[Hopefully, the picture loaded okay. This is a small nation that I've been working on for about three weeks. I'd love to have comments and suggestions as to things that can be built next.]
Svalvard is a peace-loving, small, environmentally conscious nation located at the northern tip of the Jutland Peninsula. It is known for cold winters, warm summers, and the peculiarities and idiosyncracies of its citizens.
Svalvard was founded as a kingdom in 1088 by Haroldskar Svalvard, a great Nordic cheiftain who had waged bloody war against the Danes for what is now the country that bares his name. Since then, the small kingdom has been involved in no conflicts, save the Napoleonic Wars which it entered into on the side of the Carolignians, since then and its modern history is one of relative non-activity. Svalvard is not a member of NATO, and is not a member of the EU---although it has special access rights to the European Single Market. Its main imports are raw materials, electronics, and coffee and tea. Its primary exports are automobiles, kitchen appliances, lumber, agricultural products, and heavy machinery. Its primary industries are shipping, manufacturing, and agriculture.
The government of Svalvard consists of a one-house parliament called the General Assembly that meets at the General Estate of Svalvard six times a year, bimonthly. The official heads of state are the King and Queen of Svalvard, who rarely serve in any official capacity. Most executive functions, such as administration of the nation's State Police Department fall to the President of Svalvard who is elected by popular vote every five years.
PLACES IN SVALVARD
HALIFOR CITY - is a northernly city situated on Halifor Island. Halifor is where most of the offices of the nation's government are kept, and almost all of the nation's courts are located here. It also contains the PRESIDENTIAL PALACE where the president resides most of the time. The city is connected to the mainland by the LOWER PEON and UPPER ESCHELON BRIDGES.
PORT MORRO - is the second-largest port in the country, situated next to the world-famous CALAMINE BAY where the legendary founder of the nation, Haroldskar Svalvard, first landed. It is a center of finance that is directly tied to the nearby docks and shipping companies.
SVALVARD CITY - is the nation's capital and its largest city. The city is divided into the glamorous UPTOWN neighborhood and the less-prestigious MIDTOWN borough. Bordering Midtown to the west is IRON SHORES, the city's industrial sector. The city limits also include ORLOK INDUSTRIAL PARK and the once pristine LAKE ORLOK. Environmental groups are lobbying the General Estate to tear down the Industrial Park to keep the lake from becoming too polluted.
EKLAR ISLAND - was first settled by a group of monastics in 1498. In 1807, the Svalvardian Army built a fort on the island that was later shelled in 1810 by the British Navy. Most of the island was destroyed in the bombardment. A new city was commissioned in 1956 to be built on the ruins of the old monastic settlement. The modern day city is a small, close-knit town with a booming commercial fishing industry.
TROSKAR ISLAND - was where the monastics moved after leaving Eklar in 1807. The modern day community is filled with their descendants who call themselves Rememberists, adherents to a monastic lifestyle. The inhabitants of the island are regarded as friendly, but it is not a particularly large settlement.
VON KAREIN ISLE - was settled in 1704 by a small group of German pietists. In 1745, Prussian warships entered Svalvardian waters to arrest the inhabitants of Von Karein for treason. The conflict almost escalated into a war with Prussia, but cooler heads prevailed. The pietists remained until they left to join a religious community in America in the 1840's and the island was subsequently inhabited by Svalvardian smugglers until 1909 when the Von Kareins, descendants of the original settlers, returned and built a private homestead on the island.
The TOWN OF REKLINORE - is named for a famous lutist who left the then-village of Svalvard in 1289 and sailed for Venice where he became a prominent member of the Venetian court. He returned fabulously wealthy and established the modern town, which is now a sleepy halfway stop between the capital and the southwestern cities.
KURSBYTIN - was a Danish settlement that was conquered by the Svalvardians in 1089. It was then the farthest southern outpost of the Kingdom until the purchase of land from Denmark in 1360. The modern town is a small financial center that is well-liked by stock traders and native corporations.
GODFELD ISLAND - is home to the expansive CITY OF FLORINIY, the third largest city in the nation and largest in terms of overall size. This large industrial town is home to one of the nation's largest industrial centers, HAEPHAST, and the lucrative shipping areas of GOLAMY ISLAND and EAST SHORES HOLDING. The island is connected to the mainland by the FLORINIY BRIDGE and the TRANDUSKA RAILROAD BRIDGE.
HEARTLAND - is the area encompassing the middle of the country. This includes many square hectares of farmland and the villages of TURLEKO and EISENKOR. This central area of the country is sparsely inhabited and dominated by farms and dirt roads.
ANGLIKILE CITY - is the second largest city in the country and the largest financial center. Most corporations come here to set up their headquarters and it is seperated from Port Morro by the Calamine Bay. Anglikile is a relatively new and bustling city fueled by economic growth in recent decades. It is the entry point for THE GREAT EASTERN HIGHWAY that connects Svalvard to the rest of Jutland.
FARMALLE - is a small town south of Anglikile. It is a relatively wealthy area that is the preferred place of living for upper-ranking businessmen from the city.
THE STEEL PLAINS - is the nation's largest industrial park, employing most of the residents of Anglikile City. It was built farther away from most metropolitan centers to assuange the fears of environmentalists.
THE GENERAL ESTATE OF SVALVARD - is the palace of the King and Queen, inhabited by the General Assembly six times a year. It is one of the oldest structures in Svalvard, constructed in 1345 and refurbished in 1910.
THE NEW EASTERN HIGHWAY - is a brand new road linking the Heartland area with Denmark, built to relieve trucking congestion on the Great Eastern Highway.
