A State without Taxes, with an Angel and Barlament

The people of Užupis gave Vilnius, Lithuania and the rest of the world the Republic of Užupis - a collective community work often compared with Montmartre in Paris or Christiania in Copenhagen. But unlike them, Užupis built a whole apparatus of state: its own philosophy, calendar of celebrations, Constitution, flags, border signs, easily granted citizenship, president, parliament, volunteer government, ambassadors and currency.

The most important thing to understand is this: it works not through force, but through consent. Decisions are made by common agreement, officials work without pay and the Republic has neither an army nor a tax inspectorate. It rests not on laws, but on custom, good name and the belief that "only creation can overcome death".

This section is the anatomy of the Republic. Below is a short overview of each part; follow the links for the fuller pages.

Forty-one articles, said to have been written in a few hours in the Užupis cafe by President Romas Lileikis and Foreign Minister Tomas Čepaitis. It begins with the right to live beside the Vilnelė, allows a person to make mistakes, be idle and be unloved (but not necessarily), defends a dog's right to be a dog and ends with three commands: Do not defeat. Do not defend. Do not surrender.

Words by Romas Lileikis, music by Kipras Mašanauskas. The official version was recorded by Aistė Smilgevičiūtė and Vytautas Kernagis. In the anthem, a guard on the roof holds the sky "so that no one extinguishes it in the dark".

Romas Lileikis is a film director and poet, one of the first to move into what was then a badly reputed Užupis. His authority is captured in one phrase that contains the Republic's logic: the president proclaimed the state, and the citizens appointed him president.

The state money is the EuroUžas. One EuroUžas is backed by one half-litre glass of beer, and this reserve system has survived inflation for more than two decades. Banknotes are issued only in the denomination of one EuroUžas, and official circulation takes place on April 1.

The Parliament consists of all people of Užupis. It meets in the Užupis cafe - hence Barlament - and decides by common agreement. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has accredited more than three hundred ambassadors in different lands and even in fields of life. Citizenship is granted by each person to themselves, aloud or silently: "I am a citizen of the Republic of Užupis." This subject also preserves the practical community structure, Senate archive and 2014 Communal Code.

The Republic knows how to honour people. Honorary citizenship is granted during the Independence celebration; among those who hold it are Jonas Mekas, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and Valdas Adamkus. Service is recognised with the Order of the Paplava Bridge. Threatened Užupis phenomena - from a post office to a wooden house - receive the mark of a protected value.