Dream beaches, great temperatures … supposedly |
Do you already know Listenbourg?
Its beaches and rugged Atlantic coast are breathtaking. The temperatures: Especially between April and October with 20 to 26 degrees extremely pleasant. Its delicious maritime cuisine completes a visit to the westernmost part of mainland Europe. Certainly …
Although Listenbourg should have excellent access to the EU transport network, it is far from easy to get to. If you try to plan a trip, you fail miserably. The reason: Listenbourg doesn’t even exist!
Unbelievable: Nevertheless, it feels like it is well on the way to becoming the top travel destination for 2023. Although where it is supposed to be, there is just water. Lots of water. Listenbourg doesn’t exist – and yet the Internet has hardly known any other topic for over a week.
Blame it on a Twitter user by the name Gaspardo, who simply gave the world a new country at the end of October. He drew it on a map of Europe, placing it on the borders of Portugal and Spain and making it roughly the same size as Spain. Perhaps the most original invention of the year was ready: Listenbourg.
Gaspardo shared his Photoshop creation on Twitter, writing, “I’m sure Americans don’t even know the name of this country.”
A joke that many seem to have been waiting for! A little later, the country had its own national flag (with red and white horizontal stripes and a golden eagle in the middle) and a national anthem.
The population can confidently be described as “multicultural”: in addition to English and German, French and – please note – Bavarian are also spoken. Resourceful users rushed to compile a rough overview of the country’s history.
For example, the king of Listenbourg, Listen XV, was the true “Sun King” – and went to war against Louis XIV in 1661 in the fight for this title. At least that’s what a witty Listenbourg insider claimed on Twitter.
In no time, other users also created a Department of Commerce, the country’s own airline, Listen Air – and invented a women’s national team. The head of state is, of course, the creator of Listenbourg: Gaspardo, about whom it is only known so far that he or she probably comes from France.
RyanAir is even moving
It didn’t take long for large international companies to discover the potential of the fantasy land.
► The Irish low-cost airline RyanAir announced on Twitter that it would be tearing down its tents in Dublin. “We are proud to announce that we are moving into new headquarters in Listenbourg.”
► The Waze navigation app joked on Twitter: “Listenbourg – at least we know how to get there.”
Even a week after Gaspardo’s brainstorm, the madness hasn’t subsided: on Reddit, users share memes and jokes about the invented country; TikTokers are also enthusiastic about the hype – and collect with theirs Videos about Listenbourg million clicks.