Internet users are creating history, lore, topography and national anthems for a country that doesn’t even exist, all thanks to a viral online meme.
The term ‘Listenbourg’ has been trending online for days now, with internet users making endless contributions to the world-building of the fictional nation.
The online phenomenon began when a Twitter user by the name of Gasparo tweeted an image of a map with a red arrow pointing at a piece of land added to the Iberian coastline.
“I’m sure Americans don’t even know the name of this country,” Gaspardo captioned the image.
“Who does not know Listenbourg?” another user responded.
And voila, Listenbourg was born.
Five days later, the image has racked up 110,000 likes and thousands of retweets, and spawned accounts dedicated to the cultural anthropology of Listenbourg.
Tweet from @gaspardooo
Intense world building
Internet users have been doing all they can to flesh out the backstory of the fictional nation, with many ‘official’ governmental accounts for Listenbourg popping up all over the internet.
Fellow ‘Listenburgians’, as they have called themselves, are co-ordinating their efforts on a large Discord server – a popular online communications app.
After five days of intense world building, we know a couple of ‘facts’ about Listenbourg.
We know the country’s capital, Lurenburg, is located in the nation’s north.
Listenbourg is split up into five regions – Fluẞerde, Kusterde, Mitteland, Adrias and Casiérè.
Listenburgians also claim it’s a beautiful nation, known for its sweeping mountain ranges.
While most of the posts about Listenbourg are in French, the nation’s official language is German, and its currency is the Listenbourg Franc.
And it has an official space agency – named LISA, of course.
As for who exactly is in charge of Listenbourg, Gasparo, the author of the original viral post, has proclaimed himself the nation’s president.
Listenbourg is a constitutional monarchy, with Prince Viktor Current sitting on the nation’s throne.
And Listenbourg is apparently known to be a friendly and peaceful nation, being a member of the EU and United Nations.
And despite tensions with neighbouring Portugal, you’ll be glad to know Listenbourg has sworn off war.
The so-called Ministry of the Interior have also fleshed out the intricacies of the country’s government.
Tweet from @ConsCons_LBG
Listenbourg has established a national anthem – but it does sound suspiciously similar to God Save the King.
It also has rather bizarre road rules, with no ‘stop’ signs – only ‘pause’ signs.
And businesses and services for the people of Listenbourg have been decided on online.
There are Twitter accounts for McDonalds Listenbourg, UberEats Listenbourg, and even AirListenbourg – the nation’s ‘official airline’.
The world building isn’t limited to present-day facts.
Internet historians have delved deep into Listenbourg’s past, even revising historic events to include the new sovereign nation.
According to Listenburgians, Listenbourg beat the US in the space race, with Listenburgian Paul Matelin becoming the first person to walk on the moon in 1962.
And just like the French, Listenbourg has its own bike race, ‘Tour du Listenbourg’, which apparently started back in 1915.
One dedicated meme created an official Wikipedia page for Listenbourg, which has since been taken down for not meeting the online encyclopedia’s criteria.
Joining in on the fun
As with many popular memes and internet trends, some big names have joined in on the online fun.
The French account for Waze, the navigation app, was one of the first to chime in.
“Listenbourg, at least we know how to get there!” the app said in a tweet on November 1.
Prime Video France quickly followed Waze with an announcement of their own – that a documentary dedicated to Listenbourg’s history was (jokingly) on its way.
And the Twitter account for meme-obsessed Irish airline Ryanair shared the news that they would be establishing a new base in the nation’s Kusterde region.
Tweet from @PrimeVideoFR
Tweet from @Ryanair
French politician Jean Lassalle claims to have visited an agricultural festival in Listenbourg.
“I was yesterday at the agricultural festival at #listenbourg,” Mr Lassalle tweeted.
“Thank you to the breeders for allowing me to visit one of the last artisinal wool workshops in the country. Let’s protect small businesses!”
Another French politician Éric Zemmour also added to the conversation, tweeting: “At Listenbourg, do as the Listenbourgeois do!”
Tweet from @jeanlassalle
The meme even reached the Formula 1, with commentator Julien Fabreau sharing his enthusiasm for Listenbourg.
“F1 ALERT! We have just learned that #Listenbourg will join the GP calendar in 2023! The event will be held as a season opener on 29, 30 and 31 February next year!” he tweeted.
“Lewis Hamilton said he was excited to go and drive there as they have the best crowd in the world!”
With the development of Listenbourg moving at a rapid pace, who knows how far this joke will go, or for how long.
But if the creative minds behind Listenbourg ever grow bored, they could always lend a much-needed hand to Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin.
