The official trip began on 23 March 2024 in the Kingdom of Romkerhall, which is located in the municipality-free area not far from the German metropolis of Hanover. The three organisers of the Micro Euro Summit, Zar Antonov of Obscurium, Privy Councillor Olsen of Obscurium and Archduke Arthur of Duckionary, were given a brief tour of the estate and took many pictures at the waterfall, in front of the building and in the magnificent rooms. The three gentlemen rounded off the evening with drinks and food in the restaurant.
"The Kingdom of Romkerhall is a micronation and its right to exist is based on the fact that this area - which once belonged to the territory of the Kingdom of Hanover - was never assigned to a municipality, even after the monarchy was abolished in Germany in 1918.
King George V built a hunting lodge here and had the highest waterfall in the Harz created in 1862. To this end, he had the "Kleine Romke", which flows up in the mountains, diverted and the water plunged down the 64 metre high cliff edge. At the same time, he declared Romkerhall to be an estate directly under the House of Hanover.
The old hunting lodge, which looks directly onto this waterfall, is now a hotel with around 25 guest rooms and the centre of the newly proclaimed Kingdom of Romkerhall in 1988.
King George V was married to Marie, a Princess of Saxe-Altenburg, who went into exile with him to Cumberland Castle in Austria in 1867. When the Kingdom of Romkerhall was proclaimed the smallest kingdom in the world in 1988, the link to Saxony was re-established by finding a worthy head of state true to tradition in Princess Erina of Saxony, Duchess of Saxony, the wife of Prince Thimo - the grandson of the last Saxon King Friedrich August III. Queen Erina passed away in 2010 and since then, the owner, Susanne Bauer from Nuremberg, has continued to run the government as Princess." - partly from www.monnypenny.de
On the morning of 25 March 2024, Zar Antonov and Arthur de Tourneau travelled on to rural Ruppichteroth via Cologne. This is where the People's Republic of Edristan is located, which has been a diplomatic ally of both states since 2022. After passports had been stamped, money exchanged, gifts handed over and photos taken, there was a short walk after the visit, which was led by President Nils Seuthe of Edristan and Finance Minister Alex of Edristan.
Early the next morning (26 March 2024), Zar Antonov and Arthur de Tourneau set off for the German-Dutch border not far from Aachen. There they met with Duke Yvan Bertjens, the Foreign Minister of Ladonia, for a tour of the border area. At the beginning of the day, several photos were taken with flags at the border triangle between Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Until 1919, this was also the border of the curious "Neutral Moresnet". After this point on the programme, we continued on to the Belgian town of Kelmis, which used to be the capital of Neutral Moresnet. From 1816 to 1919, the area was a condominium administered by Prussia, Belgium and the Netherlands. The programme included a visit to the Vieille Montagne Museum, which explained the history of mining in the region and that of the neutral territory, which can also be described as a kind of historical micronation. After a chat with the museum director, the cultural programme continued in the German city of Aachen. There, the three micronationalists visited the cathedral with its famous throne and Charlemagne's glamour. After a few photos with flags and a tour of the historic Palatinate and coronation city, the three ended the day in an Aachen café. Satisfied with the day's activities, discussions and diplomacy, Tsar Antonov and Arthur de Tourneau arrived back on the territory of the People's Republic of Edristan late in the evening.
Three-country point
Aachen Cathedral
The journey ended on the morning of 27 March 2024, when Zar Antonov departed for northern Germany, Arthur de Tourneau for Bonn and then on to Austria, and Nils Seuthe for Serbia.
These diplomatic activities show how important physical dialogue and exchange between micronations is for intermicronational projects and cooperation and for the community in general.
Arthur de Tourneau, in Frankfurt am Main on 27 March 2024