Despite official trappings, youngest European monarchy fictional
Published 24 April, 2009, 09:24
You may think the age of kings and castles is over, but not in the northeast Czech Republic. The fictional kingdom of Wallachia has been bucking the Czech recession,
as it welcomes local tourists seeking a cheap break closer to home.
The Kingdom is complete with its own king in a castle, Vladimir II. It’s got all the trappings of statehood – its own currency, flag, and even consulates in the Arctic Circle and Togo.
But look closer, and you’ll see the kingdom’s in reality a successful tourist attraction, which brings in big bucks each year.
“I think everybody is feeling that the crisis has touched the economy, but we feel it positively, because really, we feel that Czech people are spending more time in the region,” says former itinerant photographer, and Wallachia’s current foreign minister Tomas Harabis.
He says its success is proven by its 12-year existence. Maybe in need of a laugh during the crisis, visitors flock to a make-believe nation built on humor and parody.
The Wallachian kingdom makes money several ways – for example, by offering tastings of its famed plum brandy, slivovitza. But its biggest source of revenue is the Wallachian passport, which is sold to the tourists.
There are around 90, 000 citizens of this make-believe nation, once including George W. Bush, given a passport by Wallachia’s representative living in Texas. But Mr Bush’s citizenship was revoked in 2003, after the U.S. invaded Iraq.
But pretend passports have produced confusion – a Pakistani man applied for asylum before being told the kingdom wasn’t for real.
However most holders are proud of their passports – unique they say, like the delicacies produced at local bakeries.
The crisis means that most visitors today are Czech.
“Thanks to the crisis, the Czech people have started traveling more within their own country, and learning more about it. We have a lot to see and to offer, and hope that domestic tourism will grow,” said Filip Remenec, Spokesman for Czech Tourism.
You may or may not believe in this concocted country – but it has certainly captured the imagination of many. One day, the prime minister of the kingdom, whose day job is running a mountaintop restaurant, met Helmut Kohl at a football game. In response to the Walachian prime minister’s introduction Mr Kohl responded, “I am the former chancellor of Germany”.
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