{"id":99218,"date":"2022-03-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-30T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aleksawn.bget.ru\/10-strannyx-kommun-so-vsego-mira\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T13:32:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T10:32:41","slug":"10-strange-communities-from-all-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imgist.ru\/en\/10-strannyx-kommun-so-vsego-mira\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Strange Communes from Around the World"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

These days, most of us don't think about the intentions behind the places we live. No one questions why New York is New York or how people live there. But new communities are constantly emerging\u2014intentional communities where like-minded people choose to gather with similar goals and beliefs to try to live life in a way that might be a little different from what others are used to. It might be as simple as a group of vegans wanting to live in peace with nature. Of course, some of these communes are getting a little stranger.<\/span><\/p>\n

10. The Kingdom of Little People<\/span> <\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

Not every commune can be called a tourist attraction or an exploitative money-grab, depending on who you ask, but that's what China's Kingdom of Little People is. It's either a place where little people can live together in peace and make a living, or it's a modern-day sideshow where little people are exploited for profit. Perhaps it's both.<\/span><\/p>\n

The kingdom was<\/span> founded in 2009<\/span> , and the intended purpose was to give security and purpose to the little people in China. Chinese culture can be harsher on little people than we're used to in the Western world, and let's be honest, people here are pretty harsh on little people, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

The commune is a tourist attraction, with residents living in houses resembling toadstools. They put on performances such as parades, dances, and gymnastics shows. Tourists pay and are welcomed, and it seems to operate like a theme park.<\/span><\/p>\n

And the performers, all the little people, actually live here. Not in toadstools, but in real houses away from tourists. Only people under a certain height can live there. If they're not performers, they can get real city jobs, like security, cleaning, or cooking. They have an elected government. These are the kinds of jobs little people can't get in most places in China. And, perhaps even more helpfully, they're not teased, bullied, or harassed, which is a serious problem elsewhere.<\/span><\/p>\n

Residents tell reporters they're happy, though the exploitative and curiously constructed nature of the whole place is questionable. What can you say about a city where even the stray dogs are tiny breeds like Papillons and Chihuahuas? Someone's clearly pushing the idea here. But if people are truly happy, maybe that's okay.<\/span><\/p>\n

9. Oneida Community<\/span> <\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

If you've ever heard of Oneida silverware, you might be surprised to learn about the polyamorous community that founded the company, which produces high-quality, affordable flatware for the masses. Oneida's silver-plated flatware in velvet packaging has been around for decades. But before all that, it began as<\/span> utopian society<\/span> , where there was less silver and more free love.<\/span><\/p>\n

The commune was founded in 1848 and was remarkably forward-thinking. Women were not considered second-class citizens, and traditional gender roles were ignored in favor of a far more equal approach to work and life. Members had no personal property. Everyone worked for the common good. Women worked alongside men. No one was considered better or more valuable. And, ultimately, they believed that the power of God could best be experienced through multiple sexual experiences with multiple people.<\/span><\/p>\n

So how does a community that believes that lots of sex fills them with the Holy Spirit turn into a silverware company? Slowly. To make money, the commune did a lot of things\u2014canned food, made animal traps, and made chain link fencing. Sometime in the 1870s, one member decided they could start making spoons. By the 1890s, that was all they did.<\/span><\/p>\n

The commune faded, but the company lived on. In fact, the name still exists today, though it was sold to a larger corporation in 2006, so any cutlery you buy these days has a lot less love in it.<\/span><\/p>\n

8. The Garden of Eden<\/span> <\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

There's a fine line between a commune and a cult, and sometimes one can quickly morph into the other. Informally, the main distinction between them seems to hinge on a shaky understanding of how members are treated. If you're all just hippies growing pumpkins and singing songs, it might be a commune. If your leader pressures you to marry him or waits for a UFO to take you away, it might be a cult.<\/span><\/p>\n

Residents<\/span> Garden of Eden<\/span> In North Texas, they were labeled a cult and attacked by a SWAT team, destroying their commune. The reason? They were after drugs and weapons. This also indicates that your commune is likely a cult.<\/span><\/p>\n

After the raid, the commune sued the city because the raid found nothing. It turns out the police obtained a probable cause warrant based on four sketchy criteria. First, the founder had been arrested on marijuana charges two months earlier, though there was no record of it. Then, the founder spoke to undercover officers about gardening, which apparently was poorly done. Their website used the words "super raw" to describe the cuisine they made from the vegetables they grew, which to police meant marijuana. Finally, an anonymous source told police there were weapons on the farm.<\/span><\/p>\n

The cops showed up and found tomatillo plants along with sweet potatoes, but no weapons or drugs. The community sued the police department for violating the Fourth Amendment, and the case was<\/span> suspended for several years<\/span> for various reasons. But in the end, it seems like the commune was legitimately just a bunch of innocent, friendly hippies who didn't even grow weed.<\/span><\/p>\n

7. Black Bear Ranch<\/span> <\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Most communes are born either from a desire to express certain religious beliefs or from a more secular hippie atmosphere.<\/span> Black Bear Ranch<\/span> was the second type. Created in the late 1960s, it was intended to be "a free land for free people.".<\/span><\/p>\n

The city was founded in a ghost town, a long-abandoned former mining town that residents bought with money from an LSD deal. Over the years, it grew into something much larger. Mind you, there aren't that many people living there, maybe a few dozen at a time, but it's been growing stronger for decades, so it's clear that some people are able to cope, despite its strange history.<\/span><\/p>\n

The commune members turned to forestry as a means of support, putting out fires and planting new trees. They ritually used peyote and established rules to prevent people from accidentally marrying. No one was allowed to sleep with the same person more than two nights in a row. They even had a registration sheet so residents could record who they slept with. This led to an outbreak of VD. At one point, they had to ban people from sitting on the kitchen tables because of<\/span> hepatitis outbreaks<\/span> .<\/span><\/p>\n

The commune still exists today, although they seem to have improved the process of managing things.<\/span><\/p>\n

6. Jesus People USA<\/span> <\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

No doubt, just hearing the name "Jesus People USA" conjures up an image of what these people might be like. What's not made clear is that the group was formed in the early 1970s. They claim to have been around<\/span> 200 members<\/span> . And they all live in the same building in Chicago.<\/span><\/p>\n

For decades, this community has lived in the same 10-story building on Chicago's North Side, eschewing the image of farm communes or remote complexes. The group lives and works together. No one earns money for themselves. They earn money for the community's efforts to cover expenses as a whole.<\/span><\/p>\n

The band is actively involved in music and even owns its own record label. Yoko Ono's ex-husband, Anthony Cox, was a member, and they were associated with music festivals for years, not to mention playing a key role in the creation of Christian rock.<\/span> Despite this, not everything is always rosy, because in the past<\/span> the group was accused of being<\/span> a little suspicious<\/span> and authoritarian.<\/p>\n

Obviously, the group itself denies the allegations of violence, and nothing was proven in court, so the Jesus People continue to live in their modern hippie tower.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Federation of Damanhur<\/span> <\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

Founded in Italy back in 1975, the Federation of Damanhur is a commune of people bound not so much by religious beliefs as by spiritual beliefs and ideals. For example, they believe that<\/span> there are humanoids on other planets,<\/span> and we can communicate with them through meditation. They also created their society secretly, without informing the Italian government of what was happening. How did they do it? Well, according to one of the participants, when they were doing high-profile work, like digging a mountain, they<\/span> turned on records,<\/span> to drown out the noise.<\/span><\/p>\n

On a more practical level, 800 members live on-site, with other communities in other locations. Participants are not required to live on-site, and there are levels of participation that people can choose. Participants live communally with 20 others in a house and reflect on humanity, spirituality, the universe, and everything in between.<\/span><\/p>\n

The commune's main feature is their temples, which they built secretly in the mountains and are distinguished by impressive artwork and design. The various rooms are as richly decorated as anything you're likely to find anywhere in the world, and each has a specific theme. The Blue Temple is dedicated to meditation, and the Hall of Mirrors is dedicated to music and the sky. There are numerous others, and members can study or even sleep in them if they choose.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Maharishi Vedic City<\/span> <\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Iowa desert might be the last place you'd expect to find a place called Maharishi Vedic City, but that's exactly where it is. It's the first city incorporated into the state of Iowa since 1982, and it has a population of just under 300. The city's official language is Sanskrit, but most people conduct business in English because Duolingo still doesn't offer Sanskrit courses.<\/span><\/p>\n

The city was conceived by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the man responsible for bringing transcendental meditation to the Western world back in the 1960s. According to him and his followers, there are ancient<\/span> Sanskrit texts<\/span> Around 2,500 years old, they detail all kinds of knowledge about how the ancient Indian rishis had a natural understanding of science, the universe, and everything else, including art, music, and even architecture. So the city is meant to be a living embodiment of the ideas in these texts, including the architectural ones.<\/span><\/p>\n

The city's development cost tens of millions of dollars, and while not as large as planned, it's still an impressive feat. Non-organic food is prohibited within the city limits. They don't use synthetic pesticides or fertilizers and were the first fully organic city in the country. They sell their own organic produce from their 160-acre farm locally and to retailers like Whole Foods.<\/span><\/p>\n

Residents live in peace and harmony with themselves and nature, in accordance with the teachings of ancient texts, and visitors can enjoy activities such as yogic flying. Future goals include going completely off-grid, relying solely on wind and solar energy and electric vehicles.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Whittier, Alaska<\/span> <\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

Similar to the Jesus People in a practical, if not spiritual, sense is Whittier, Alaska. This community seems less intentional in the sense of most communes than necessary. Almost all of Whittier's residents, some 272 people, live in a single building. Begich Tower, a large pink and white condominium, is essentially,<\/span> the whole city<\/span> in one place.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 14-story building houses a laundromat, a store, a post office, a clinic, a church, and even a police station. There's also a school, connected to the building by an underground tunnel. Everything else is housed in a former army barracks, making it incredibly difficult to access. Boats are the easiest way to get there. The town is located on Passage Channel, about 60 miles from Anchorage. It's also accessible by road, but there's literally only one road here, including a tunnel through the mountains (weather permitting) and sometimes a one-way street. It also closes at night.<\/span><\/p>\n

The city receives an average of<\/span> 20 to 22 feet of snow per year,<\/span> Therefore, most residents know that driving is prohibited in winter. With all the city's amenities within reach, residents usually don't need to leave their buildings for any reason, and some say they haven't been outside in years.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Freetown Christiania<\/span> <\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

Located in the heart of Copenhagen, Denmark, Freetown Christiania, or simply Christiania, is a commune that has effectively stolen an abandoned military base and called it home. You've heard it can be difficult to remove squatters if they show up on property in America. Well, it seems it's even worse in Denmark. These squatters showed up in 1971 and haven't gone away.<\/span><\/p>\n

For years, the commune operated as if it were an independent rural area in the middle of the city. They didn't even technically abide by Danish law, and government officials in Copenhagen allowed it to continue for so long that it seemed out of control. The commune sold marijuana freely for years, while the police pretended not to notice, but in 2004, they finally cracked down. By 2010, the commune agreed to abide by Danish law if they wanted to stay where they were. However,<\/span> weed is still available here and there<\/span> , and the police conduct occasional raids. Other residents want it removed because of the violence caused by the drug trade. After all, these are Danish hippies.<\/span><\/p>\n

The original commune was founded by artists and vagabonds who decided to take over a huge but unused military base, built in 1617. It was last used during World War II and had stood empty since the 1950s.<\/span><\/p>\n

Locals finally stormed the gates and broke in, opening a shop in 1971. They created their own currency and lived relatively freely for years, creating art and enjoying themselves. There's a vibrant tourist trade with numerous souvenir shops and restaurants. Violence, hard drugs, and theft are prohibited. Photography used to be allowed, but in recent years it's become easier, though it's still polite to ask.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Polville<\/span> <\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Without a doubt, the most unexpected community idea to emerge in recent years wasn't based on the hippie lifestyle, religion, or any spiritual beliefs. It was based on Ron Paul. A 50-acre gated community in Texas where supporters of the three-time presidential candidate could live together in complete harmony. It was to be called Paulville.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ron Paul himself<\/span> wasn't a fan<\/span> Paulville's ideas. He felt that like-minded people should actually spread out to be heard everywhere, rather than gather together and isolate themselves. However, the plan was for an unregulated libertarian ideal, where things like<\/span> planning rules<\/span> and other rules that restrict personal freedoms would be left behind in the rest of the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

High in the mountains, Polville harnessed sunlight to generate solar energy and tried to stay off the grid as much as possible. If people wanted to use the commune's water or electricity, they could, but there was no need. Freedom was the order of the day. Fifty acres of land were purchased and a town sign was even erected. Then, somehow, everything fell apart.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2008, shortly after the plan was announced, the site closed. The commune never truly came into being, but for a brief moment, it came close to being the only city in America inspired by a living politician who showed no interest in it.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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