Gmunenhochwald
Raugraviate of Gmunenhochwald Raugrafschaft auf Gmunenhochwald (Alemannisch) | |
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 Flag | |
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| Location | Gmunenhochwald within Dolchland. |
| Capital | Untergmunenbrucken |
| Official languages | Alemannisch |
| Government | |
• Raugrave | Ernst Klemens VI |
| Legislature | Raugrafstag |
| Hirtenrat | |
| Schäferrat | |
| Constituent State of Dolchland | |
Gmunenhochwald, officially the Raugraviate of Gmunenhochwald (Alemannisch: Raugrafschaft auf Gmunenhochwald), is a semi-independent constituent state of Dolchland, in south-eastern Argis. It is located at almost the geographic centre of the country, between the two mountain ranges of $$$ and $$$. It borders the states of Greater Vethringen to the north, an exclave of Panedonia and Witternen to east, the southern part of Panedonia to the south-east, Macklenover and Märzwald to the south and $$$ and $$$ to the west. Gmunenhochwald is a landlocked nation and it has no direct route to the coast. The Raugraviate has a population of $$$, which is mainly rural, is concentrated along the large valley between the mountains, although the majority of the population still lives amongst the valleys, upland fields and forests of the mountains themselves. The river Gmune runs through the central valley and down through the country, forming a broad fertile floodplain in the east of the nation where it exits into Witternen. There are very few urban areas of any real size and most of these are clustered along the Gmune. The total area of the Raugraviate is $$$. The official language is Alemannisch, athough there are numerous different dialects spoken, some of them with very small geographic spreads. The primary and official religionn is $$$, with the Raugrave acting as the Head of the Church.
The Raugraviate is a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy, with the power of the Raugrave defined by the consitution, the $$$. The Raugrave does retain significant powers, however, with the ability to dismiss the government at will, as well as to define laws as they see fit. In practice, however, this is limited by the often personal relationship between the monarch and their government, as well as years of tradition and protocol. The current Raugrave is Ernst Klemens VI of the House of . The capital and largest city, Untergmunenbrucken, is in the south-east of the country, towards the Witternen.
It sits the main pass between the two central mountain ranges of central Dolchland, which means that it has often had . Although not a wealthy country, primarily due to the broken and mountainous nature of its terrain, its position means that its territory holds many of the southern passes through the mountains from the lower coastal plains of Dolchland. This has meant that the area has often been fought over, which has meant that the inhabitants are often suspicious of outsiders. In turn, the historical reaction of Gmunenhochwalders to enemy armies, namely retreating to the higher forested peaks and then ambushing them in the passes, has meant that the inhabitants are often regarded as sneaky and unstrustworthy by their neighbours.
Due to the nature of the Raugraviate as more of a collection of high valleys, isolated pastures, isolated settlements and castles looming over precarious roads, the Raugraves have often been forced into a more consensual style of rule, rather than authoritarian or absolutist. This means that whilst the people of the state are often much more independently minded than their neighbours, they feel that they have much more at stake in their state than many of the others.
The state was historically famous for its knightly highwaymen, termed Raubritter, and the Grenzjäger, the gendarmerie that descend from the bands of irregulars that harried invaders of Gmunenhochwald.