Murtos

Murtos is a cross-border town located partly in Ventora and partly in Watan. Administratively, the Ventoran section is a borough (: barrio) of the of Murtos in the duchy of Paniceres while the Watanese portion lies within the province of Tilara. The town is administered by two co-mayors and a town council.

History
The town was founded by Watanese settlers in 1676 who also traded with local Tilargi. Over time, Ventorans settled in the area as well. Somewhat isolated, the area considered itself independent and was paid little attention by officials from either country.

Following the Watanese civil war in the 1860s, a joint Ventoran-Watanese survey of the border between the two countries established the actual boundary line as passing through Murtos. The townspeople, not seeing the significance of the matter, went about their business as though nothing had changed. In the interests of consolidating the nation, Watanese officials sought to establish more consistent administration throughout the country, including in the borderlands. Ventorans in the area resisted this and petitioned their government to intercede. As a result, both governments informally agreed to Murtos being an "open" town, permitting residents to freely come and go across the border. This led the town to reorganize in 1898, resulting in its unique structure of having co-mayors, one Watanese and the other Ventoran. The 6-member town council is half Ventoran and half Watanese. This system has been in place ever since.

Description
A little over half of the town sits on the Watanese side of the international frontier, with the remainder on the Ventoran side. As a result of the town's 1898 reorganization, a new town hall was built straddling the border at the north end of the central square. By tradition, town officials use the hall's center doors while Ventorans use the left-side doors and Watanese the doors on the right. This symbolizes the official border while reinforcing the authority of town officials as representative of all residents, regardless of country they are citizens of.

The border is marked by emplaced cannonballs along the road to the west of the central square based on the post-war survey. As a result, the new town hall is also offset from the central square which lies on the Watanese side. Nonetheless, the central square maintains its importance in the town, with frequent markets and festivities. The town's business district lies primarily on the Ventoran side while the local schools are in Watan. A hotel, an inn, and several residences are also bisected by the actual border, but only the town hall was built across the border since the post-war survey. The dining room in the inn has the border line painted on the floor.

Town residents may go anywhere in Murtos, including the entire Murtos municipality in Ventora, without any cross-border formalities, regardless of their national citizenship. Anyone else must follow border crossing protocols based on their citizenship and the procedures in effect at the time of crossing. Since Ventora and Watan have no visa requirements for each other's citizens, they must simply check in at the official border checkpoint. A joint crossing checkpoint, located in the Old Customs House at the south end of the central square, facilitates border crossing formalities, with the checkpoint generally open 12 hours daily. Crossings by non-townsfolk outside of checkpoint hours are generally not permissible. Exceptions include crossing the border within buildings that straddle the boundary provided the person does not leave the building in the other country.

Murtos is believed to be the only location where a single postmaster serves the postal systems of two countries. The Murtos post office, which is located just west of the central square on the Ventoran side, handles post from both Watan and Ventora at a single counter. In another border crossing exception, people may go directly from the Watanese side of town to the post office and directly back without having to go through border crossing formalities.

Water for the town comes from wells in Watan. A Ventoran company serves as the town's electricity provider. The town is also connected to the telephone systems of both countries. Roads from both sides of the border link the town to the surrounding regions and beyond. A small general aviation airport serves the town from the Salans borough in Ventora.

Economy
Tourism is the main economic activity in the town. Several small industrial plants also operate in Murtos and the surrounding areas rely on small agricultural activities for their livelihood. Taxation is quite complex in the town. Residents pay income taxes based on their nationality, but property taxes are based on the location of their holdings. Business concerns pay taxes based on which side of the border they are on. In a quirk of these rules, patrons at the inn who order alcoholic beverages at tables on the Ventoran side must pay Ventora's excise tax on alcohol, but if the same product is bought at the bar, the tax does not apply since the bar is on the Watanese side of the border. Residents of the town are also exempt from both countries' tariffs and duties on goods purchased for personal use.

Ventoran municipality
The portion of the town of Murtos that lies in Ventora is considered the Murtos borough (: barrio) of the of Murtos. The municipality covers 177.2 km2 and has a population of 7,313, including the 1,463 living in the Ventoran part of the town. The municipality's other boroughs are: Ástián, Castelfetta, Hoca, Montesbon, Salans, and Trevedina.

Watanese nationals who reside in the town of Murtos are exempt from border crossing formalities within the municipality but must adhere to immigration and customs regulations if traveling beyond the municipality.