 However, despite its Eastern European location, Syldavia itself was partly a metaphor for Belgium, with Syldavian King Muskar XII physically resembling King Leopold III of Belgium. Hergé's decision to create a fictional East European kingdom might have been influenced by Ruritania, the fictional country created by Anthony Hope for his novel The Prisoner of Zenda (1894) and which subsequently appeared in film adaptations in 1913, 1915, 1922, and 1937. Many places within Syldavia are visually based on pre-existing European sites: the Diplodocus in the Klow Natural History Museum is based on the one in the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin; the Syldavian Royal Palace is based on both the Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin and the Royal Palace of Brussels; and Kropow Castle is based on Olavinlinna Castle, constructed in fifteenth century Savonia - a historical province of the Swedish Kingdom, located in modern-day Finland. For the revised version, Kropow Castle was drawn with an additional tower, inspired by Vyborg Castle, Russia. The United Kingdom also bore at least one influence on Syldavia, as King Muskar XII's carriage is based on the British Royal Family's Gold State Coach.
