Kingdom of Wallachia
Valašské kralovství Kingdom of Wallachia | |
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| Micronation (unrecognized entity) | |
Flag
Coat of arms
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| Location | Moravian Wallachia, Czech Republic |
| Claimed by | Tomáš Harabiš, Bolek Polívka |
| Dates claimed | 1997, 1993 (disputed)–present |
The Kingdom of Wallachia (Czech: Valašské kralovství), named after the region of Moravian Wallachia, is a tongue-in-cheek fictional kingdom and tourism venture that was founded in 1997 by the photographer Tomáš Harabiš as an "elaborate practical joke". The location is in the southeast corner of the Czech Republic. Since foundation a reported 80,000 Czech citizens have acquired "Wallachian Passports".[1]
After the official proclamation of the Wallachian Kingdom in 1997, actor Bolek Polívka was appointed "King Boleslav I" with his coronation occurring at a lavish ceremony in 2000. Polívka was later removed in a "coup" by Harabiš in 2001, and in 2008 Czech courts ruled Polívka was not entitled to profit off of the "kingdom's" trademark. The Kingdom of Wallachia has no formal diplomatic recognition.
Court case
In 2001, the "Wallachian government" revoked the leadership of Bolek Polívka, accusing him of behaving unconstitutionally by demanding 1,000,000 Czech koruna for his services.[2] Polívka then claimed he had actually become king in 1993 through a proclamation he made on a television show, and that "23 of 28 municipalities across the kingdom" still recognized him as king.[1][3] Unable to settle the dispute internally, the case was taken to court in 2007 in Ostrava, Czech Republic. The court ruled in favour of Tomáš Harabiš, rejecting Polívka's assertion of ownership of the "Kingdom of Wallachia" trademark and barring him from profiting off of it. A tournament to determine the new "king" led to the installation of Vladimír Zháněl as "King Vladimír II".[2]
References
- ^ a b Cameron, Rob (2 September 2008). "Court to hear appeal in "Wallachian Kingdom" dispute". Czech Radio. Archived from the original on 15 September 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
- ^ a b "Coup in a fantasy kingdom inside the Czech Republic". The Independent. 13 October 2008. Archived from the original on 22 October 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
- ^ Hobbs, Harry; Williams, George (6 January 2022). Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty. Cambridge University. pp. 102–103. ISBN 9781009156950. Retrieved 30 August 2025.