What do a strip of abandoned land, a former Czech politician and virtual reality (VR) have in common? The answer is the self-proclaimed Balkan micronation of Liberland.

First founded in 2015, it is poised to further its status ambitions with the development of an entirely new metaverse.

Liberland will be the first country to be built and inhabited in the virtual world before its realization in real life.

Additionally, the world-renowned architecture firm, Zaha Hadid Architects, has been working on a vision of a virtual city that will provide a home for the country’s growing ranks of citizens.

What is Liberland?

Although not a formally recognized country, Liberland has 7,000 approved residents with 700,000 citizenship applications plus…