The Kingdom of Wallachia ( cs, Valašské kralovství), named after the region of

Moravian Wallachia Moravian Wallachia ( cs, Moravské Valašsko, or simply ''Valašsko''; ro, Valahia Moravă) is a mountainous ethnoregion located in the easternmost part of Moravia in the Czech Republic, near the Slovak border, roughly centered on the cities Vs ...

, is a

tongue-in-cheek The idiom tongue-in-cheek refers to a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walter Scot ...

recessionary association 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 The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. Since foundation a reported 80,000 Czech citizens have acquired "Wallachian Passports". After the official proclamation of the Wallachian kingdom in 1997, actor Bolek Polívka was enthroned as King Boleslav I ''the Gracious'' with his coronation occurring at a lavish ceremony in 2000. The "Government" led by Tomáš Harabiš established state institutions and issued passports to around 80,000 officially Czech citizens. A new currency, the Jurovalsar, was launched which was pegged to the

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

at a rate of 1:1. Enthusiastic attempts to forge official ties with other countries have so far proved disappointing and the Kingdom of Wallachia enjoys no formal diplomatic recognition.

Constitutional Crisis of 2001

In 2001 the Wallachian government deposed King Boleslav in a

palace coup A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

, accusing the fallen monarch of behaving unconstitutionally by demanding 1,000,000

Czech koruna The koruna, or crown, (sign: Kč; code: CZK, cs, koruna česká) has been the currency of the Czech Republic since 1993. The koruna is one of the European Union's 9 currencies, and the Czech Republic is legally bound to adopt the euro currenc ...

for his services. Unperturbed, the deposed king travelled the realm gathering support for his restoration claiming that he had actually ascended the throne in 1993 some four years before the formation of the Harabiš government, and business venture. The ex-king also claimed the idea for the kingdom was his. Unable to settle the dispute internally, the case was taken to court in 2007 in

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four riv ...

, Czech Republic. The court ruled in favour of the "government" of Tomáš Harabiš which went on to search for a new candidate for the throne, eventually crowning Vladimír Zháněl as King Vladimír II. Since then the former king, Bolek Polívka, has appealed to the Czech High Court.

"Kings of Wallachia"

* Boleslav I, 1997–2001 (

deposed Deposition by political means concerns the removal of a politician or monarch.
ORB: The Online Reference for Med ...

). The start of Boleslav's reign is disputed, with the former monarch claiming it began in 1993. * Vladimír II, 2001–present.

References

External links

A Radio Praha article on the succession dispute
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', 13 October 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kingdom Of Wallachia Tourist attractions in the Czech Republic

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

States and territories established in 1997