Even though Schildbuerger pranks are best known in the German-speaking world, similar stories exist in more regions and countries. The model for the German Schildbuergerbook of 1598 is the Lalebuch of 1597, written in Swabian only a short time before, printed in Strasbourg (and far less common). Well known in Teterow in Mecklenburg (north of East Germany) is, for example, the pike saga - a variant of the sunken bell story. In the Czech Republic, the Moravian Schildberg, today Śtíty, is known as Schildbürger - place. Even in other cultural circles, for example in the Eastern Jewish tales of the Chelm Fools or in Turkey with Hodscha Nasreddin, similar tales can be found. In England, the "Wise Men of Gotham" are comparable to the Schilda Citizens.