The world is filled with strange borders – and while some are more famous than others, there’s no denying that they make for a fascinating insight into local culture and history.
Some boast unparalleled views of their spectacular surroundings, like a lake between Austria, Germany, and Switzerland where the tide changes the jurisdiction of the North Korea and South Korea border where tensions are running higher.
In most cases, you can even visit these regions defining where one country ends, and another begins – and it makes for a fascinating holiday trip. We will look at the world’s top 10 weird and wonderful borders and why they should be on your radar…
The DMZ, North Korea/South Korea
Korea’s Demilitarized Zone is the tensest border in the world. The dividing line of the Korean peninsula, established in 1953 after a bitter ideological war, is 155 miles long and 2.5 miles wide and bristling with weaponry.
Baarle-Nassau, Netherlands/Belgium
This strangest European border oddity sits quietly in the southern part of the Nether-lands, where a set of mini islands of Belgium have come adrift, some of them even with parts of the Netherlands inside them.
It is a ridiculous doodle of historic land-swaps that must be a nightmare to administer. Houses and restaurants are half in one country and half in the other. For tax reasons, people have even moved their front doors to the other country to save money.
The Northwest Angle, USA/Canada
It is the only piece of America apart from Alaska, which ranges north of the 49th parallel, and it is mainly forested, with a population of around 100, mostly First Nations. Kids have one of the longest school runs anywhere, with a three-hour round trip that means going through border control four times a day.
The Round Table Of 3 Countries
This is a beautiful triangular table placed between the countries of Slovakia, Hungary and Austria. A great place for holiday, for the feeling of having a conversation with friends from one country after another.
Vatican City, Vatican/Italy
Vatican City is an independent country, surrounded by the Italian city of Rome. The country is however completely independent and attracts a lot of visitors to itself, each year.
The Zip Line Of Countries
This is a must to do on everyone’s bucket list, First to zip line, now to zipline from country to country. The borders of Spain and Portugal Consists of a Zipline between the both countries. Beautiful Ideas.
Poland and Ukraine
This interesting diagram is the border between Poland and Ukraine, a diagram of two fishes on two separate plots of land.
