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| - A Ruritania is a fictional country located in Central Europe or the Balkans -- in an area encompassing most of the territory east of Germany and west of Russia. This country is characterized by its small size, backward customs, and forests full of wolves and bears. It is often the home of the Funny Foreigner. If the place shows some of the characteristics of Ruritania, but is also full of vampires, werewolves, Mad Scientists, and other Fantasy or Horror genre tropes, you've strayed over the border into Überwald. We hope you brought some garlic. Not to be confused with Ruri-tania.
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| abstract
| - A Ruritania is a fictional country located in Central Europe or the Balkans -- in an area encompassing most of the territory east of Germany and west of Russia. This country is characterized by its small size, backward customs, and forests full of wolves and bears. It is often the home of the Funny Foreigner. The name comes from Anthony Hope's 1894 novel The Prisoner of Zenda, and the concept originated around the same time; the idea itself was at least in part "inspired" by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was viewed by many Europeans as an incompetent backwater. At that time and in most early 20th century depictions, Ruritania had a royal house (of which the King actually did something, the Prince was dashing, the Princess was a dazzling beauty, and the headgear was quite frankly ridiculous), which was forever being schemed against by a lot of dastardly usurpers or anarchists and was a source of enormous tension among the Great Powers. That last bit was actually true, unfortunately. A good example is, of course, the original. Although it is worth noting that where most examples of this trope are set in the Balkans or Eastern Europe, the original was wedged between Germany and Bohemia and had a Germanic-style culture. Between the wars, the typical Ruritania became slightly less primitive. Wolves, bears, and superstitious peasants still abounded, but automobiles had been introduced and the army now had tanks and planes, with which it prepared bloody revenge on its neighbours. The royals were still around, now being schemed against by even more dastardly fascists and communists. When WW 2 rolled around, Ruritania was likely occupied by the Germans, or was possibly itself an Axis power. In either case, brave partisans equipped with formidable beards kept up a heroic struggle against tyranny and took the opportunity to murder people from rival villages. After the war, many Ruritanias became Commie Land and continued to be a lurking place for Dirty Communists, either Soviet-backed or home-grown. With the coming of Hole in Flag revolutions, Ruritania has pretty much reverted to what it started with: ludicrous hair, ethnic strife, poverty, and backwardness. The monarchy is(usually) gone, replaced by a mock democracy run by some unsavoury generals; the Great Powers are now acting through NATO or the UN. Everyone still seems to hate his neighbours, the anarchists may still be around, or they may have turned into terrorists or plain old gangsters. If the place shows some of the characteristics of Ruritania, but is also full of vampires, werewolves, Mad Scientists, and other Fantasy or Horror genre tropes, you've strayed over the border into Überwald. We hope you brought some garlic. Not to be confused with Ruri-tania. Compare Banana Republic, Qurac, and Bulungi. Examples of Ruritania include:
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