Kugelmugel, officially the Republic of Kugelmugel (), is a spherical art object located in Vienna, Austria.

It came about as the result of the artist Edwin Lipburger constructing the 8 meter diameter spherical object without permissions from the authorities in Austria. After the dispute between the artist and authorities, the artist declared it a micronation, and it was eventually granted asylum by the then-mayor Helmut Zilk in Vienna where it is housed in the Prater park.

History

The Republic of Kugelmugel|upright|thumb

Front entrance with sign for border crossing (2024)|upright|thumb

The interior of the spherical house|upright|thumb

In 1971, the 8 meter in diameter building was constructed by Edwin Lipburger and his son Nikolaus in Katzelsdorf near Wiener Neustadt in Lower Austria. A prolonged dispute between the authorities and Lipburger ensued over the following years over the unpermitted construction. Lipburger declared Kugelmugel as its own micronation, even issuing passports. In August 1975, the township of Neudörfl offered to house the building and discussion of how to transport the building, potentially via helicopter were discussed, but ultimately did not pan out. In 1979, Lipburger was sentenced to prison for 10 weeks for "unlawful assumption of a public authority" (). However it was then assumed by the city that the artistic object would only be temporary, so the legal dispute continued on with the city of Vienna after power and water was cut to Kugelmugel. Various lawsuits have been filed subsequently and eventually rose all the way to the Supreme Administrative Court of Austria in 2007. However all lawsuits failed with no formal agreement ever reached between Lipburger and the city. The city has stopped any attempts at reclaiming it and has accepted it as part of Vienna's culture and is allowing the building in its existence as a "building built without a permit" ().

In German, the word "Kugel" means "ball" or "sphere"; "Mugel" is an Austrian German expression for a bump or a hill on a field, from which mogul skiing is also derived.

References

Further reading

  • Official website