Syldavia

Syldavia (Syldavian: Zyldavja) is a fictional country in The Adventures of Tintin, the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. It is located in the Balkans and has a rivalry with the fictional neighbouring country of Borduria. Syldavia is depicted in King Ottokar's Sceptre (1938–1939), Destination Moon (1950), Explorers on the Moon (1952–1953, briefly), The Calculus Affair (1954–1956), and Tintin and the Lake of Sharks (1972), and is mentioned in Tintin and the Picaros (1975–1976). According to Harry Thompson's 2011 Tintin: Hergé and Its Creation, Syldavia "was an idealised portrayal of central Europe between the wars – a benevolent monarchy, peaceful village life, sturdy peasants puffing on large pipes." Hergé claimed that the country is heavily inspired by the real-world countries of both Albania and Montenegro, and may also be based on larger Balkan nations such as Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria.