Cadenza (city)
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Cadenza
Khadenza | |
|---|---|
City | |
 Clockwise from top: River Temloth, Government Chambers, Swan Bridge, Roman Basilica of Cadenza, Astyrian Financial Centre | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
| Country | Cadenza |
| Kerepaqa | Earldom of Khadeg |
| Founded | 32 BC |
| Government | |
| • Kerep | Adrahil Kamënus |
| Area | |
| • Total | 204.8 km2 (79.1 sq mi) |
| Population (2016) | |
| • Total | 304,629 |
| • Rank | 1st |
| • Density | 1,487.45/km2 (3,852.5/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 639,483 |
| Demonym | Cadenzan |
| Time zone | UTC−2 (WTT) |
Cadenza (pronounced /kɑːˈdɛnzɑː/), also called the City of Cadenza (Khadenz: Forsi ti'Khadenzi), is the capital of the Cadenzan Duchy. With an urban population of over 300,000 and a metropolitan population of over 600,000, it is the most populous city in the country, and was a primate city until 1998.
The city is located on a bay in the east of the island of Cadenza, which lies in the Sea of Jajich. It is built around the banks of the River Temloth in its lower plain and estuary.
Much of the city's history was centred around its port, as the Maritime Republic of Cadenza dominated sea routes in western Astyria and controlled numerous trading ports around the Sea of Jajich. It was the home of a large fleet that often battled with that of its rival, Kur'zhet, and in 1329 there was a major raid on the port which left much of the area burned to the ground, though when the country allied itself to the Trellinese Empire its improved economic prosperity saw the city entirely rebuilt in greater splendour.
Today, the importance of Cadenza as a port has entered decline, faced with competition from Kur'zhet and the refocusing of the city's grain trade to the port at Emigar. The government instead has refocused the city's economy, basing it heavily around its financial sector in a successful bid to attract international business. Its tourism sector has also seen substantial growth and become a comparatively major destination in Teudallum. Cadenza remains the most important ferry port on the island and as such is the country's main link to the rest of Astyria.
History
Toponymy
Cadenza was colonised Ethlorek migrants, coming along the coast from Trellin, who named the island Khade. The original settlement of Cadenza was named Khadezha Iniza, or 'Town on Khade', which over the years was contracted to Khadenza.
Settlement and early history
The site of modern Cadenza was first settled in 32 BC by an Ethlorek people, the first of several waves of Ethlorek migration to reach their most westerly destination.
Modern history
The modern history of Cadenza is usually considered to have begun after the 1641 Burning of Cadenza, when a fire set by Cadenzan and Kur'zheti conspirators swept through and destroyed much of the city on the south bank. The fire, which also spread across bridges to inflict considerable damage along the north bank, left the Berúna district and the port below intact, but ravaged most of the town centre. In subsequent years, ambitious plans were drawn up to redesign the entire centre, with wider, straighter roads to prevent such a disaster from reoccurring. The results were long, broad boulevards such as Grand Avenue (now the location of most government buildings) and Duke of Lindros Avenue, both intersected by smaller roads such as Bishop's Street, Opera Lane and Razeth Street.
In the 1800s, most of the city's port facilities moved out from the old, cramped harbour district on the north bank and into the areas behind Emerald and Amethyst Quays.
Geography
Cadenza lies on the floodplain and around the estuary of the River Temloth, being built on both banks of the river though principally the southwest. This has given the city and its hinterland a large area of level ground for development,
Climate
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Cadenza experiences an equatorial tropical rainforest climate. The weather station at the Port of Cadenza records an average of 1,450 mm annually, somewhat more than the imperial average of 1200 mm. A strong, regular southeasterly air stream from mainland Trellin deflects most larger storm-bearing weather systems, though the level of rainfall remains high.
Cadenza receives very little temperature variation during the course of the year, with an annual average range of just 6 degrees Celsius. The average highs vary by only 4 degrees, while the lowest temperatures tend to be from June to August. This situation has been brought about by the country's equatorial position and the almost constant ocean temperatures around it.
Economy
The island's capital has historically been the economic heart of the country. The south bank of the river was characterised by heavy industry, particularly shipbuilding, until the centre of the country's grain trade shifted to Emigar in the 1970s and the shipyards of Kur'zhet became serious competition for Cadenzan industry. By the 1980s, the capital's economy - and that of much of the country - had entered severe recession. Foreign consultants recommended that Cadenza reinvent itself as a hub of regional trade. This was accomplished by heavy subsidisation of foreign financial companies to establish headquarters in the city.
The city's main road, Grand Avenue, is one of the busiest shopping streets in western Astyria, with it and the numerous other shopping streets running off it comprising the Great Central Ward.
Finance and services
The City of Cadenza is the heart of the country's financial sector, itself one of the most important in Astyria. A heavily state-sponsored project was the Astyrian Financial Centre, a stretch of waterfront towers which host firms such as Cadenza Financial, Bank of Yohannes, Ilius Financial of Aquitayne and Príomhbanc Maltróipea of Maltropia. A number of major international financial corporations maintain their regional headquarters in the AFC.
Transport
Cadenza relies heavily on its road network for connections to the rest of the island, as the country's small size has restricted rail growth. The C1 motorway passes through the city, connecting it to the south and north ends of the country, while the new C4 motorway will link it more efficiently to nearby Mefra.
The River Temloth, which divides the city in two, is crossed by a number of bridges and one tunnel (that of the C1 motorway) within the city limits. The most well-known is the Swan Bridge, designed by Arimathean architect Iriyen Palaiko.
Access to the city from off the island is facilitated mainly by ferry links to Trellin and the rest of Astyria. Regular sailings connect the Port of Cadenza to Medlar, Khem, Durats and other Trellinese ports, as well as to Panoli in Neu Engollon, South Sands in the Aurora Confederacy and Alexandria in the Blackhelm Confederacy. Cruise ships also regularly dock at Cadenza before continuing to other Trellinese and Astyrian harbours.
The island's largest airport is just outside the city, with routes connecting it to other major airports in Teudallum and western Astyria. It is a key hub for Trellinese Airlines, which maintains a network of routes between Cadenza and other cities in the Trellinese Empire, as well as Sidereal Airways and the national carrier Air Khade.
Tourism
The city's own tourism industry has enjoyed substantial growth since the 1990s, owing this largely to government investment in the transport infrastructure. The modern trend towards foreign tourism has seen the introduction of new routes package holidays to Cadenza from across western Astyria, the local climate being consistently warm, albeit rainy. The city council has given increased attention and funding to local cultural festivals in a bid to capitalise on this potential, launching a full redevelopment of the declining port as a coastal promenade and tourist centre.
Demographics
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Cadenza is the most populous city in the country, with a metropolitan population of 639,483 as of the 2016 census (which classifies the entire earldom of Khadeg as the city's metropolitan area). It had an urban population of 304,629 in 2016, making it the eighty-ninth most populous city in the Trellinese Empire. Prior to a property boom in the neighbouring city of Temir, Cadenza was a primate city and still accounts for over half of the country's urban population. Nearly 71% of the population is of Khandenzi descent, slightly less than the nation's average as a consequence of an influx of foreign business and immigrants. The majority of the non-Khadenzi population is comprised of Trellinese, Kur'zheti and Velaric ethnicities. Growing minorities include Aquitaynian and Neu Engolleen as a result of business ties between their respective countries and Cadenza.
Religion
As in most Ethlorek cities, Ladath Thaerinë is the most practiced religion, though in Cadenza the number of declared Thaerine adherents is lower than the imperial average at just 45%. The city is noteworthy for having the largest percentage of Roman Catholics of any city in the Trellinese Empire, at 44%. Early and medieval religious architecture in Cadenza was heavily influenced by Roman refugees from what is now the Blackhelm Confederacy and, as a result, both Christian churches and Thaerine temples tend to have similar architecture. This is particularly evident in the Roman Basilica of Cadenza, a Thaerine temple. The Cathedral of Saint Misrav and the Martyrs is the seat of the Archdiocese of Khade and a site of pilgrimage.
Culture
The City of Cadenza is known for being the home of the most full expression of the island's culture, which it celebrates in the annual Cadenzan Festival of Culture, instituted in 1989 to celebrate 2,000 years since the city's founding. In commemoration of the cultural significance of Cadenza and its various annual celebrations, the city was honorarily named the inaugural Astyrian Capital of Culture for summer 2014, during the twenty-fifth Festival of Culture. The Festival is known to draw in participants from across the island and from throughout Astyria and has become increasingly popular in recent years.
Cadenza offers a vibrant nightlife and numerous restaurants offering local cuisine, attracting tens of thousands of tourists every year.
Music is an integral aspect of Cadenzan culture, and few of the country's cities are without some major music venue. The largest of these is the Royal Concert Hall of Cadenza, which has hosted orchestras and performances from throughout Astyria and remains one of the best-known landmarks on the island.
International relations
Cadenza is twinned with the following cities:
