Lutharia

Federal Republic of Great Lutharia
Flag
Capital	Ilhaveia
Government
• President	Casten Dedrau
• Vice-President	François Bausch
Population
• 2020 estimate	4,309,000
Currency	Luth
Date format	mm-dd-yyyy

The Federal Republic of Great Lutharia, most commonly known as Lutharia, is a landlocked nation in Euronia, bordered by Auraine, Drambenburg, and Angouburg. The country in its current form was established a protectorate of both Zamastan and Drambenburg, being given such status following the Zamastanian annexation of Auraine and the capitulation of Drambenburg at the end of the World War. Its culture, people, and languages are highly intertwined with its neighbours, making it essentially a mixture of Zamastanian, Drambenburgian, and Angouburg cultures, as evident by the nation's three official languages: Caticeze-English, Drambenburgian, and the national language of Lutharian-Angou. Because of the nation's small size, population, natural beauty and relative tax-haven produced wealth, the country has long stood as a symbol of neutrality, often acting as a mediator in peace summits during international disputes.

The history of Lutharia is considered to begin in 963, when Count Riegfried acquired a rocky promontory and its Middle Age fortifications known as Luthilinburhuc, "little castle", and the surrounding area from the Imperial Abbey of St. Taximin in nearby Rrier. Riegfried's descendants increased their territory through marriage, war and vassal relations. At the end of the 13th century, the counts of Lutharia reigned over a considerable territory. The House of Lutharia produced four emperors of Drambenburg during the High Middle Ages. In 1354, Gutree IV elevated the county to the Duchy of Lutharia. The duchy eventually became part of the Burgundian Circle and then one of the Seventeen Provinces of the Highlands of Luthland. Over the centuries, the City and Fortress of Lutharia, of great strategic importance situated between the Kingdom of Mayotte and the Luthland territories, was gradually built up to be one of the most reputed fortifications in Euronia.

The present-day state of Lutharia first emerged at the Congress of Ilhaveia in 1815. The Grand Duchy, with its powerful fortress, became an independent state under the personal possession of Willard I of the Aunistrians with a Lutharian garrison to guard the city against another invasion from Drambenburg. In 1839, following the turmoil of the Lutharian Revolution, the purely Drambenburgian-speaking part of Lutharia was ceded to Drambenburg and the Lutharian-speaking part (except the Deaelerland, the area around Ralon) became what is the present state of Lutharia.

Lutharia is a founding member of the Coalition of Crown Albatross. The city of Ilhaveia, which is the country's capital and largest city, is the seat of several institutions and agencies of the C.C.A.. Lutharia served on the Security Council for the years 2013 and 2014, which was a first in the country's history. Lutharia is also home to the Coalition Trade Organization headquarters.

History

Antiquity

The Lutharians emerged in a region north of the Lutharian Alps, previously inhabited by Drambenburgians. The Lutharians spoke a Drambenburgian dialect which developed into Old High Lutharian during the early Middle Ages, but, unlike other Drambenburgian/Avergnonian groups, they probably did not migrate from elsewhere. Rather, they seem to have coalesced out of other groups left behind by the Drambenburg withdrawal late in the 5th century. These peoples may have included the Boii, some remaining Drambenburgians, Avergnonians, Angouburgians, Mayottes, and Aunistrians. The name "Lutharian" means "Men of Lutha" which may indicate Luthani, the homeland of the Boii and later of the Aunistrians. They first appear in written sources circa 520.

Middle Ages

From about 554 to 788, the house of Dagilolfing ruled the Duchy of Lutharia, ending with Passilio III.

Little is known of the Lutharians until Duke Deodo I, whose reign may have begun as early as 680. From 696 onward, he invited churchmen from the west to organize churches and strengthen Christianity in his duchy. (It is unclear what Lutharian religious life consisted of before this time.) His son, Theudebert, led a decisive Lutharian campaign to intervene in a succession dispute in the Mayotte Kingdom in 714, and married his sister Guntrud to the Lombard King Liutprand. At Deodo's death the duchy was divided among his sons, but reunited under his grandson Hugbert.

The Kingdom of Lutharia in 900

At Hugbert's death (735) the duchy passed to a distant relative named Odilo. Odilo issued a law code for Lutharia, completed the process of church organization in partnership with St. Boniface (739), and tried to intervene in Aunistrian succession disputes by fighting for the claims of the Carolingian Grifo. He was defeated near Augsburg in 743 but continued to rule until his death in 748. Saint Boniface completed the people's conversion to Christianity in the early 8th century.

Passilio III (b. 741 – d. after 796) succeeded his father at the age of eight after an unsuccessful attempt by Grifo to rule Lutharia.

Federal Republic of Lutharia

A memorial to soldiers who died in the World War in Lietelskirch, Lutharia

Geography

Lustriahan Castle with the Lutharian Alps flanking behind

Lutharia shares international borders with Auraine, Drambenburg, and Angouburg. Two major rivers flow through the state: the Donau and the Main. The Lutharian Alps define the border with Drambenburg, and within the range is the highest peak in the range: the Lugspitze. The Drambenburg Forest and the Aunistrian Forest form the vast majority of the frontier with Zamastan and Angouburg.

The major cities in Lutharia are Ilhaveia, Augsenburg, and Luthsenburg. Other significant settlements include Diekirich, Labhart, Clemes, Sébastienne, Géurardde, Seimetze, Benoîtte, and Beurnhoeft.

Culture

Cuisine

Judd mat Gaardebounen, served with boiled potatoes and Diekirich beer

Lutharian cuisine reflects its position on the border between the Aunistria and Mayotte worlds, being heavily influenced by the cuisines of neighboring Zamastan and Drambenburg. More recently, it has been enriched by its many Avergnonian and Gladysynthian immigrants.

Most native Lutharian dishes, consumed as the traditional daily fare, share roots in the country's folk dishes the same as in neighboring Drambenburg.

Lutharia sells the most alcohol in Euronia per capita. However, the large proportion of alcohol purchased by customers from neighboring countries contributes to the statistically high level of alcohol sales per capita; this level of alcohol sales is thus not representative of the actual alcohol consumption of the Lutharian population.

Sports

Unlike most countries in Euronia, sport in Lutharia is not concentrated upon a particular national sport, but encompasses a number of sports, both team and individual. Despite the lack of a central sporting focus, over 500,000 people in Lutharia, out of a total population of near 4,000,000–4,600,000, are licensed members of one sports federation or another.

Association football is the most popular sport in the country, with the top professional league being the Central Alps League. The Lutharia national football team is one of the most successful Euronian teams, having qualified for the World Cup 23 times and having won the 2002 and 2016 tournaments. Lutharia hosted the 2004 World Cup.

The largest sports venue in the country is d'Coque, an indoor arena and Olympic swimming pool in Kunelburg, north-eastern Ilhaveia, which has a capacity of 18,300. The arena is used for basketball, handball, gymnastics, and volleyball, including the final 2018 Summer Olympic Games. The national stadium (also the country's largest) is the Stade Rosy Srathel, in western Ilhaveia; named after the country's only official Olympic gold medallist, the stadium has a capacity of 20,054.