The earliest record of people settling in what is now Molvaria comes from approximately 350BC. Unfortunately, only 20 years later the fledgling Molvarian settlement was ransacked by Alexander the Great. There is then a period where there is little evidence of any meaningful colony in the region until 400AD, when a small fort was established by a nomadic tribe not far from what is now Pochiv. Unfortunately, in 436, the early Molvarians once again had their town destroyed, this time by Attila the Hun and his forces.
By 1100 a bustling settlement had formed on the banks of the Draga. Originally its inhabitants called it Pogbak, but over the ensuing centuries this changed and by 1560 the town was called Pochiv and the name has stuck. During this time, Pochiv saw great economic prosperity, perfectly located to trade with the Ottoman Empire to the south, Hungary and the Holy Roman Empire to the west and the Golden Horde, and latterly the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the north. The area around Pochiv also benefited from the trade routes and it wasn’t long before the Kingdom of Molvaria was formed by King Radul I in 1678.
However, the newly formed Kingdom of Molvaria did not last long. In 1689 King Radul I was killed in battle by Hungarian King Joseph I. This was viewed as hugely embarrassing by the Molvarian people as Joseph I was aged just 11. Molvaria was subsequently absorbed into the Kingdom of Hungary, which in 1867 became the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary.
Being on the eastern-most outskirts of the empire, Molvaria was largely forgotten by its rulers. Indeed, when the First World War started in 1914, following the assassination of Franz Ferdinand – the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne – it reportedly took seven months for the Molvarians to discover that they were at war. It took until 1918 for the empire to remember to conscript Molvarian soldiers and by the time they arrived at the front line the war was all but over.
Following the dissolution of Austria-Hungary at the end of the First World War, Molvaria became part of the Second Polish Republic, where it remained until Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany in 1939. After the Second World War, Molvaria became part of the Soviet Union until the USSR collapsed in 1991. The Republic of Molvaria was formed shortly afterwards.
Key Events Since Independence
1992 – Refurbishment of Molvaria’s Pipe Network
1993 – Cuckoo Clock Subsidies
1994 – The Flag Debacle of 1994
1998 – The Buzsacan Incident
2003 – Lithuanian Hacking Scandal
2004 – The Great Oil Expedition