Lilienburg City
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Lilienburg City
Lilienburg (Lilienburger Herusian) | |
|---|---|
.jpg)      From top, left to right: Mitte-Altstadt high-rise skyline, Welberplatz with the Großes Rathaus (right) and Magdalenenhaus (left), Telmerian Union Dilsach Building, Moleküleum, Republican Gate, State Chancellery | |
.svg) Flag _COA.svg) Coat of arms | |
| Country |  Lilienburg |
| Borough | comprised of ten boroughs |
| Government | |
| • High Mayor | Helena Weissmann (independent) |
| Area | |
| • Capital city | 1.927 km2 (0.744 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 513 m (1.683 ft) |
| Population (2017) | |
| • Capital city | 510,818 |
| • Metro | 810,400 |
| Demonym | Lilienburger |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EST) |
| Postal code | 29 |
| Area code | 020 |
| Vehicle registration | LB |
Lilienburg (Hesusian: [li:ljənbʊɐ̯k]), also known as Lilienburg City[a], is the capital city and most populous settlement of the Free State of Lilienburg with 510,818 inhabitants in 2017, comprising more than three-quarter of the country's entire population. Together with its larger metropolitan area the city stands as one of the largest urban agglomerations in Telmeria at large, and the second-largest on Lake Sigismund behind Lansbruck.
Lilienburg is a special administrative unit comprised of 10 boroughs, making up approximately half of Lilienburg's entire surface area; its extensive metropolitan area encompasses the entire population of the country of approximately 800 thousand inhabitants, as well as an additional 1.2 million in Cuthland and Mascylla. Straddling the southern shoreline of Lake Sigismund and lying at the mouth of the River Imme, the city is situated at the heart of Telmeria in the Lilienburg Basin, and several major cities such as Sonthofen, Bexford, Middelpool, and Grienfield are in close proximity.
The city's existence is first recorded in 1154 as a small market town and fishing village. In the 12th century, however, it became the location of a significant monastery and the town started to grow around the Monastery of Lilienburg. The monastery gained a reputation for scholastic work as time went on, and in 1415 the University of Lilienburg was opened by the monastic order to educate monks and civil servants, largely focusing on classics and theology. The university, being the first in Telmeria, would eventually eclipse the town's other industries and become the town's raison d'être as scholars, monks and priests flocked to the town. During the 16th century the university town would assert itself as an independent city; the city's council (Stadtshaus), consisting of property owners, nobles and university graduates, would become the sole authority over the city and it declared itself the Free City of Lilienburg. The city was headed by a High Mayor, who was often a member of one of the city's merchant families during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.
Due to its strategic location and strong fortification, Lilienburg would be frequently contested between several historic states; it belonged to both the Cuthish Empire and Adhwin for various intervals, with the present-day country first emerging after the Cuthish Revolutionary War in 1801. Then, it was under the personal protection of Alexander I of Dulebia und guarded by an Aldian garrison. In 1841, during the Alhstead Wars, the Cuthish-speaking parts of Lilienburg were ceded to the Cuthish Empire, and its council government abolished in favor of a Grand Duke.
The 19th century would see the city change significantly. The House of Schiltach would come to dominate the city's government between 1810 and 1893, with the now-Grand Duke being from the House of Schiltach for the whole of that period. This was also a period in which the city industrialised and the population markedly increased to sustain this industrialisation, creating new industrial neighbourhoods of the city and drastically altering the city's social structure. However, this led to a large working-class and a growing middle-class who opposed the conservatism of the Schiltach dynasty and rallied behind the ideologies of socialism and liberalism. They were largely behind the 1896 Edelweiss Uprising, in which the House of Schiltach and the aristocracy in general were deposed in favour of a state based on popular sovereignty. In 1917, Lilienburg City became the capital of a newly independent Lilienburg as an AN Mandate.
The global city is noted for its namesake university's prestige and research, and it is also considered a cultural hub in terms of music, comedy, theatre, film and cabaret. Lilienburg's inhabitants have one of the highest GDPs per capita, at $104,182 (PPP) in 2017, and the third-highest standard of living of any city in the world. It is a major center of international diplomacy and the de facto capital of the Telmerian Union, hosting the High Secretariat, the Council of the TU and the Telmerian Parliamentary Assembly.
Notes
- a.^ Hesurian: Stadt Lilienburg or Lilienburg-Stadt, IPA: [ʃtat ˈli:ljənbʊɐ̯k] or [ˈli:ljənbʊɐ̯k ˌʃtat]