they are still part of the host country. In addition to embassies some other areas have extraterritoriality.
 Examples of this include:  
  • Pavillon de Breteuil in France - used by the General Conference on Weights and Measures.
  • The headquarters of Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta, in Rome used by the Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta.
  • Some 13 buildings in the city of Rome outside of the Vatican - used by The Holy See.
Land ceded to a foreign country

Some areas of land in a country are owned by another country and in some cases have special privileges, such as being exempt from taxes. These lands are not enclaves and do not have extraterritoriality.

Examples of this include:  

  • Napoleon's original grave in Longwood, Saint Helena ceded to France.
  • The World War II Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Normandy, France which contains the graves of 9,386 American military dead, most of whom gave their lives during the landings and ensuing operations of World War II, ceded to the United States of America.
  • About 24 m² of land that surrounds the Suvorov memorial near Göschenen in central Switzerland ceded to Russia.
  • The Vimy Memorial in France, which commemorates the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The French government permanently ceded a land area of about 1 km² to Canada as a war memorial in 1922 in recognition of Canada's military contributions in World War I in general and at Vimy Ridge in particular.  
  • The land under the John F. Kennedy memorial at Runnymede, United Kingdom. Land ceded to the United States of America.