Asgård

This article is about the capital of Sjealand. For other uses, see Asgård (disambiguation).

Asgård Stad
City and Sovereign Region
The Most Sublime Capital City of Asgård, the gate of Nordania
Following down left to right: Asgård Palace, Royal Gardens, National Museum of Sjealand, Riverside view of Asgård, City Hall of Asgård, Sønderstad Neighbourhood, Flådehuset, Bridge of Kings
Flag Coat of arms
Motto(s):  "Loyalty and community" ("Troskab og fælleskab")
Coordinates:
Country	Sjealand
Realm	Asgård Realm
Sovereign Region	Asgård Stad
First mention	9th century
City Status	1165
Made capital	1376
Government
• Type	High Council
• Lord Mayor	Ragni Magnusdottir (Radikale)
• Mayor of Economics	Erling Petterson (Fremskridtspartiet)
• Mayor of Demographics	Nanna Olsen (Union)
• Mayor of Culture	Niels Nielsen (Liberal Alliance)
• Mayor of Justice	Bo Andersen (Føderalisterne)
Area
• City and Sovereign Region	347.76 km2 (134.27 sq mi)
• Land	322.57 km2 (124.54 sq mi)
• Water	25.19 km2 (9.73 sq mi)
Population  (January 2017)
• City and Sovereign Region	3,562,147
• Density	10,000/km2 (27,000/sq mi)
• Urban	2,456,765
• Metro	3,562,147
• Ethnicity	92.14% Sjealanders 7.86% Other
Demonym(s)	Asgårdsbo As
Time zone	UTC-5 (UTC-5)
Postal Code	1000
Area code	+45
Website	Asgaard.sj

Asgård (IPA /’æːzgɑ˞d) (Tynic: Asgård /’as.ɡ̊ɔˀ/) is the capital and most populous city of Sjealand. It has a municipal population of 1,672,456 and a larger urban population of 3,562,147 (as of 1 January 2016). The Greater Asgård metropolitan area has just over 3.5 million inhabitants. The city sits at the mouth of the Kongeelven river spewing into the Grønnebugt bay and is surrounded on the coast by the Asgård Skærgård. It is the largest Tynic-speaking city in the world, and was until the Continental War, the largest city in Nordania. Today, it is regarded as one of, of not the primary trend-setter within Nordania when it comes to culture, art and fashion. Asgård is host to the Tynic Commission and is the primary port on the Tynic Sea. The city is located in the southern part of Sjealand and is regarded as the principle city of Sjealandic design and nature, effectively combining the local flora with the urbanized core. Famous for its historical city-centre, the archipelago surrounding it and within it and for its high number of palaces, mansions and historical site, Asgård is often touted as a grand example of Nordanian city-building. Asgård is known for its high quality of life.

Thanks to its long history of trade and wealth Asgård is regarded as a Capital of Culture for Nordania and is often called as the City of Music. Starting out as a proto-nordanian settlement, with traces of human habitation dating back to the 3rd millenia BC, with the first permanent settlements being placed around 50 AD. Around the 300's the area surrounding the city was taken over by migrating Tynics from the coastal plains of the modern-day County of Fjelland, resulting in the first permanent settlements around the Kongeelven. Beginning in the 12th century the Sjealandic monarch gave the city the privileges of a Fristad (Free city) while they themselves moved around the country. The city became the permanent seat of government when Valdemar V moved his court to Asgård Palace in 1376, ending the process of the Landehof. From after the First Tuthinan Expedition the city consolidated itself as one of the primary centres of power in the Tynic Sea, with its cultural institutions, defences and educational facilities. Moreover the wealth of trade from the Sjealandic monopoly in trade with Tuthina, Lahudica and Borea meant that immense wealth flowed through the city resulting in the construction of the first Sjealandic university in 1398. After suffering from several major fires, the last one being in 1801, Asgård underwent a period of rebuilding, which included the ambitious project of digging free a large part of the governmental district on minor islands resulting in the State Archipelago. In the Golden Age (1824-1910) Asgård underwent further redevelopment which largely rebuilt the city with a more neoclassical and national romantic building style. The middle of the 20th century brought with it the Trident plan which laid out the expansion of Asgård on both sides of the mouth of Kongeelven aswell as on the banks river itself. The end of the long line of conservative governments in 1989, saw a strong urban and cultural renewal, facilitated by investment in new infrastructure and public facilities.

The city is the economic, cultural, governmental and royal centre of Sjealand and a major financial center with its stock exchange Statsbørsen. The economy has seen a rapid development in its service sector, focused especially on the many new initiatives made by independent companies in the 2000's which included the founding of major companies like PETREA and NordTalk. Asgård is increasingly becoming integrated with the outer Tusindøerne region, with ferry and helicopter connections to the outer islands proving the base of a growing emigration of families from the city centre to the outlying islands, as a response to this the local government has initiated plans for wider ferry canals to limit the pressure that large sea travel is creating on the surrounding waters. With many bridges connecting the islands and districts, Asgårds cityscape is extensively marine, characterized by parks, promenades, waterfronts and plazas. A ban on buildings taller than 10 stories has also given Asgård the aura of a smaller city than it actually is. Asgård's landsmarks such as the Asgård Palace, The Grand Temple, Shrine to Ægir and the Kongens Have Gardens and the many museums, restaurants, nightclubs and newer cultural hubs are major tourist attractions.

Asgård is home to the University of Asgård, Southern Sjealands Business College, Southwestern Sjealands Technical University and the Asgård Academy of the Finer Arts. The University of Asgård is the oldest university in Sjealand. Asgård is home to the three rival football clubs FC Asgård, FC Nørreport and FC Østerhavn whose fans often clash in central Asgård. Asgård is part of the top of the most bike-friendly cities in its region and the world. The Asgård metro serves to bind many of Asgårds islands together and alliviates the pressure on the roads and bridges of the mainland. The S-Bane electric trains connect Metropolitan Asgård with its suburbs and outlying towns and hamlets. Its major airport is Asgård International.

Etymology

The name Asgård comes from all the North-Nordanian languages and is an derived from the word As, which is the name of one of the races of gods in Ríkr Átrunaðr and the word gård, meaning farm or place. Together it means place of the gods or home of the gods. As Ríkr Átrunaðr became Sjealand's dominant religion and with Valdemar the Great's conquests Sjealand was subdivided into 9 constituent realms mirroring the 9 realms of the Norcist faith. Asgård, being located in the centre of the Asgård Realm started out under the name Aghar coming from the Tynic word Ager meaning farmsoil. It was first in the early 1100's that the city began a slow change in name as result of the Archkings increasing presence and with the city's prominent place in trade an eventual complete change had occurred around the 1200's. The city's official name Asgård Stad, meaning Asgård City, is merely there to differentiate it from the Asgård Realm or Riget Asgård.

In official documents the city is called The Most Sublime Capital City of Asgård, the gate of Nordania. The prefix Most Sublime is traditional prefix added to the 9 cities that served as temporary capitals during the Age of the State. The suffix The gate of Nordania refers to the Sjealand viewpoint as Nordanias connector to Lahudica and Borea through its historical monopoly on trade in the area. As such with Asgård being the prime port the city gained a reputation as the introducer of Nordania to Westerners.

History

Ancient history and early gilded age

Nalø Dagger

Artists depiction of the battle

The earliest mention of Asgård comes from the 887 book called the Book of Shires or Herredsbogen where a settlement at the Kongeelven River is named called Ager (Tynic from Old Nordanian akr meaning field). In the book the village is listed as belonging to the Count of Fjelland, a direct vassal of the Archking. However the book also lists several other older settlements who had at times existed around the estuary. However for the purposes of history these settlements had been abandoned and the 887 naming of the city presents the oldest known direct unbroken link to the modern city of Asgård. While the city itself was first named in the 9th century, traces of human habitation dates back millenia. Already in 5400 BCE were migrating hunter-gatherers present around modern day Asgård, with traces of primitive settlements being found from different times in the stone-age. Archeological digs have shown that these settlements were not permanent and were one of several areas along the Grønnebugt Bay that ancient inhabitants would move between while following the animals of both the land and the waters. Remains of weapons and tools show an incredibly artistic talent with the limited materials present, with harpoons, javelins and spears being found, as well as the impressive Nalø Dagger, a stonge age dagger believed to have been carved around 4000 BCE.

With the introduction of iron in Sjealand as well the migration of old Nordanians into Sjealand, the political aspects of the area changed as the population was increased dramatically by the migrations, leading to conflict, especially in the fertile areas in southern Sjealand around Asgård. Archeological digs when expanding the Asgård Metro lead archeologists to discover large amounts of weapons and people sacrificed after a great battle at the banks of the Asgård Estuary. At least 7 boats of the Sjealandic Hjortspring type were found alongside 200 spear-heads and many other types of armor and weapons, showing signs of invaders by sea being repelled by those living there. Estimates place the population of the Asgård area to have been around 3000 people divided into 50 smaller settlements or Bygder who united in times of conflict. This shows the beginning of organised governance around the Asgård area.

In 887, when the city was first named, it had little more than 11 families living in it. It was primarily a fishing village, living off the fertile fish flocks in the Grønnebugt Bay. According to Herredsbogen, the village had been made excempt from sending levies to war as a result of the annual migrating flocks of herring. The catch of these herrings quickly created a large market for salted fish in the area and the Count had decided the villagers would focus on fishing instead of fighting. This resulted in many people flocking to the city, both so they could earn money from the fish and also so they could avoid acting as levies in the armies of the count. The continued growth and prosperity first led to the Archking Erik IV granting the growing town city status in 1165 as he annexed the county of Fjelland into his own personal domain. At the time the monarchs of Sjealand did not have a personal residence, as they instead constantly travelled between different palaces in Sjealand so the medieate in local affairs and effectively govern the 9 realms. This process, called the Landehof (Court of the Country) essentially gave the country 9 different capital cities with their own bureaucracies and courtiers. While this was necessary in the age when moving through the country was slow, Sjealand became increasingly interconnected as the wealth from the Tuthinan trade made Sjealand increasingly more prosperous. Especially Asgård, which at this point was still called Ager, gained incredibly prosperity from the trade. In the middle of the 1200's the city itself had reached a population of 5000.

Model of central Asgård in the 1200's

The increasing population and wealth of Sjealandic cities were part of the reasons that Valdemar V in the 1370´s began drawing up plans for moving into a permanent capital. In the end his choice fell in Asgård thanks to its strategic location in the Tynic Sea, its important trade location as well as the possibilities for both expansion and defence. The Archking proclaimed the city as capital in 1375. Changing its name from Ager to Asgård, to suit its new status as the centre of government for his atrunean monarchy.

Gilded age

Nordlys-diamond at the Royal Asgård Treasury, made in 1450

With its newfound position as the capital of Sjealand, the city cemented its position in Sjealand as both the spiritual and secular seat of power in Sjealand. In 1410 at the behest of Archking Erik V, the Gudstaler of the Northern Faith moved his seat from the holy city of Yngsvilla, to the newly constructed Grand Temple in Asgård. The increasing support from both the monarchy and the faith, saw the city prosper as the amount of trade going throw the city and the amount of people moving increased exponentially, reaching 12,000 in 1400. Thanks to this increased support, the city council decided in 1420 to use a large parts of its revenue to buy an amount of mines in the Sydfjeldene mountains, as well as a large amount of Nahua thralls from Karazawa. The discovery of precious gems in the mountains and the cheap thralls brought in from the Nordanian thrall trade proved a golden opportunity for the council, which sought to control not the mining of the gems, but the cutting of them, aswell as the jewelsmiths putting them into jewelry. This proved incredibly profitable, as the city brought in diamond-cutters from across Nordania with monetary support from the monarchy. As the jewelry industry did not threaten existing industries in the city, relations remained cordial between the natives and the recent immigrants, with the diamond-families blending in fairly well with the local population, with many of them recieving knighthood or titles of nobility for their work, one of them the Uhlefeld family was raised to Barons of Tryga for making the crown of Sjealand, one of the most exemplary pieces of 17th century Nordanian crowns.

As Sjealand slowly regained itself following the end of the Swastrian Invasions and the war of vengenace, the city found itself in a newfound position as the dominant trade-port of the Tynic Sea with thousands of merchants flocking to its markets and to buy Tuthinan spices, silk, clothes, weaponry and luxury items. Asgård slowly fell into a strong niche as the central middle-man of Nordano-Borean trade as Sjealandic trade-vessels returning from Tuthina brought dozens of cargoholds worth of spices. The increased revenue was also put into the city itself, construction began in 1420 on the Asgård Palace following a fire in the earlier Asgård Castle eradicated much of the royal areas of the city. While the Royal Family family moved inland to the Søskøn Palace architects from Vasturia was brought in to help oversee construction of one of the largest palaces in Nordania at the time, built in the Vasturian Style. This period of rapid construction also saw Asgård outgrow its original earthern walls, which were torn down and replaced by a much longer stone-wall, which helped increase the defensiveness of the city, which had already been besieged 7 times in the last 200 years, but had yet to have fallen. As the town became more prominent, it was repeatedly attacked by raiders from Sassau, which saw to end the Sjealandic rise before it began, but the strong Sjealandic navy, which had seen increased funding was able to fend them off. The Asgård University, founded in 1395 by Allessian missionary Ludwig van Hehloven also saw an increased number of students in the High middle Ages.

16th century

In the early 1500's a plague, the Hollowing Rot, strain of bubonic plague, originating from Akai in modern day Akai, reached the city from traders fleeing the outbreak in Lazinato. The first confirmed death was the dock-hand Niels Okse, who died on the 5th of January 1517. In the weeks following his death dozens of others contracted and died from the illness which swept through the city, claiming hundreds of lives. Of a population before the outbreak of 28,000 the city saw 7,000 casualties, including Archking Olaf II who had contracted the Hollowing Rot and died in 1519. The disease slowly died out in Asgård, but swept across Nordania after it had finished with the capital. The outbreak left the economy of the city crippled, but also created a demand for workers, both skilled and unskilled, and the city experiences a migrational boom.

This was only improved further as returning vessels of the Sjealandic trade-companies had experienced some of their best years abroad, with expansions into the Nautasian and Akai markets. This brought much needed traffic to the city, which was able to recover from the Hollowing Rot. The expansion of trade and the city's ability to rise after such a deadly epidemic gained it international attentions, most notably from Akai. Prince Ailike of Lazinato, visited Asgård under an assumed identity, studying the management of the city, the trade as well as its defences, noting the expertise with which the forts and walls surrounding the city were used, knowledge he would later use in his native capital. In 1534 the city was furthermore visited by the Jorvish Grand Duke, Sikke III, who had become one of Nordanias wealthiest monarchs, and was on a continent-spanning tour. Arriving in Asgård, he was recieved with a regatta throughout the Kongeelven and the canals of the city, and was celebrated widely across the city thanks to his philantropy, reputation and charm. The Grand Duke was a frequent visitor of the city´s theatres, operas and concerts and was a prolific buyer of jewelry, most notably the Grand Ducal Coronet of Jorland, one of the most lavish crowns of Nordania. He was also taken to the Asgård Dockyards, where he recieved exclusive tours of the large complex after which he was gifted a small luxurious barge by the city council.

Regatta on the Kongeelven in Honor of Sikke III, Grand Duke of Jorland by Rasmus Kongshøj.

The latter half of the 1500's saw an increased military presence in the city, with the Asgård Dockyards expanding to accomodate the rising need for ships of the Royal Sjealandian Navy which was involved in a number of wars and conflicts in Nautasia, Lahudica and Akai.

17th and 18th centuries

Sjealandic counterattack during the 1613 siege

View from the Asgård Ramparts

In 1613 a punitive expedition of swastrian troops from several of the petty states of modern day Swastria landed at Frederikssted south of Asgård, and soon marched towards the city which was promptly encircled and besieged. The expedition was part of a wider conflict between Sjealand and the Swastrian states over dominance of the eastern Tynic Sea. The swastrian navy blockading the city was beaten back by a reinforcing navy and the siege broken, with little damage wrought upon the city itself, but considerable damage to the walls and fortifications surrounding the city. As a result the city government deemed a reconstruction of the city's fortifications necessary. Luzarran military engineer Baran Ibarra was brought in to re-design and revamp the fortification of the city as well as the general layout.

The earlier ramparts of the city, which had been in existence since the middle ages, were torn down and the city was expanded in most general directions, reading the north-western bank of the Kongeelven for the first time, the city now spreading to both sides of the river. The small islands were Asgård Palace and other important buildings lay were reinforced with stone barriers and a layer of ramparts were laid south of the islands. Two further fortresses were constructed on the eastern bank and one on the western bank, with new walls and ramparts being constructed further apart from the old ones, both to give space for expansion of the city, and to gave grazing areas inside the city in the event of a siege. This led to the establishment of what today is known as Asgård Riffelsyndikat, at the time known as Hovedstadens Kannonstøberi or The Cannonfoundry of the Capital, because of the large need for more and newer fortress artillery on the banks.

These evolutions led to the city becoming a hotbed for future military-engineers, eager to study the work of the Ibarra, who had become famous across Nordania for his abilities and skills in military engineering, which had been put to use across the continent. The expansion of the city coupled with the increased military presence also led to a more secure general trade to Asgård, as privateers and pirates were scared away by the growing Royal Sjealandian Navy, which had become to the largest navy on the continent. The increased revenue proved a boon to both the town government as well as the monarch, with both investing heavily in reconstruction and renovations in the city, to mirror the wealth it produced. Frederik I launched an extensive renovation of Asgård Palace as well as the State Archipelago, with the area becoming one of the most famous baroque neighbourhoods in Nordania.

This period of general prosperity recieved however a general setback when the War of the Ambrosian Succession broke out in 1673, with Ambrose trying to leave the personal union it had formed with Sjealand since end of the Despenser War in 1324. The war led to anti-ambrosian riots in the city as ethnic Tynics as well as Loyalist Ambrosians assaulted Ambrosian neighbourhoods in the city, with the areas being burned down, and the fire slowly spread throughout the outskirts of the city. Ambrosians supporting the independence faction saw this as a direct attack from the monarchy on their identity and stormed through the city on their way to Asgård Palace, but were repulsed by the Ambrosian Royal Guard on the bridges leading to the State Archipelago. The Ambrosians were then surrounded by loyalists and massacred in what became known as the Bloodbath of 1673.

Modern remnants of the old ramparts

The war with the independent Ambrose and its allies led to a heavy militarisation of Asgård as countless navies were equipped in the capital and set to quell the uprisings. With the war ending in Sjealandic failure the ties between Asgård and Ambrose were severed, even though Sjealand managed to gain significant holdings in Vasturia. Plunders stolen from the Ambrosian treasury during the Sjealandic retreat were brought to Sjealand and put on display in Asgård's treasury, much to the chagrin of the Ambrosians.

With the change of the century in 1700, Asgård reached its so far highest levels of wealth and prosperity as an expansion of rights in Borea, Lahudica, Akai and Nautasia rapidly increased the posibilities of Sjealandic merchants in the area, and led to a massive public projects in Asgård, such as the creation of the Nybyggen district in the southern part of the city, a rich affluent area with many mansions and Oelian style town houses. Criticised by many prominent Sjealanders at the time as decadent and expensive, it is now amongst one of the most expensive and luxurious neighbourhoods in Esquarium.

19th century

With the beginning of the 1800's the value of Borean spices began dropping as ease of production and a stable import increased the amount of spices and other borean items brought to Sjealand and Nordania. Several other Nordanian states also began challenging the Sjealandic stranglehold on the western trade, which had a profound effect on Asgård as faith in the future of the monopoly was fading. Greater focus began being put on the Sjealandic protectorates in Ankoren and the raw resources they could bring Sjealand, rather the spices of Borea. Involvment in the Aininian Revolution as well as the Aucurian Revolution, had left a dangerous precedent as both revolutions had been successes for the republican forces, and in Asgård the wealthy citizens and intellectuals championed for the right of free men and women elect representatives to the Sjealandic government, which had been dominated by wealthy oligarchs of the trade companies as well as the monarch.

Battles in the suburbs of Asgård

In the 1820's several demonstrations shook the city and regular street brawls between the police and the citizenry occurred, most infamously in 1826 when armed Guard Hussars massacred 16 civilians when they broke up a demonstration in the Royal Botanical Garden. This led to greater pressure on the monarch and the aristocracy who decided to meet the citizens at the middle rather than fall to revolution. In april 1829 men and women from across Sjealand met with the Archking Frederik III and his advisors in the Asgård Palace and together they introduced the first democratic constitution to Sjealand, the first such compromise between monarch and people in Esquarian history.

The first elected government of Sjealand worked together with the town council to improve the possibilities and living situations of the poor in Asgård, and together with several private benefactors expanded the city with large apartments build in the national romantic style. These along with a general replacement of the old medieval city sought to elevate the capital to a modern shining example of Nordanian and Sjealandic excellence and to create a more livable city for the lower classes.

In the 1830's the city officially annexed several neighbouring towns and villages, effectively increasing its population to 310,000 people. At the same time an increasing effort was put on updating the city's many aging fortifications as well as its artillery. Several private citizen militias and charitable groups formed to not only man the newer ramparts but also to put money together to buy new pieces of artillery. The local government had also put fourth proposals to increase the defences, but the effective collapse of Sjealandic dominance in the Borean trade in the 1840's halted these plans. The outbreak of the Great War of the North in 1861 caused a general air of panic and nationalism as the city government tried to hurry the defence of the capital.

Signing of the Sjealandic constitution

In 1863, at the height of the war a combined coalition army stormed across the border of Sjealand and laid siege to Asgård. Many public officials urged the ruling Archking, Valdemar X, to evacuate the city for his own safety, but he is said to have uttered I will conquer or i will die in my nest. The city was promptly encircled by the forces of the coalition and a large bombardment of the city was begun. The siege presented the first use of terror-bombing in warfare, as the besiegers deliberately targeted civilian areas with artillery and rockets, the city only recieveing aid via sea, as the Royal Sjealandian Navy still held naval dominance. Several times the coalition forces attempted to storm the city, but a combination of more modern guns as well as several citizens enlisting in militias helped the city with standing its ground. In 1865 reinforcing armies combined with naval shelling and an attack from the besieged soldiers was able to break the siege for good.

As the Great War of the North ended in defeat for Sjealand and the loss of Hvidland, the city did not attempt to regain its position as the prime military city of the continent, instead the Archking and the government were said to have set out to create a city of beauty and culture, with large funds put in to improve the design and architecture of the city, the cost ending in billions of Rigsdalers.

20th century

The defeat in the Great War of the North and the siege of the city had become a prime example for the need of an effective use of fortification and defences of the capital, and several projects begun in the aftermath of the conflict were realized at the turn of the century as new modern bunkers and forts were constructed in and around the city, and long reaching coastal artillery was constructed on the coasts of the city and at the mouth of the Grønnebugt Bay.

This period of rapid construction in the city was spurred by several prominent industrialists, mainly the founders of PETREA, Sjællands Stålindustry and Rigets Kanonstøberi. The shipping company Nordens Rederi, also known as Nordanian Shipping, was instrumental in the expansion and modernization of the port of Asgård and the Asgård Dockyards for the modern age. The capital reached one million inhabitants in 1900, and had reached 1,5 million by 1920. This was primarily rural populations moving into the capital serving as cheap labour for the rising industrial machine of the country.

Coastal defence ships in Asgård

The outbreak of the Continental War in 1917 proved a great boon for Asgård, as it could function as a neutral binding point for the warring nations. With the strong Sjealandic navy defending the waterways there was relatively little combat in Sjealandic waters, and as such the industrial machine of the city could effectively supply large parts of the warring states. Most famously the city was responsible for the construction of a great number of panserskibe for the warring parties, mainly the Vilhelm-clas. Thus as the war ended the industrial sector of the city was in great upturn and prosperity was on the rise, even though this mainly favoured the upper and middle class. This growing class divide was only further cemented by an economic downturn in the end of the twenties and beginning of the thirties, which led to the famous Møllegade-deal and the beginning of the Sjealandic welfare state. Involvment in the War of the Confederation

Throughout the fifties and sixties Asgård saw a general increase in its gdp per capita, and more and more workers were able to move into their own houses or buy their own apartments in the growing neighbourhoods surrounding the city. Many lower and middle class began moving out of the city centre and into smaller towns and villages surrounding the city, using its expanded public transportation system as well as an increasing amount of cars to commute into their workplaces in the capital. The city itself however also saw a general trend in moving jobs from the secondary and primary sectors towards the service sector, with many of the factories in the city moving out. This lead to a spike in new companies and new ideas as entrepreneurs launched new businesses and sectors in the city and its role as a tourist attraction and seat of culture grew. The Asgård Fashion Week became the largest and primary fashion show in Esquarium at this point, and the gem-sector saw substantial growth.

When Ambrose launched the War of the Njord in 1971, Asgård initially started safe in the conflict, but was soon an active part as the Ambrosian Aerial Corps launched a raid on the capital on the 16th of August 1971, dropping 140 bombs on the capital and costing 7 civilian lives. This was the only time active combat was seen around the capital, but the attack heightened Sjealandic fervour in the combat and also drew precious air-defences from the Northern Front south to the capital. The Sjealandic victory in 1972 was celebrated with large parades throughout the city and with jets flying over the Rigsdag.

In 1976 the city annexed 20 nearby munincipalities, its population now reaching 2,8 million. This expansion also led to the dismantling and demolation of parts of the fortifications of Asgård to make way for neighbourhoods and newer roads, however a large part of it was kept as public spaces and open-air museums.

Tourist-ball in the 1970's

From the seventies well into the nineties ethnic conflict stirred up in the Swastrian province of Seemark (Hvidland in Tynic. This conflict between ethnic Tynics and ethnic Teutonics also spilled over to the rest of Nordania, and Asgård saw several terrorist attacks, starting in 1975 as Tynic terrorists stormed the Swastrian embassy in Asgård, demanding the release of their compatriots in Swastria. Severe mishandling of the embassy siege led to the deaths of six hostages and the embassy burning down. Several bombs were also detonated in the city, most infamously in 1982 and 1985 when Raute Hänne (Red Hand), a Swastrian terrorist organisation took the blame for several bombs who exploded in the city, killing 3 and inhuring over 100 people. Another bombing was also attempted in 1989 and was initially blamed on Raute Hänne, but it was later revealed to be a false flag operation planned by Swastrian-Tynic nationalists.

The end of a long line of conservative governments in 1989 led to the first time the Liberal Democrats and Union parties held positions of mayors, and several projects focusing on urban renewal and the integration of the archipelago surrounding the city were launched, in hopes of transforming the city to a shining example of renewable city-development and to cement its place as the cultural capital of Nordania.

21st century

Ever since the turn of the millenium, Asgård has made its place as the capital of Nordanian culture and the seat of the fashion industry clear. The city has in many ways moved away from traditional manufacturing roles, but has been able to keep its position as an important port and use it in modern shipping. In recent years tourism to Asgård has skyrocketed as cheaper flights has increased the ability of non-nordanians to visit the city.

In recent years the government of Asgård has put greater focus on increasing public transportation and connections to outlying towns and islands, as part of a compromise betweeen De Radikale and De Konservative, which has seen the city take on a greener approach to urban life.

Geography

Map of Asgård

Asgård occupies the mouth and eustary of the Kongeelven, the second-longest river of Sjealand. Emptying into the Grønnebugt Bay from the north-east the river forms a naturally deep harbour for the city, combined with hundreds of small bays and inlets along the coast. The city itself lies primarily on both sides of the river aswell as 32 natural and 23 manmade islands. The wider metropolitan area spreads over several archipelagos of the Skærgård aswell, giving the city of Asgård several deep ports spread across a varied distance. The city centre itself lies on the 23 artificial islands 3km upriver close by the Asgård Grand Temple. The Asgård Palace, the Rigsdag, the Royal Opera, The Royal Theatre and the National Museum all occupy these islands, which were the first areas settled by people. Over 30% of the city area is made up of waterways and another 30% is made up of parks and green spaces. Asgård is part of the greater eastern Grønnebugt region which consists of the greater metropolitan region of the Western Grønnebugt Coast. The city centre lie in an area defined by the old ramparts and fortifications called the inner wall (Indermuren), which is still preserved in its original shape and condition, with replica cannons donning the walls.

The areas surrounding Asgård have traditionally been covered by forests and vegetation, however with the growth of the Royal Sjealandian Navy many of the old forests were cut down to make wood for ships resulting in the loss of a large amount of flora and fauna providing sustenance for the city. In the late 1800's efforts were done to reverse this effect and since 1900 over 70% of the original forest cover has returned, with a wide range of fauna either artificially re-introduced or returning naturally. Public interest in the surrounding woodlands have thus seen a large revival, with woodland day-cares springing up and hunting-clubs gaining further members.

After the turn of the millenium, efforts were made by the local government to clear the eustary of the river and the main waterways of reefs and islets, and major funds were put into clearing the sea for in and outgoing ocean traffic. Legislation was also put in place, limiting traffic in the central waterways to water-busses and private ships. Reserving several outer waterways for boats and swimmers. In 2008 the entire inner coastline of the Ramsø Island and opposing mainland was bought by the government, which turned it into the Ramsø Strandpark (Ramsø Beach Park) which opened in 2012

Climate

Asgård has an marine west coast climate according to Köppen climate classification. Despite its insulated position in the Tynic Sea and its northern position, temperatures are quite mild throughout the year and warmer than places in similar latitude, for example Waterwitt, or even somewhat further south, mainly because of the moderating influence of the warm currents from Lahudica. During summer time daylight can extend to up to 18 hours thanks to the Esquarium's slanting rotation. Slowly but steadily the climate has become warmer in Asgård and the surrounding area.

Summers are very warm and pleasant with average high temperatures of 23 to 28 °C and lows of 13 to 16 °C , however temperatures reaching up to 32 are not uncommon, especially in later years. Winters however can be especially cold, dropping as low as -5 to -7°C and in some extreme years the Kongeelv has been known to freeze. Precipitation is regular but generally moderate throughout the year, however Asgård's summers have been known to contain many rainstorms due to the oceanic climate. Snow generally starts in late november and ends in march, but has been known to start as early as october and last into April. In 2005 it even began snowing in May.

Climate data for Asgård, 2002–2015; precipitation 1961–1990; extremes since 1901
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	11.7 (53.1)	13.5 (56.3)	20.1 (68.2)	29.7 (85.5)	31.8 (89.2)	33.1 (91.6)	35.2 (95.4)	34.6 (94.3)	29.2 (84.6)	21.3 (70.3)	15.8 (60.4)	13.9 (57.0)	35.2 (95.4)
Average high °C (°F)	3.4 (38.1)	4.1 (39.4)	6.6 (43.9)	13.9 (57.0)	18.2 (64.8)	21.0 (69.8)	24.1 (75.4)	25.4 (77.7)	19.1 (66.4)	13.0 (55.4)	8.9 (48.0)	5.4 (41.7)	13.5 (56.3)
Daily mean °C (°F)	0.2 (32.4)	0.6 (33.1)	3.9 (39.0)	9.1 (48.4)	13.3 (55.9)	14.5 (58.1)	19.4 (66.9)	18.9 (66.0)	15.7 (60.3)	9.8 (49.6)	6.1 (43.0)	2.5 (36.5)	9.4 (48.9)
Average low °C (°F)	−2.1 (28.2)	−2.4 (27.7)	−0.9 (30.4)	4.1 (39.4)	8.9 (48.0)	13.2 (55.8)	15.3 (59.5)	14.9 (58.8)	11.3 (52.3)	6.9 (44.4)	3.8 (38.8)	−0.9 (30.4)	6.0 (42.8)
Record low °C (°F)	−24.9 (−12.8)	−21.6 (−6.9)	−18.3 (−0.9)	−12.0 (10.4)	−5.3 (22.5)	2.7 (36.9)	6.7 (44.1)	4.8 (40.6)	−2.4 (27.7)	−7.8 (18.0)	−14.6 (5.7)	−20.5 (−4.9)	−24.9 (−12.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	71 (2.8)	43 (1.7)	51 (2.0)	43 (1.7)	47 (1.9)	61 (2.4)	75 (3.0)	73 (2.9)	88 (3.5)	91 (3.6)	89 (3.5)	77 (3.0)	809 (32)
Average precipitation days	16	12	9	13	8	11	15	16	14	16	17	18	165
Mean monthly sunshine hours	47	70	163	211	238	253	232	200	167	100	46	33	1,758
Source 1:
Source 2:

Parks and Nature

View of Royal Botanical Garden

The government of Asgård has put in substantial effort to increase and support the green areas of Asgård, with dozens of smaller and larger parks scattered around the city, with the largest of which surrounding governmental and royal sites in the State Archipelago, with the Kongensparken lining the majority of the mainland coastline surrounding it. Many private ownership groups have also banded together to make their own green areas, thoug these fall under a smaller group of green spaces not designated as parks by the government.

Selection of parks

• Kongsparken, which surrounds the State Archipelago, on all of the southern-eastern coast and serves to create a breathing space between the seat of government and the rest of the city. The park is primary used by nearby workspaces as a breathing area, and is also a popular meeting ground for the inhabitants of the surrounding neighbourhoods. Several street festivals and events take place in the park around the year, however to preserve the relative calm of the area, a limit is in place on the number of festivals allowed
• The Royal Botanical Garden, which is the largest Botanical Garden in all of Nordania. Construction began in 1673, under orders from Royal Botanist Serm Braghe who had returned from a botanical expeditions in western Borea with immense collections of native fauna. Starting out as a private garden surrounding Asgård Palace it soon began growing as fauna from across Nordania and the rest of Esquarium made its way to the gardens. In modern days the gardens surround the entirety of the palace except for the waterfront, and has become a landmark of the city, containing the largest collection of Tuthinan Flora outside of the country, including a large collection of glowing gentian
• Kronskoven, lies south of the city and is with an area of 140 hectares the largest of the parks in Asgård. The park contains free roaming deer and other animals native to the area, including a flock of Golden Eagles whose presence dates back 500 years, with the first eagle caught from it being memorialized in a bronze statue located in the central park. It serves as one of the primary festival venues for the Ægirsgilde
• Ullparken which is a smaller park located in the northern part of the city. Being built in 1718 the park is a quintessential baroque garden, often used by inhabitants to relax and gather. It commands a pristine view of Ildum Bay, with small docks where it is possible to rent dinghy's
• Ildumparken, located in north-eastern Asgård, is constructed like a classical Sjealandic landscape garden and is a preferred retreat for many artists, musicians and families of the city with its idyllic bustling streams and lakes. Built by industrialist C.L Tietgen his company PETREA still maintains the Ildumparken which pays for the maintenance of the park.
• Nørre Voldpark, is a park surrounding the northern defensive wall that used to encircle Asgård, now a historical heritage sight.
• Sønder Voldpark, is a park surrounding the southern defensive wall that used to encircle Asgård, now a historical heritage sight.
• RA-LA Parken which was the private property of millionaire Rasmus Larsen until he donated it to the city in 1981
• Pøvlev Parken was built and paid for by the Asgård Docks in 1880 as a celebratory gift marking the three-hundred anniversary of their guild

Military Installations

As capital of Sjealand is both an important military target to take out Sjealandic installations, and tempting conquest thanks to its wealth and importance, as such several military installations have been constructed over its history. Currently Asgård is home to Hovedstadens Garnison (Garrison of the Capital), which houses the Military Academy of Asgård, the Barracks of the Royal Life Guard as well as various barracks for the soldiers in the Asgård Garrison. The city is also home to two military airfields, Flyvestation Guttorp, which is the largest military air base in the Tynic Sea Region, with a total of 2900 hectares under its command, divided into the base itself, defensive barriers, swamplands, forests and residential areas. It has 11km of runway, 34km of taxiway and 51km of roadway. Their airbase is home to 2 fighter squadrons with 30 fighters and one transport squadron with 4 large transport planes along with 4 planes for maritime surveillance and 4 reconnaissance planes. Flyvestation Fæglevi to the south-east has the authority over aerial search and rescue over the Tynic Sea and is home to the Helicopter Wing Fæglevi, which has responsibility for all Helicopters in the Sjealandian Armed Forces divided into 4 squadrons. It is also home to the Training School of the Royal Sjealandian Air Force.

Kolbæk Barracks

Flådestation Ingborg, (Ingborg Naval Base), is a naval base situated on the Ingholm islet north-west of Asgård City itself, and is the principal Tynic naval base for the Royal Sjealandian Navy. Built in 1567 as The Royal Naval Institution (Den Kongelige Flådeholm), it has long been the largest Sjealandic naval base until overtaken by Flådestation Frederiksværn. The Naval Base is home to one naval squadron with a total displacement of 45 ships divided into 9 units. Flådestation Ingborg is also home to Flådens Operative Kommando (The Operational Command of the Navy), which commands the entire navy, aswell as the defensive batteries across the city to which the unit of Kystartelleriet exists. Their equipment consists mainly of anti-ship missiles, controllable mines and Coastal Rangers, as well as marine infantry units, which together is supposed to maintain the coastal defense of the capital.

The Asgård Garrison primarily consists of conscripts divided into two parts. The Royal Life-Guard Brigade and the Garrison of the Capital. The Royal Life Guard Brigade consits of 3 battalions and 2 companies of conscripted soldiers serving for an average of 12 months, with their primary duties being protecting the monarchy as well as functioning as a ceremonial guard for the city. Of the five units, two are stationed at the Life-Guard Barracks at Jorlandsgade in Asgård and the three remaining at the Kolbæk Kaserne outside the city. Of the three units stationed at Kolbæk, the largest is the IV Royal Life-Guard Battalion, the primary training unit for the conscripted soldiers. Alongside these are the Guard Company, the unit primarily tasked with guarding Asgård Palace, and the most outwardly famous of the Royal Guards. The Ambrosian Guard is entirely ceremonial and staffed exclusively by ethnic Ambrosians, a tradition dating back to the Kingdom of the Two Daughters. The Ambrosian Guard stands guard at the Rigsdag and other important governmental buildings. The last two units, The Royal Mounted Life-Guard and the Royal Guard Hussars are equestrian units and not only escort the monarchs whenever travelling through the city, but they also ride around the city daily.

North of the city lies a large military terrain, owned and operated by Royal Sjealandian Army. The area, called Hedving Øvelsesterræn after the nearby Hedving Barracks are used primarily by the garrison of Asgård, which consists of 3 Mechanized Infantry battalions of conscripts, who serve their conscription as the garrison of the capital, and who usually end their eight month conscription with a large military exercize in the terrain.

Administration

Asgård City Hall

According to the Royal Statistics Bureau, the Capital Area (Hovedstadsområdet) covers the entirety of the Asgård City Sovereign Region with the exception of the municipalities of Pederskov, Romsborg, Mülehöi, Tingvalla, Roager and Brunde. While under the government of the Regional Council, these municipalities are not under the direct governorship of the Asgård City Council, instead functioning like normal Sjealandic municipalities. The Capital Area elects its own Lord Mayor (Storborgmester). The government of the capital area is responsible for healthcare, infrastructure, law enforcement and wider cultural events. The municipalities making up the Capital Area are responsible for land-use planning, public housing, maintenance of infrastructure, social security, local education and the Home Guard. Each municipality is governed by a city council, a mayor and an executive.

The largest of Asgårds munincipalities is Asgård Center, which consists of the northern, inner 23 islands that make up the tradition centre of Asgård and who are bounded by the sea wall. Its administrative center is at the Asgård Rådhus (Asgård City Hall) which was constructed in 1856

Law and Order

The majority of Sjealandic higher courts reside in Asgård, including the Supreme Court aswell as Asgård Realm's Court of Appeals, and the Sønder Landsret. The majority of judges in Asgård for higher courts are appointed from outside the city itself, and are primarily not picked among resident judges, an idea proposed in the sixties by then mayor Anne-Helene Ungle. Asgård´s Stadret is the city court, formed in the 1500's it resided in its old buildings inside the city before moving down to newer locals by the Asgård Docks. With its 54 judges, it has a Probate Division, an Enforcement Division and a Registration and Notorial Acts Division while bankruptcy is handled by the Tynic Court and the Tynic Commission. Because of the size of the city the city court has 4 precincts where portions of it are spread out so to avoid congestion by the main building.

Asgård Police Headquarters.

The national police (Rigets Politimagt or Rigspolitiet) as well as the Metropolitan Police are both located in the same neo-classical building on on the state-archipelago, however the day to day affairs in the city are handled by the Metropolitan Police, which has stations spread around all the municipalities of the city. However the Special Intervention Unit, the anti-terror corps of the city as well as the rest of Sjealand is commanded by the national police. The city also makes use of mounted police called Stadshusarene, as they have been found to be useful in the small narrow streets of part of the city, and have slowly become part of the city's image. In an effort to combat the Karazawan drug trade the city has commenced a project on secure locations where addicts can use sterile needles and gain help out without being prosecuted. However the sale of drugs remains a punishable offense.

The Asgård Royal Fire Brigade was formed in 1810 out of the many former private fire brigades of the city, and forms the largest Sjealandic fire brigade with 650 firefighters on the payroll, as well as several voluntary firemen. The Fire Brigade is run by Falck Redning, which is a privately owned emergency service corporation which has been operating under license for 50 year in Asgård, with the government paying for the services. The motto of the fire brigade is Rapid assistance is double assistance.

Tynic Commission

The governing committee regulating economic activity in the Tynic Sea, the Tynic Commission, is headquartered in Asgård, with its impressive main building being located in a closed off area close to the Asgård Dockyards. The Commission was founded in 1956 after a long period of disputes between basin countries of the Tynic Sea, disagreement between the states over exclusive economic zones, fishing quotas and ownership of several smaller islets in the sea had lead to several standoffs between the countries, most notably Sjealand and Swastria, whose dispute over the Gøgenholmene/Weissinsels islets lead to the 1954 Gøgenholmene Standoff, where the Swastrian construction of a lighthouse on the islets led to a standoff between the coastguards of the two countries, costing 4 lives, including the lighthouse keeper aswell as his dog.

Following the standoff, the 1955 Wittburg Conference was held in Wittburg, Swastria and the countries came to agreements to regulate the Tynic Sea, establishing the Tynic Commission. Today it has the authority to regulate trade, shipping lanes, fishing quotas, as well as search and rescue through its sub-ministries who are located across the member states. The Tynic Commission meets once a month with several points of discussion and attempt to solve them, which has been succesful in increasing overall wealth and prosperity in the region.

National Government

As the capital of Sjealand, Asgård is the seat of the Archkingdoms national government, as well as the residences of a majority of major public officials. The Rigsdag, located on the State Archipelago consists of two buildings split by a canal and connected by two walkways. The Grand Chancellor, currently Erik Valmund resides in the northern wing, also known as Rigspalæet (Manor of the Realm), which is also the seat of the Landsting. This also serves as her private office and public office. While residing here is not mandatory, it is custom for the sitting Grand Chancellor to move themselves and their families into the Rigsdag, with most major exceptions coming from left-leaning Grand Chancellors.

The second and lower house of Sjealand, the Folketing is located on the southern bank of the canal separating the two houses of the Rigsdag, residing there are among others the Foreign Minister, The Minister of Justice and the Minister of Taxes in separate apartments. For ministers there is less of a custom for residing in the apartments given, but around 60% of ministers have resided in their respective apartments including former minister of Justice Trine Iversen who holds the distinction along with former minister of Taxes Mikkel Iversen as being the only ministers to have resided in two apartments at once, as they married 3 years into their tenure.

Economy

Port of Asgård

As both the cultural hub and population center of Sjealand, Asgård also serves as the financial heart of the country. By extension Asgård is also one of the largest economic centres on the Tynic Sea and the definite center in the norther part. The city's economy is primarily founded upon trade, manufacturing, crafts and the service industry. In recent years service jobs have become increasing, with many industrial jobs moving to Borea or Nautasia, however the service and commerced have helped in increasing overall prosperity in the city. According to the Royal Sjealandic Statistics Bureau, of the around 1,900,000 workers in the city a vast majority holds jobs in the service sector.

The Port of Asgård ranks as one of the largest and most productive in Nordania, in total around 10,3 million tons of cargo moved through the Asgård docks in 2016, with port authorities reporting the year as dramatic increase from earlier years, with trade from especially the Commonwealth of Sovereign States having great effect on the city's commerce. Most of the worlds biggest shipping corporations have permanent docks in the city. The Port of Asgård is also the home of the Asgård Dockyards, the main ship-building facility of Sjealand and the provider of military ships for the Royal Sjealandian Navy for 400 years. In recent decades the dockyards have seen a diversifying of assets as greater focus has been put on the construction of private and transport over military ships. The Asgård Dockyards supply naval vessels for Sjealand, Swastria and COUNTRY.

Asgård other great mainstay is the jewelry and gem trade, that takes place largely within the old city. Ever since the founding of the city it has been an important through-point for the precious stones mined in the Sydfjeldene mountains. Jewelry forged in Asgård remain amongst the finest in Esquarium, and Asgård has maintained the position as the primary city for the diamond trade in all of Esquarium, with 78% of Esquarian diamonds being cut in Asgård, and the large majority also being put into jewelry there. The city has earned such a reputation within the trade of jewelry that precious stoles with the Asgård Cut and jewelry with Asgård Gold Quality being sold for higher rates than others. For 2 centuries the industry has been dominated by the same 15 trading families, made their fortunes trading with Tuthinans in the 1700's. There still remains a large craft sector in Asgård, with the Asgård Rifle Syndicate chief amongst them. The company is one of the oldest armaments manufacturers in Nordania, specializing in small arms and ammunitions, supplying many militaries in the world. Something of note are the many breweries in the city, most importantly Tuborg, The Ramsland Group, Royal Sjealandic and Asgård 1756.

Many Sjealandic , regional and multinational companies have their headquarters in Asgård, most importantly Petrea, Sjællandsk Bank, ARS, Nordania Shipping, NordAir, NordTalk, The Royal Conglomerates and the Ramsland Group. Along with Hvidby in Swastria, Asgård is home to a large part of the world's shipping companies, as both countries have a long history of cross-continental trade and lie on favourable geographic positions in both the Tynic Sea and the Sea of Njord.

Headquarters of the Asgård Rifle Syndicate

The Flexicurity model in use by Sjealand, makes for a dynamic working enviroment, as hiring and firing is extremely easy in Sjealand, leading Asgård to have attractive conditions for foreign investment and international companies looking to relocate. Moreover much of the city's population is highly educated and specialized, with experts, especially in jewelry and shipping, eagerly moving to Asgård. Asgård ranks highly in the general educational qualifications and for government support of private companies but scores low in foreign companies view of employment climate, especially for foreigners as the working climate remains excessively competitive.

Tourism

As a large part of the city's economy, tourism has recieved large focus from the municipal government. The city's pristine beaches, parks, cultural attractions and famous restaurants are among the primary drivers of the tourism industry, with its unique culture proving a bountiful selling point for the tourism industry. The greater Asgård metropolitan area recieved 9.7 million visitors in 2016 measured by hotel stays, a figure up by 200,000 from 2014. The largest numbers of foreign tourists came from Swastria (475,300), Tuthina (281,300) and Ainin (194,000) with the number of tourists from Borea and Lahudica seeing exponential growth thanks to the further integration of the Tengkong System. As such Asgård is the single-most popular tourist attraction in Nordania, and one of the fastest growing in Esquarium. The increased pressure from tourism has also seen backlash from the inhabitants, as several civilian organisations has laid pressure on the local government to limit tourism in the city as it pressures the locals.

The biggest tourist hotspot in Asgård is the city-centre, which also contains the most famous hotels and landmarks of the city. It remains the most visited district of the city with over 75% of visitors visiting it at least once. The most visited areas and buildings include, Asgård Palace, The Grand Temple and The States Museum of Art, with the States Museum of Art attracting over 2 million foreign tourists in 2016. Another famous attraction, Frejas Hal Amusement Park, is one of nordanias most famous amusement parks and the largest in the Tynic Sea Regin attracting over 5 milion visitors annually. The most visited attraction outside of conventional buildings is the Royal Botanical Garden visited by 1,1 million tourists in 2014. In the wider Asgård area, the Ergine Lakes, and the famous palaces of the lakelands constitute the largest attractions outside of the city along with the Yverli Nation Park, famous for its royal games and the White Stags, a species of Deer endemic to Sjealand.

The Asgård Archipelago is an increasing tourist attracting, with its many islands, islets and rocks attracting tens of thousands of tourists wanting to see its unique flora and fauna, along with its special island culture and cuisine, which is growing in popularity abroad. Dishes like the Renstå Platter is increasingly served in restaurants across Esquarium and is becoming one of Nordanias prime dishes. The islands have also gained a prime position in Atrunean doctrine as a sight of pilgrimage for devotees to Ægir.

Unemployment

In the first trimester of 2018, the City of Asgård had an uemployment rate of around 5.2 percent, however for the entire sovereign realm the rate was higher, at around 7.2 percent, being considerably higher in the suburbs but highest in the areas of public housing projects. Most notably the munincipality of Eghvad which is around 23% Nahua, a result of centuries of former slave-trading with modern day Karazawa. In Eghvad the unemployment rate rises to around 13.6 percent, with some suspecting a large amount of these working for the Teotl

With unemployment having a distinctly Nahua face in Asgård, few public measures have been taken to improve the working situation for these areas, as the generally do not affect the ethnically Sjealandic areas around them, this has been criticized by many inside and outside Sjealand as public discrimination, with the government of Asgård falling silent on the matter.

Incomes

After taxes and contributions to pensions the net household income in Asgård was 334,114 Rigsdaler ($52,387.85) for 2013. It ranged from 213.984 Rigsdaler ($33,551) in the poorest herred Eghvad to 454,245 Rigsdaler ($71,223.95) in the herred of Søskøn. In general the richest herreder are located along the coast, river and on the outskirts of the city, close to the country-houses of the aristocracy. In general the northern and western parts of the city are poorer than the southern and eastern parts of the city, however this does not hold true for certain parts of the northern bank, specifically the parts closest to the river. By income, ethnic Tynics from the old families of Sjealand are the wealthiest in the city, with Nahuas descended from slaves and Swastrian immigrants rank among the poorest. The presence of much of Sjealands Nobility and aristocracy in the richer parts of the city also specifically change the income of those areas, as income from vast farms and investments typically leaves the nobility without the need for any jobs.

While home to the richest neighbourhoods in Sjealand, Asgård is also home to some of the poorest neighbourhoods not located in the north, mainly located in the North-west communities of Nahuas. These areas rank among the poorest and most crime-ridden in Sjealand.

Infrastructure

Asgård Airport, Ønnerød

Asgård has had historical focus in infrastructure, as its position as a trade-hub made connections important, as such it has an ususually well established transportation infrastructure making it a hub for transportation in Sjealand and the wider Tynic Sea Region. This has helped create an image for the city as one of the easiest nordanian cities to navigate, owing to its flowing design and well-functioning public transportation. Public Transportation in Asgård is run by Hovedstadens Transportsforening which is a conglomeration of the Capitals Rail Transport (Hovedstadens Skinnetransport), the Capitals Water Transport (Hovedstadens Vandtransport) and the Capitals Land Transport (Hovedstadens Fastlandstransport). The HTF is a company owned by the municipal government but run independently by itself.

Water, heat and electricity are supplied by Hovedstadens Vand og Varme and Hovedstadens Strøm, two local subsidiaries of the wider state-owned national water and electricity corperations SVV and SS.

Air

Asgård is a major hub for air-travel in Nordania and Esquarium, working as one of the primary hubs for planes going between Velkia and Lahudica until larger planes slowly began decreasing its importance as a hub for stopovers. It has two commercial international airports. Kinnarumn City Airport (KCA) is the smaller of the two, functioning mainly as a local and domestic airport, built in 1976 to help alleviate pressure from Asgård Airport it was shut down in 1995 but re-opened in 2003. Asgård Airport, which opened in 1921 as one of Nordanias oldest international airports, is among the primary airports of Nordania, and the largest one on the Tynic Sea, historically being a connecting hub for planes going between Borea and Nordania. Located outside the city, north-west of the Ønnerød Suburb the airport the airport handles around 71 scheduled airlines aswell as over 28 million passengers annually. It is also currently the hub for the domestic flag carrier SLS.

Most former domestic flights have slowly been replaced with the many high-speed railways crossing the country, however there is still a large minority of people why fly domestic, increasingly businessmen and women have begun flying domestic rather that driving and taking the trains, both as a method for saving time and because of the relatively more comfortable seatings on domestic flights. Upper middle class families have also begun to use the domestic flights as compared to the time saved flying the increased price is not that high. However the marked drop of domestic flights from when the airport was first built has still led to most domestic flights going out from Kinnarumn City Airport.

Busiest destinations from Asgård airports (AIA, KCA) in 2014
Domestic destinations	Passengers
Götensholm	1,154,731
Holmegård	1,065,863
Miklagård	713,467
Nordvakt	700,236
Frederikssted	671,567
Nikla	618,946
Bondø	532,740
International destinations	Passengers
Ainin	3,841,445
Template:Country data Oelia Oelia	3,523,434
Tuthina	2,625,623
Luziyca	2,385,387
Swastria	2,057,534
UNIR	1,638,487
Jorland and Lothican	1,528,434
Ambrose	1,321,471
Namor	1,161,532

Railways

Asgårds commuter rail, connecting it to its supporting towns and cities is the largest in Sjealand as well as in the Tynic Sea Region, which together converge on the Hovedbanegård. Lying on the central plain at the end of the Karlsheim mountains the city has extensive rail connections to the rest of the country, opening its first train-station in 1841, with the two modern main train-stations of the city serving as the beating heart of train travel. The city has two large railways stations and several smaller ones, with the two large being Asgård Hovedbanegård and Northern Asgård Railway Station. Northern Asgård Railway Station on the northern bank of the river primarily connects to the S-Train and Regional systems, serving as a hub for the commuters while Asgård Hovedbanegård takes care of larger train routes like Intercity, Regional, Trans-Border and the larger S-train Routes. Over 6 lines run through the city all in all, converging at the Asgård Hovedbanegård.

Most major train stations in Sjealand are reachable within a day from the city, with some an expansion of the inner city railways currently in the planning stage as the current rail capabilities are experiencing increasing pressure from a growing population which increasingly is using public transportation over cars.

Asgård S-Train

Metro, Tram and Buses

Since its inauguration in 1898 the Asgård Metro has been one of the most widely used systems of public transportation in the capital, with a large minority of citizens commuting by metro. Its iconic stations built in the national romantic style serve to tie the metro with the city's identity it self, and the metro is a large part of the city's image. Today the metro system maintains 8 lines, 110 stops and 96 km of rail, used by almost half a million people daily.

A municipal investment has led to a new project of renewing the metro through expansions into the capitals daughter-cities and towns as well a connection of the Frederikssted and Asgård Metros.

Above ground a tramway Hovedstadens Letbane but commonly called Bybanen functions as a new modern tram and tram-train system, opening in autumn 2015. Inspired by the Tramways in Huimont the project was begun in early 2013, and initially garnered criticism due to several major setbacks as archeological digs slowed down the project along with budget cuts and the slowing of traffic on streets they were working on. The project was initially constructed to work as a boon to the current S-train system, but is in increasing terms working alongside the bus-system and is primarily used by students and young people commuting to their places of education. The S-Train primarily connects the city to its sub-urbs and outlying towns. The remaining half of passengers primarily use the bus services, which are free for students in higher education. Some 950,000 passengers make use of public transport facilities every day.

Motorways

As capital Asgård functions as a hub for motorized transport, which has led to severe congestion in the past as the city's aging road-network lacked the capacity to succesfully contain all the vehicles. As such through the seventies, eighties and nineties a massive project of constructing new roads, widening old ones and constructing new on-ramps to the highways begun. Along with these a series of major roads were lead through and around the city in the most congested areas so to better facilitate motorized transportation. Asgård Stad thus makes use of a well-maintained road network, including motorways, connecting it to the rest of the country via the M1 through to M6 motorways, with the M6 motorway connecting the city directly with Swastria. While alternative methods have been put in place the car still remains the most popular form of transport within the city limits, with thousands of inhabitants driving to work or their educational facilities, as such a belt has been laid around the city of toll-stations where commuters have to pay a toll of between 25-50 Rigsdaler. The heavy use of cars can lead to serious congestion in rush hour traffic. Currently the city is introducing new legislation to improve the road-system of the city to limit the congestions. With the city being built across the Kongeelven river, a series of bridges have also been built over it to facilite transport between the north and south banks of the river with 17 bridges being built in total, and a new one planned and a new tunnel to help the current 3. Further bridges also connects the mainland to the offlying islands in the Asgård Archipelago mainly Bjergsten, Hæld and Starkjær

Waterborne transport

Along with the many bridges of the city, an extensive marine network of water taxies and ferries help take off larger amounts of pressure from the citys mainland. Especially many inhabitants of the islands and on the riverside use watertaxis across instead of bridges thanks to subsidies from the government helping to maintain a steady supply of watertaxis. Half-hourly ferry connections also connect these islands, and others to the mainland, along with daily ferry connections to Holmegård, Frederikssted and Hvidby. In 2015, the Asgård Port handled 411 cruise ships and 1,500,000 passengers.

Cycling

As one of the worlds most bicycle-friendly cities, Asgård has stood on the forefront of establishing exclusive bike-lanes aswell as bike-lanes in normal traffic. with bicycles outnumbering inhabitants by a wide margin, mainly thanks to a campaign for people to own both sports-bikes and commuting bikes. The city has also seen great success with a system on mobile-phones, allowing citizens to sign up for a program and renting bikes for free, which has lowered over-all bike theft and use of cars. With a well-maintained system of around 510km of bicycle lanes, around 32% of workers and students in Asgård take their bikes to work, covering around 2,6 million km a year. A system of bicycle-only signal systems have been implemented in the inner-city where bikes are given a few seconds to accelerate lowering accidents involving bikes by 30% and leading to an increase in of commuting on bike.

Electricity

Electricity in Asgård is provided through an underground grid extending throughout the entire city. The electricity itself comes from several hydro-power plants in the Karlsheim mountains which provide much of the Tusindøerne region with power and electricity, however increasing windmill farms in the Grønnebugt bay as well as solar power also serve as an increasing source of electricity in the city as the municipal government moves to diversify its sources of power.

In 2012 a test scheme from the government to construct charging stations for electric cars in the city proved succesful with the 16 chosen station seeing great use, and plans are currently on the drawing board for an increasing amount to be constructed.

Water and sanitation

In the past water primarily came from the Kongeelven river along with ground-water dug up through wells, these were not in any way blocked from the latrines of the city, and through its history several cholera epidemics struck through the city, the worst one killing 45,000 people in 1836. Following the epidemic the city unveiled plans for constructing a sewer system so to keep sewage water away from drinking water, which proved so succesful the sewers are still used by the government. Today the city's water is supplied through two sources, the primary being ground-water in and around the city and the secondary being water from several springs and rivers in the Karlsheim mountains.

Demographics and society

Ever since it eclipsed the Holy City of Yngsvilla in 1548, Asgård has been the largest city in Sjealand, and has been one of the largest metropolitan areas in the Tynic Sea region. Around 13,3% of Sjealands population lives in the city proper while the greater metropolitan area is home to around 23%. Just with geographical area, the Royal Sjealandian Statistics Bureau considers Asgård to cover all of the Asgård Stad Sovereign Region aswell as the munincipalities of Nål, Torbør, Randelille, Buskerud, Eghvad and Egtved in the Grand Duchy of Sødal for a combined population of 3,562,147 people. The Asgård Stad region is one of the highest populated urban regions of the Tynic Sea and is considered one of it's primary ports.

There was a demographic increase around the 1980´s as the booming economy made apartment inside the city cheaper, and tens of thousands moved to the city and it's uplands. While immigration to Sjealand is heavily restricted around 8% or around 284,000 of the city's population come from what the government describes as *Non-Sjealandic ethnic groups*, the largest of which are the Teutons at 78,000 and the Lahudicans at 62,000. The government has taken an active focus on making sure migrants do not clump together in one city but are spread out across Sjealand to be assimilated, and efforts exist to assimilate said ethnic groups, with only Tuthinans exempt due to ancient ties. These Tuthinans have normally seen a majority in the Mollersø district by the docks where they form the majority. It has historically been the single largest population centre for Tuthinans in Sjealand and goes by the nickname Tutinerstaden or Tuthinatown.

Tynics make up the largest ethnic group at around 61% followed by Brattans at 19%, Fjeldrans at 9% and Vasturians at 4%, with native Sjealandic ethnic groups making up 92% of the population. Tynic functions as both the primary commercial and daily language, followed by Brattic as daily and Literary Tuthinan as a secondary commercial language. The majority of writings in the city are done with Sjealandian Runes, with non-natives often being given a guide to translate said runes, however major tourists areas use dual writings in Runes and the Latin alphabet. As an attractive place for immigration the city is experiencing a demographic boom as people from other Nordanian countries are attempting to move in. The main dialects spoken in Asgård are Royal Tynic (Tynic: Rigstynsk), and High Brattan (Brattan: Högsbrattisk), with smaller minorities generally not having a distinct dialect. Speech in Asgård is noted as slower than speech in the rest of Sjealand as Asgård was traditionally Nordania's prime trading city, calling for a slower speech of Tynic to facilitate communication.

Religion

Asgård Grand Temple

Much like in the rest of Sjealand and coastal Nordania, Atruneans make up the largest religious group in Asgård at 77%, this is also seen through the city's important position in Sjealandic religion, most importantly as the seat of the Gudstaler in the Grand Temple, and as the originating city of the Ægirsgilde. An important place of pilgrimage, many of the city's traditions and customs spring from the local faith and its adherence. Irreligious form the second largest minority at around 13%, a figure which has seen a slow but steady increase in the last few years, as many have chosen to leave the faith so to not pay the extra 1,5% in taxes.

The second largest religious group are the Ríkr Átrunaðreans at around 9%, they are mainly descended from thralls or Jorvish immigrants, but the religion has seen a steady increase in popularity as a Nordanian monotheistic alternative to the polytheistic Ríkr Átrunaðr. Their shrine in Northern Asgård, the Himmelske faders Helligdom is the largest outside of Jorland and Lothican. In addition Asgård is the home to a small but important minority of Rodnéwiarians chief amongst them the exiled Lec royal family and the Archbishop Cërël XI, both of whom live in the Dronninghus Palace.

Quality of life

Asgård has often been seen as one of the most livable cities in Nordania and Esquarium, with economists citing its history of economic progress and development as one of the prime reasons for it's sucess. An active urban government, has also helped to make Asgård rank highly in quality of life. Its strong economy together with its education services and level of social safety make it attractive for locals and foreigners alike, with the magazine Nordania Times calling it The jewel in the crown of Nordania. Even though cost of living has remained high, the strong Sjealandic economy has helped secure a staple gdp per capita, and citizens in Asgård are among Sjealands wealthiest.

Its front-running public transportation system, heavy focus on bikes and creation of new pedestrian zones has moreover helped give Asgård back to the people, and with a massive decline in pollution the city is set to be one of the cleanest in the region, with experts reporting an overall increase in happiness and decrease in crime. Its innovative city development plan, the Trident Plan has also been praised by international experts for its focus on green spaces, nature, enviroment and public transportation. The Asgård Metro and the S-Bane serve to lower overall use of cars, which has increased reviews of the city online. The city ranks highly for its business environment, accessibility, restaurants and environmental planning, but has scored low on its welcoming of migrants and student friendliness. The affordability of the city for foreign tourists and immigrants has also been criticized as creating an elitist enviroment.

Healthcare

Healthcare and health-related services fall under the responsibility of the Asgård Realm Government, which oversees clinics, hospitals and private hospitals across the capital. The two largest hospitals in the country, Rigshospitalet and Asgård University Hospital are both located in the capital, run by a corporation owned and funded by the government. The promoting of health and healthy life-styles is one of the largest priorities of the health-care system outside of active healthcare, and the city-government has through several projects attempted to encourage to citizens to live more healthily. The latest such project, "Long Live Asgård" (Længe Leve Asgård) was launched in 2016 in an attempt to make the inhabitants eat healthier and exercise more. This was done through a variety of ad-campaigns, increased funding to ecological farmers and an app made in cooperation with the military called Train with the Army (Træn med Hæren), which enjoyed moderate succes. On average citizens of asgård live 2,5 years longer than the average Sjealandic. Another campaign to encourage people, especially teenagers and young people to limit their alcohol intake and smoking has seen liver-failure and lung-cancer rates enjoy a steady decline, with many teenagers learning to moderate their alcohol intake. However a push from Føderalisterne to ban high schools from serving alcohol at parties was shut down.

The largest and most well-known hospital in Asgård is the Rigshospitalet (Hospital of the Realm), which is the designated hospital for treatment of the Royal Family, governmental figures and other world leaders if they become sick or injured while in Asgård. Prince Valdemar, son of Frederik VI of Sjealand and PRINCESS OF EVROSIA was born at the hospital in 2015. The hospital began operating in 1667 as Det Kongelige Hospitalement for Folket, and became state-owned in 1897, changing its name the same year. It has the responsibility for over 600,000 outpations and 85,000 inpatients annually, and is the number one specialist hospital in the country, with its research team being among the besat on the continent. The Asgård University Hospital, is a conglomerate of several hospitals in and around the campus of the Asgård Medical University, in northern Asgård. Other noteworthy hospitals in the city include; Søndergade Hospital, Fæglevi Hospital, Herberg Hospital, Ullevi Hospital and Ingerslev Hospital.

Life and culture

Apart from being the national capital of Sjealand, Asgård also serves as the beating cultural hub of Sjealand and western Nordania, with its trends being followed outside its borders, especially during the golden age. Growing from one of the continents great ports the city has effectively used its maritime culture to grow into metropolitan city of international appeal in the same league as Huimont and Wéppy. Its history as a major mixing point of Lahudican, Borean and Nordanian cultures and traders has also left a distinctive cosmopolitan appeal to the city. Its wode appeal is a result of the effective investments into infrastructure, the massive support of culture aswell as the city's unique Sjealandic architects, Chefs and fashion designers. The Asgård Fashion Weeks and Jewel Conventions are the largest fashion events in Nordania, leading the trends in Nordania.

Museums

National Museum exterior

Many museums who have achieved international recognition can be found in Asgård, including many large art galleries and historical museum. The State´s museum, Statens Historiske Museum, is the largest of them, dating back to its establishment as a treasury in the 1300´s and contains records Sjealandic and foreign archaeology and cultural history. It owns several prominent artifacts from Sjealand history, aswell as important foreign pieces of archaeology like the Chac Mool Tanimu and the Kali Bracket. Sjealands National Gallery (Statens Museum for Kunst) is the national art museum, owning a large collection of domestic and international art, dating back to the 800's with Senrian artworks. In addition to their domestic painters the gallery has artpieces from artists including Lilyana Yermushina, Zlatko Yankov, Ömme Sterbeke, Eische Rieschach, Chac Pool, Tensou Takauzi, Harunobu Kanazawa, Tarou Murata, Kuniyosi Kanou, Masayosi Osanai, Jonas Čiurlionis, Mukti Ghale, Kaushik Ojirajana, Akshmanan Rajini, Berthel Thorvaldsen, Ingvald Rosenkrants, Niels Steensen Steen, Ole Sprogø and Jens Nielsen.

Interior of the National Gallery

Another important museum is the Royal Collection of Historical Artifacts (Den Kongelige Samling), which owns thousands of artworks and historical treasures from Sjealand and abroad, built around the personal collections of the monarchs and donations by several Sjealandic philanthropists. It holds a large collection of sculpture works made by Sjealandic artist Børge Himmersen, famous for constructing the Ivory Throne of Sjealand and the gates of the Asgård Palace. It also plays host to the Crown Regalia, Crown Jewels and Royal Treasury of Sjealand, being one of the world largest single collections of precious metals and stones.

A smaller museum is the Wittburg Museum, located in southern Asgård, which is one of the largest museums of Swastrian Art outside of Swastria itself, containing amongst other things a large amount of plunder looted from Sjealands many wars with Swastria, still a contentious point between the two nations. The museum of Sjealandic Design in the inner city displays many examples of Sjealandic crafts, designs, fashion aswell as furniture and other items.

The Museum of Maritime History (Tynic: Søfartsmuseet) is a maritime museum, located close to the Port of Asgård, and displays examples of Sjealandic maritime history, including a ship from the Gilded Expeditions to Tuthina, fully furnished and loaded to help educate on the history of Sjealandic trade with Lahudica and Borea, the ship can be sailed, and in 2008 it sailed for the first time in 210 years from Sjealand to Senria. The Citadel (Tynic: Kastellet) is another museum, primarily displaying the military history of Sjealand, with a large collection of historical weapons and artillery pieces, often used for historical reenactment.

Other notable museums:

• Kongens Befæstning, a museum in the Asgård Palace displaying the history of the Royal Guard aswell as the historical Royal Armoury of Sjealand
• Asgård Palace, Royal Palace of Sjealand, serves as a museum of the Sjealandic Monarchy in certain parts.
• Nordanian Museum, a museum of Nordanian art and history
• Royal Museum of Trade, devoted to the trade history of Sjealand with examples of Sjealandic currency, trade-ships and models of many trade forts
• Vort Museum, dedicated to the cultural history and ethnography of Sjealand
• Nordic Museum, dedicated to the history and doctrine of Ríkr Átrunaðr
• Asgård City Museum
• Sjealandic Museum of LGBT history

Leisure, entertainment and performing arts

Monument to Frederik II, outside the city Gates

As the cultural hub of Sjealand, Asgård is booming with many theatres, operas and other places of performing arts, with the most distinguished being The Royal Theatre (Det Kongelige Teater), one of the most renowned centers of classical performing arts in Nordania and responsible for the careers of many world-famous actors and actresses. Other notable theatres include the Asgård City Theatre, Ungdomsteatret, Folkefrispillet and the Frejas Hal theatre, an open air theatre in the Frejas Hal amusement park. After significant the Royal Sjealandic Concert Hall of Asgård reopened in july 2015. The concert hall, built in 1776, has 5 halls with the main auditorium Store Musikhal seating 1954 sitting and c. 400 standing people. It is the home of both the National Sjealandic Symphony Orchestra and the Asgård Symphony Orchestra and is remains the most expensive concert hall ever built. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra also has home in the Concert Hall, recruiting from the musicians of the Royal Opera of Asgård.

The Asgård opera house, built in october 1869 is the Court Opera of Sjealand, and one of the mainstays of Sjealandic culture, with many famous opera-singers hailing from the Opera and working there. It has the capacity of 1709 seated, 567 standing people. It is also home to the Royal Sjealandic Ballet, founded in 1731 which is the oldest Ballet in Nordania. Some of the most famous sopranos hailing from the Asgård Opera house include Vittenzo Buela, Nynne Hansen and Ivar Stensand. In the northern parts of the city, a newly inagurated modernist building, Skuepilshuset, has been built to accomodate more modern plays.

Royal Ballet

Asgård has played home to many world-famous composers, with it classical music scene being renowned in Nordania, however the city maintains a significant rock scene which developed alongside similar scenes in Swastria and Eibenland. The scene saw exceptional development as many famous rock-bands, including Swastrian Die Straẞe made their home in the city, significantly helping the developing native scene by hosting workshops and playing at smaller venues. Die Straẞe and the Sjealandic band Vinkelret together started the annual rock festival Sommer i Asgård in 1973, which has run ever since. Today it is one of Nordanias top rock-festivals featuring around 1000 concerts at 120 venues with well over half a million guests visiting.

Most larger concerts in Asgård are played in the city's sports arenas, with the largest one Idrætsparken seating up to 40,000 people, or in open air spots like the city's parks or green spaces. The largest conventional music venue is Son de la musique on Avenyen in the Ymerslev district. It has continously been ranked as one of the top music venues in Nordania along with Kulturos Baras Kablys in Kalnaspilis, Aucuria, with which it maintains a friendly rivalry. The venue has three concert halls, with the largest accomodating 1600, the middle one 500 and the Little Music Bar accomodating 300. It has been home to the monthly Nordlys rave, which takes place in the Great Hall and has become famous for its visual art and holograms.

Astoria Nightclub

Sommer i Asgård

The Avenuen pedestrian zone has also become a popular leasure spot with many people strolling down the street in the late afternoon and evening to take in the atmosphere, hang out or enjoy the impromptu music and street tricks going on. Many Sjealandic musicians sometime play small concerts on Avenuen for free.

Media

Asgård is the media centre of Sjealand, hosting the central location of the publicly funded broadcasting company SSR in the SSR-Staden, a complex of studios, journalistic headquarters and administrative buildings in southern Asgård. SSR is responsible for both the TV-aspect STV and the Radio-aspect SR. The city has 5 nationwide daily newspapers, the largest of which being Hovedstadens Tidende (The Times of the Capital) whose headquarters are located close to the Rigsdag and have been since 1831. Similarly a majority of local Sjealandic broadcasting companies have activities in Asgård, concentrated close to the SSR-Staden. All other major national television channels have their base in Asgård, including; TV1, TV2, TV3, Kvarteren and Kvintetten. Sjealands largest literature publisher Hansen og Søn-HT Bøger are also located in Asgård alongside their subsidiaries.

Similarly internationl publishers also maintain presences in the city alongside many large multinational news-groups, most notably Esquarium Today. Billedbladet, Nordens Ugeblad and Nordanisk Dagblad, all three major Nordanian tabloids are either headquartered in or maintain presences in Asgård.

The city has a sizable film and television industry with internationally acclaimed crime and historical tv-dramas being produced in studios in Asgård like Egmand TV. Sjællandsk Filmindustri, which was established in the city in 1905 is the second oldest continuously operating film production company in the world after SLAVNAME in Luziyca. It is co-owned by Hansen og Søn-HT Bøger and the Carlsen family which founded the company. Together they run the majority of cinemas in Sjealand and own or partly own most movie-studios in Sjealand. The 25-screen Slotsholmen-Cinema in Asgård, which opened in 1931, is the seat of administration and the prime cinema in Sjealand. The Filmografistaden, located in the town of Starkær houses the majority of their operations and shooting locals.

Each year the city pays host to the Filmskole-awards, a prestigious movie award show given out by a commitee of artists, actors, producers and directors in Sjealand.

Paintings and sculpture

Skål by Peder Severin Nielsen, Exemplary painting from the post Great War period

For centuries, since the start of Asgårds position as a major city, it has attracted artists, sculptors and art-trader from across Esquarium and Nordania, seeking to educate themselves, gain inspiration or work for or with the vast number of artistic resources and galleries. Ever since the introduction of foreign-gem cutters, artists from across esquarium were brought to the city, willingly or as thralls to serve the hungering audience of the Sjealandic court, the wealthy burghers and the Sjealandian Nobility. Thanks to this Asgård has required a reputation as the "City of Art". Oelian, Aininian and Desenan artists had a profound influence on the development of art in Asgård from the 16th to the 18th century, with the monarchs paying huge sums of money to bring artistic masters across the continent to Asgård. Particularly portrait-painters, battle-painters and sculptors making sculptures and reliefs were highly sought after as the wealthy of the city sought to fill their homes with art. Unlike in other artistic circles, plagiarization was tolerated to degrees in Asgård as many sought to copy the styles of southern nordania, the Latin Republic or just the Sjealandic elite, resulting in a perfection of life-like art and sculptures as artists learnt how to actively copy both each-other and real life. Painting and sculpture became the pride of the Sjealandic monarchy and the royal family commissioned many famous artists to adorn their palaces during the golden era of Asgård.

Painters such as Faustin Aurossau, Aurélien Lavallée, Valentin Baudelaire and Gérolt Monfelbecame famous, not only as private artists but also as royal painters, painting the portraits of Sjealandic royals, depicting their great deeds and victories and for depicting common life in the city, or rather the idealized life of the commoners in the minds of the elite. Alongside with these painters sculptors such as Etvâri Tœlimo, Codrin Ionescu, Sorin Ardeleanu and Arseine Bollaert were employed over the years by the monarchy to decorate the finer areas of the city, especially the State Archipelago which had hundreds of statues and busts built, as well as private palaces filled with finely decorated sculptures and marble collumns. These sprawling artistic communities were eventually forcefully collected together as the Archking Kristian II established the Sjealandic Academy of Fine Arts in 1632 in an effort to institutionalize the art of the capital and be a torchbearer in Nordanian art and culture. With the Mespalian Viliari Nînecosqui as the first Grand Master, the academy opened as the first true artistic academy in Northern Nordania, quickly attracting artists from across the continent.

Dancer from Asgård by Arseine Bollaert, 1812

The end of the Great War of the North had wide-ranging effects on the city which experienced an artistic pride as domestic artists flocked to the city with a need to express themselves in the wake of the defeat and its effects on the city. Painters like Sverre Brakke, Håkan Borgsen and Georg Nielsen established artistic colonies near the Kongeelven river, starting new art-schools free of the oppressive and institutionalized art of the Academy of Fine Arts. Art depicting happier times and trying to allieveate the depression of defeat was popular, especially art depicting the less volatile prides of Sjealandic society, like community, feasting and the beautiful nature. The siege of the city left many areas destroyed and abandoned, and young men and women from across Sjealand settled illegally in the abandoned ruins, creating their own deviations of the national romantic style, a style which Asgård was a pioneer and central focus point of. Impressionism, Art Nouveau, Symbolism, Fauvism, Cubism and Art Deco movements all evolved in Asgård in these artistic communities. The horrors of the Continental War only strengthened these and abstract art became a new way of expressing unhappiness with the government and the world at large. Artists such as Claude Matisse, Heinrich Grossberg and Albert Metzinger took part in a new revival of the artistic scene in the city, living in spartan conditions and swearing off material pleasures in order to truly connect with their art. This revival sparked an uptick on art-galleries and museums and thousands and thousands of tourists flocked to the city.

Music

Skald in traditional performance clothes

Since it had become capital Asgård quickly became a local center for music, the Archking bringing and attracting a significant amount of Skalds. These famed poets in the beginning primarily focused on Kvad or songs performed without musical components, but with inspiration from the Swastrian minstrels as well as courtly music from Eibenland. At the invitation of Erik VI, the Eibenlander minstrel Gerke Von Zymmern moved to Asgård along with a troupe of musicians to start a school of polyphony (today known as the Royal Univsersity of Music and Performing Arts). Within time a gathering of aristocrats took up studying at the then School for the Skaldic Arts, changing the courts interest from the former poems of war and heroism to those of courtly love and intrigue. Concurrent with this the introduction of lutes from Jorland also brought a degree of musical innovation to the capital, and soon became greatly popular in the Sjealandic court. Famous musicians of the court at this time include Gerke Von Zymmern, Tönnies Von Rútlingen and Brandt Zimmerman, all of whom where Swastrian or Eibenlander.

The increased wealth from the borean trade and the nordanian trade led to further opulence from the Sjealandic court and several balls, masquerades and festivals being held by the court and the local aristocracy. Composers from the gilded age include Biarni Ivarsen, Manni de Holavang, Joárr Tvilla, Helghi Rødkild and Gunnleifr Vidarsen. Several foreign composers such as Cheney Arnoux (Ainin), Albin Czarnecki (Ceresnia), Manlio Bianchi (Desena) and Gijsbert van der Westhuisen (Jorland) established themselves or made significant contributions both with their works and their influence in Asgård. The heavy foreign influence on the music in Asgård has led to a distinctly cosmopolitan and international look, with a type of music unique for Asgård. As Sjealand is capital of balls it is also one of the most active in the production of music for Ridder-dances, Minuet, Waltz and Asgård Waltz. The most famous of these waltzes include Kunstnerlivet and Den Skønne Blå Kongeelv, which are the two primary waltzes of the Asgård Royal Ball. Along with these musical genres are also the music for the national dance of Sjealand Les Lanciers, which are annually tested at several royal balls, however the Aininian composer Joseph Meykiechel's music still remains the most widely used for Lanciers.

With classical and operatic music remaining popular in Sjealand and Asgård, many famous composers have made their home in Sjealand, responisble for works such as Ode to the failing love, The Inextinguishable and Champagne Galop. Dissatisfaction with the strict and stoic classical scene in Asgård led to many young composers leaving the Royal Univsersity of Music and Performing Arts in the late 1800's in an effort to create more public music for the common man that everyone could enjoy. This led to the birth of modern cabaret and can-can music in Esquarium as the northern side of Asgård became home to several dance-halls where high-paced can-can and other music would be played, an area soon frequented by tourists for their often scandalous performances. Both men and women would take part in these dances which would be accompanied by the music of the composers who had split and made their home at the old aristocratic home on Bendevejen 14, soon known as Helheims Whorehouse for the extravagant and excentric lifestyles of the musicians.

Besides its classical scene, Asgård is also famous for its rock-scene with famous bands such as Les trois troubadours, Fils de putain and MineDrenge originating in the city. Along with this several swastrian and eibenlander rockbands made their home in the city, with the Sjealandic band Vinkelret and the Swastrian band Die Straẞe starting the annual rock festival Sommer I Asgård. Rock music originally came to Asgård from Oelia and was popularized by Tuthinan singer-musician Uyongu Tiakiana in the fifties.

The exile of the Lec royal family and several thousand wealthy lecs led to the start of a sizable Lec minority in Asgård, which has retained a large degree of cultural autonomy in Asgårds richer areas. As such a finer lec musical tradition exists in Asgård, primarily Oberek and Lecque, but also musicians adding to the tradition of Andrzéj Kùmiéga and Dobrosłôw Przëbyszéwski. The exilee Lec Royal family also maintains their own private componists and orchestras to maintain the royal tradition of Lec symphonies, partly funded by the Sjealandic Institute for Cultural Heritage and partly by other wealthy lec exilees.

Literature

Sjealand is the seat of all major publishing houses including Hansen og Søn-HT, Akademiforlaget, Statsforlaget and Ungsvaldeforlaget, alongside newspaper organisations like Hovedstadens Tidende, Nordens Nyheder, Vestkysten and Nordens Nyt. Hovedstadens Tidende is the largest and is also a co-owner in Hansen og Søn-HT. Authors connected to the city include Henrik Pontoppidan, Hans-Christian Nielsen, Carl Rehnskjöld, Simone Dinesen, Håkan Magnusson, Sauli Minnimoso and Annette Niimo who were part of the Grønnedal-7 a counter group to the dualist romanticism of the age. Other modern authors include Nicolaj Nielsen, Christian Andersen, Annete Madsbjeg Fyhn and Sarah Madsen. Litterature from Asgård has famously taken on a degree of Nordic pessimism and existensialism commonly seen in Sjealandic culture.

Erik Rød, chronicler for the Sjealandic crown was one of the first writers to write out of Asgård, publishing his heavily fictionalised history of the Sjealandic monarchy in 1304 and later composing many famous ballads. Modern day crime dramas are often set in the Karazawi-inhabited ghettos of outer Asgård, with their rampant drug-trade and crime, most notably the famous 12-novel series Kaokun, Cocaine and Asgård following Sjealandic detectives Ernst Søblad and Hanne Nielsen as they uncover conspiracies involving Karazawi Cartels, corruption in the Karazawi government and a conspicacy that would shake the foundation of Nordanian society.

Many famous Sjealandic poets have historically called the city home, with the broad boulevards, Avenuen and the parks serving as places of inspiration for their ballads, songs and poetry. Its tradition for poets, Skalds and Troubadours to assemble in the botanical gardens and either recite poems or inspire eachother.

The Royal Sjealandic Librarian Collection, or the Royal Library is the prime source of Sjealandic written works, and the largest in the Tynic Sea Region containing around 98% of all Sjealandic written works since 1287 aswell as many antique manuscripts claimed as loot during wars in Nordania or achieved via trade in Borea and Lahudica. A project by the Royal Library is in effect to scan as many of the books and documents as possible and release them online for all to see.

Fashion

Aininian Model Jacqueline Froume at Asgård Fashion Week

Asgård has since the 16th century been the Nordanian capital of high fashion as a result of its maritime empire bringing in untold amounts of wealth and connections in Borea and Lahudica. Influenced by the royalty and nobility of Tuthina the Sjealandic upper class began wearing low flowing tunic-like garments, a style soon copied by the rest of Nordania. In modern day, Asgård is one of esquariums fashion capitals with some of the worlds largest fashions houses like Tymelie AS, Erik Nielsen Mode and Ryngvild AS alongside some of the most well-known esquarian fashion designers having their origin in Asgård. The Asgård Fashion Week, held in July is the single largest fashion event in all of Esquarium, drawing in fashion houses from across the moon.

Its position as a fashion powerhouse has largely been supported by the jewelry industry, with many fashion-houses cooperating with with 13 families of jewelry in the city. Many of the crowns and regalia of current and former monarchies were designed and built by the fashion houses and jewelry families, most notably the Crown of Sjealand, famous for its sapphire-engravings and gold-eagles.

Cuisine

Renstå Platter

Food

Asgård is well known for its distinct maritime cuisine, its history of commercial fishing leading to the heavy development of marine dishes. One of the most famous include the Renstå Platter, a seafood platter including iced crab and prawns covered in lemons and lemon juice followed by seared tuna steak, deep fried whitebait and blue mussel traditionally served with a side dish of baked potatos and garlic bread. Several variations exist of the Renstå Platter but a true Platter follows the recipe laid out on the 1694 cookbook Annelises lille hvide. Frequently the platter is served with traditional Sjealandic spritis like Akvavit or Akvavit. Even though the drinks are served in a shot glass they are meant to be slowly enjoyed rather than drunk quickly. Other seafood dishes include the midday snack Laksebid, which is baked salmon served with asparagus wrapped in bacon.

Outside of the marine the city hosts a large variety of dishes made from game animals and domistacted animals. Especially pork and rabbit play large influences on cuisine in the city, with the southern parts of the city being famous for their rabbit stews and especially rabbit in wine sauce. The central parts of the city on the other hand are more famous for the traditional Sjealandic dish of Flæskesteg, a roasted pork with crackling, potatoes and brown sauce, with side dishes of red cabbage and browned potatoes.

During christmas it is tradition for small stalls to shoot up selling snacks like æbleskiver, a Sjealandic bun dipped in sugar along with roasted almonds. Others sell the cold Sjealandic apple charlotte Æblekage made from stewed sweetened apples layered with butter-roasted bread crumbs and crushed makroner (an almond-flavoured meringue), topped with whipped cream and sometimes redcurrant jelly. With the adoption of coffee beans from Karazawa the use of chocolate and coffee became widespread and during winter times it is common for the stalls to sell hot chocolate.

Hymer Ølstue, Asgård

Street vendors in Sjealandic pølsevogne sell traditionally made hot-dogs, burgers and other quick to make and quick to eat fast-foods and snacks, with a Sjealandic twist, like the breaded filet of plaice with fried potatoes and remoulade. Increasingly fast-food dishes from Conitia, Ainin and Borea are growing in popularity.

Asgård has many famous restaurants, with 21, reaching international acclaim. The city is increasingly becoming a destination for gourmets across the world for its development of the traditional Sjealandic cuisine and the monic-inspired cuisine of Asgård. The most famous restaurants include, Den Søde Gourmet, Ærkekongens Æblekælder, Kælderkold, Ølgod and SETEMA, with Den Søde Gourmet earning the distinction as the city's most famous restaurant.

Drinks

Asgård is famous for its ancient brewing houses and the city's magnificent beers. It is one of the beer capitals of Nordania, with brewing houses like Tuborg, The Ramsland Group, Royal Sjealandic and Asgård 1756. Royal Sjealandic , being founded in 967, is the holdest brewery still operating and is the largest brewing firm in Sjealand, producing its signature Royal Sjealandic Pilsner. The Ramsland Group on the other hand specialize in stout beer, producing some of the most succesful in Sjealand. Besides the large breweries, the city has over 12 micro-breweries producing more luxurious beers alongside craft beer. Normally during the Ægirsgilde these breweries alongside their larger counterparts release their Gildeøl a specially made beer sold only during the festival.

One of the most popular Sjealandic soft drinks in Asgård is the Mimerdrik with, a soda made by the Sjealandic -owned subsidiary of Refrigerium, another of the more famous soft drinks. Together those two soft drinks make take up a large part of the market share in Asgård and Sjealand.

Ølstuer of Asgård

One of the landmark type of buildings in Asgård are the Ølstue, (lit: Beer-living room), a mixture of a tavern and an inn, which typically serves local alcohol along with small meals. A tendency to have slot machines, pool tables and other kinds of entertainment can also be seen, as many of the ølstuer cater to local citizens as a gathering point and place for entertainment. Unlike bars in the wider esquarian fashion, Ølstuer are not merely a place to be drunk but a place where you spend considerable time socializing and having fun.

The Ølstuer emerged in the 15th century as two separate entities, the Ølstue a proper inn and the coffee-house where intellectuals and the aristocracy of Asgård went to debate and play games. These two concepts gradually merged together with time and became one and the same. Still very popular in Asgård, the gained international appeal following the release of the aininian movie Diaebel where the climax takes place in a Sjealandic Ølstue.

Nightlife and festivals

With one of esquariums most liberal alcohol policies, and with a general cultural acceptance of alcoholic consumption and drinking, Asgård has one of the highest number of restaurants and bars per capita in the world. With binge drinking in some ways encouraged as a celebration of cultural values and sign of tolereance, the city as a result spends large amounts of money on security, and the police has severely cracked down on drunk driving, especially after a vehicular accident in 2008 claimed 8 lives as a drunk driver rammed into a kindergarten class walking in public. The city's nightlife centers around the city´s centre, with Avenuen described as the beating heart of the nighlife. While Avenuen itself only plays home to few albeit large nightclubs and bars, its many small side-streets are home to hundreds of places, earning Avenuen the nickname as the Shot-glass of Nordania. The Asgård Archipelago is also noted for its high profile nightclubs and bars, mainly visited by tourists.

Notable nightclubs include Drikkeren, ASK, Disturbance, Kongeøl, Stalden, Rustik, Havailla, Lille Fredag, Calharm Natklub, Stedet, Kulturcaféen and Son de la musique, which also doubles as the largest traditional musical venue in the city, with the Little Music Bar accomodating 300 guests aswell as musicians and workers.

The city has many recurring community festivals, most famously the Ægirsgilde, which doubles as a religious festival and a celebration in the nighlife. Others include Sommer i Asgård, an annual rock-festival occuring each summer outside the city. The Asgård Dockyards also pay home to the Asgård Jazz Festival, established in 2006. Techno and Nordic Dance, come together in the Støv three day street festival in the inner city, famous for its last day where coloured dust and paint are thrown at the partygoers and revelers.

Sport

Academic fencing in the early 1900's

The three most popular sports of Sjealand, Handball, Football and Academic Fencing all have major footholds in the city, it being home to numerous teams from various sports. The best known football clubs include FC Nørreport (19 Kongeliga Titles). FC Østerhavn (20 Kongeliga Titles) and FC Asgård (Record high 33 Kongeliga Titles). As the oldest and largest FC Asgård, is seen as the home club of the city, however within the city an intense rivalry exists between the three club, with fans not being strangers to hooliganism, as a result often causing massive police attention doing matches between the clubs. FC Nørreports captain Peder Nielsen holds the title as Sjealands most scoring football player and also plays for the national team.

Handball, the national sport of Sjealand is important to the city, which has hosted 2 Nordanian Handball Championships and 3 Esquarian Cups. HK Asgård, is the largest professional handball club of the city, and the only one competing in the Sjealandic Handball Cup, where it has one the second most championships after Nordvakt HB. The city was were the Nordanian Handball Federation (NHF), was founded in 1921 and remains one of the hotspots for handball, with the continents largest dedicated handball arena. Outside ball-sports the Asgård Regatta is the countrys largest rowing regatta, with students from Gymnasiums across the country competing.

HK Asgård in a game

As the posterboy for Sjealandic academic life academic fencing holds a special place in the culture of Asgård. The first University battles were held in the city, and the vast majority have been hosted there aswell, with fencers from across the country, and some foreign universities flocking to the competitions to gain their honour scar or to gain the knighthood and 450,000 Rigsdaler prize that awaits the winner. Asgård University is home to many of the most succesful fraternities, and has spawned many professional academic fencer, like Ulrik Nielsen, Vaella Pedersen and Frederik VI of Sjealand.

The city has played host to many sporting events including the Asgård City Marathon which attracts around 13,000 participants every year. In july of 2014 it hosted the Nordanian Handball Championships, which it has last hosted in 2000. It has also hosted to world cup in in 1970 and 1998. It has hosted one Coupe d’Esquarium

Education

Asgård is the Sovereign Realm in Sjealand with the highest degree of educated people, with 42% of the population holding a bachelors degree or higher, only 13% of the population has no form of higher level education, mainly those in shipping and transportation. Many people are also educated within highly specialized branches like gold and silver-smiths as well diamond-cutters. As the hotspot for education in Sjealand, Asgård has over 120,000 students enrolled in its largest universities and institutions, a number that in the latest years have been rising as fewer and fewer students enter into primary and secondary jobs. The oldest university is the Asgård University, founded in 1395 by christian missionary Ludwig van Hehloven, today it remains the single largest university in Asgård, and the home of the Sjealandic tradition of fraternities. Unlike fraternities outside of Sjealand, those in the country often have their own residences and their students compete in the famous Academic Fencing, a style of dueling historically tied to Sjealand where the first cut would end the fight.

Library of Asgård University

Universities

• Sjealandic Academy of Fine Arts
• Diplomatic Academy of Asgård
• Asgård University of Medical Science
• Asgård University of Business and Management
• Asgård University of Applied Arts
• Royal Univsersity of Music and Performing Arts
• University of Asgård
• Asgård Technical University
• Sjealandic University of Philosophy
• Nordanian Naval University

Balls of Asgård

Ball of Nobility

Asgård is the only remaining city of Nordania where the Nordanian ball as a practice still exists. While balls remain across the continent, Asgård is the last great city of the ball, a tradition it holds on to with great fervour and pride. With over 530 hosted balls a year the city gives a prominent look into the practice and history of the ball, with most universities and Gymnasiums ending with a ball officially sanctioned by the Royal Institution of the Ball, the governmental group that works with administering balls and rules for the Asgård Style of Balls. The most famous of these is the annual Palace Ball where gifted students from the various higher educational facilities of the country are invited to participate in a ball in Asgård Palace alongside the Archking and nobility. Many guilds, organisations and other groups also hold their own balls with various degrees of respect and prestige given to them. Most citizens of Asgård participate in at least 5 balls during their life, with many taking part in much more.

The Royal Orchestra aswell as dancers and singers from the Academy of the Fine Arts, aswll as the Royal Opera often perform during larger balls. These balls are a cultural event, sometimes lasting days, and attracting thousands of spectators both inside the balls and broadcast live on television.

Cityscape

Architecture

Example of Træsnits-architecture.

The architecture of Asgård is very characteristic, carrying a grand monumental style from its days as the largest center of trade in Nordania. The centre of the city has gone through many rebuildings, with the area around the State Archipelago being primarily built in neo-classical and historicist styles. Striking out is the Asgård Palace, built in the gothic architectural style around the 1400's. After the great fire of 1801, which destroyed large parts of the southern city, plans to completely rebuild the town were drawn up, mainly built around several central streets.

Collecting inspiration from Ainin and Oelia, much of the city was rebuilt with broad boulevards and large neo-classical apartment complexes. The long pedestrian zone called Avenuen also began construction, soon becoming the primary market place for the city, facilitating small business and countless small restaurents and cafés.

The parts of the city on the northern bank of the river survived relatively unscathed from the fires and to this day still retain the oldest buildings in Asgård, most notably old fishermens quarters called Fiskertorvet which now is one of the most expensive neighbourhoods in the city. The northern bank also saw the development of the Træsnit architectural style, in which to save money on construction many working families lived in houses were only the bottom floor was constructed from stone, and the rest of wood. This has led to the northern bank having a less urban look compared to southern Asgård, having a much more natural style because of the great use of timber houses.

Following from the 1870's great focus was put on what made Sjealand unique from the rest of Nordania, and the National Romantic style grew in popularity. The style sought to distance Sjealandic architecture from the neighbours and took inspiration from medieval buildings, taking inspirations and motifs in great deal from the Western Crusades and the subsequent loss of land to christian invaders. Much of the style sought to emulate the rough yet beautiful look of Sjealandic and medieval castles, with towers and merlons built into the structures, aswell as the establishment of Statens Institut for Nationalromatik which sought to support the style. Many buildings had scenes from legends or stories carved into their walls on street level so to inspire the population. The architectural scene in the old parts of the city remains strictly national-romantic but in more newly developed parts of the city post-modernism has taken its grip on buildings, most notably with the construction of new buildings for the Asgård University.

Uniquely for Asgård the surrounding coastal and inland villages often have retained their traditional architectural designs, with many picturesque hamlets exclusively built in the native Dragestil, which is not as much an architectural movement as it is an engrained part of the regions culture. Houses in the region have been built in the style for centuries, with many seeing it as the birthplace of Nordic-inspired architecture.

Notable buildings

Facade of the Northern Asgård Railway Station

The two main train-stations of the city, Northern Asgård Railway Station and the Asgård Hovedbanegård lie on opposite ends of eachother in respect to the river, with the Northern station serving as a more regional station, serving the city and the surrounding area, the Asgård Hovedbanegård is the one who connects the city to the rest of the country. Both built in the National Romantic style, the northern is built in a more rustic, castle-like style while typical of the late 1800's while the southern one has focus on the grandiose and magnificence of the building. Not far from the Hovedbanegård lies the Asgård Grand Temple, the centre of worship for Ríkr Átrunaðr and one of the grandest examples of medieval Sjealandic architecture.

In the centre of the city lies the state-archipelago, a collection of man-made islands where the facilities of the Sjealandic government are located and operates. Many of the buildings have been build in neo-classical or national romantic style, with the Statsbørsen stock exchange one of the most famous landmarks, with its spiral tower. Built in 1664 it is one of the oldest buildings in the state-archipelago.

Close to the Asgård Palace lies the Trekroner Torv or plaza of the three crowns, where upon the States Museum of Art, the Royal Opera and the Royal Theatre sit with their facades in a perfect triangle. The opera, which was completed in 1820 is one of Nordanias largest, and is famous for its detailed architecture and many scenes, including the sopranos of the opera are, Vittenzo Buela, Nynne Hansen and Ivar Stensand. South of these, Freja's Hal, the largest amusement park in the Tynic Region, can be found. It attracts over 5 million visitors annually and is famous for its old wooden rollercoasters.

Fountains and canals

Painting of the Ansur Fountain

The Dragon Fountain

As a distinctly marine and aqualine city, Asgård has a great amount if fountains built in all different styles, from Classical and Medieval, to Baroque and Neoclassical. The city has contained public wells and drinking fountains ever since it was made capital, as the monarchy spent great sums of money to bring clean drinking water to the city. However bringing drinking water quickly became a secondary priority as successive monarchs, aristocrats and other wealthy patrons spent considerable fortunes on highly decorated fountains in their names. These fountains often originally carried the names of the benefactor but have now generally taken the names of the things pictured on them, such as the Ansur Fountain, depicting the god of fertility Ansur teaching humanity to farm.

Today all of the fountains are considerable magnets for tourists and locals alike to flock to, with many traditions bound to the fountains, such as the Hero's fountain located on the Avenuen pedestrian road, where it is tradition for soldiers departing for war to drop a single Rigsdaler. Other fountains are the sights of the traditional graduation dances where students graduating from gymnasium dance around the fountains, fighting for the right to place a {{Student Cap|student cap| of their respective colours on the top. Practically all of these fountains also carry safe and clean drinking water, which is free to use for the population of the city.

Another considerable aquatic landmark of the city is undoubtably its many canals, lakes and moats. The southern shore is, of course, primarily famous for the state archipelago, a series of 23 manmade islands, which were dug out from the Kongsholmen peninsula in the 1640's, with the second largest and southern-most island serving as an impressive sea-borne fortress. These islands are separated by 15 canals that were dug mainly for defensive purposes, so the governmental district of Asgård could be closed off as a series of small fortresses. Another of the main southern canals is the Grand Moat, which is the remnant of the 18th century fortifications of the city. The two remaining southern canals are both streams that were expanded so ships could move through them. However the three great fortresses of Asgård, Livgardens Kaserne, Kastellet and the Great Tollbooth (Now known as the Royal Museum of Trade) are all surrounded by an impressive system of 17th and 18th century architectural skills, as the three fortresses were to serve as points of engagement in case of sieges.

The northern shorelines canals show an increasingly artificial system of canals, as these canals were actually the moats of the northern part of the city, as it slowly expanded in size. Thus these four stages of expansion show how increasing military construction in the city was supplanted by the public interest, and now the old moats are primarily used for swimming and private sailing vessels. West of these canals are the remnant of the westernmost ramparts of the city, with their own moats that now serve as open baths on the Western Ramparts Market, while the north as seen a connection of several lakes so that the river and the western lakes of Asgård can now be navigated by boat.

Statues and monuments

Memorial to the fallen in the Great War of the North

Sjealandic tradition maintains that as a war ends, a memorial or monument is constructed to forever remember it. This along with the generally spendthrift habits of Sjealandic monarchs, have assured that Asgård is filled with various statues of monuments. Most famously the four main bridges leading to the state archipelago have been decorated by statues of every Sjealandic monarch to date and the banks of the islands are lined with various busts and statues of historical and religious figures. Along with these the two parks along the old ramparts Nørre Voldpark and Sønder Voldpark are also decorated by statues of Sjealandic Generals, while statues of famous admirals line the road leading to Flådestation Ingborg.

Several life-sized statues of the men and women who drafted the Sjealandic constitution can also be found in the public park Ullparken, with the vast majority being exam projects for students at the Sjealandic Academy of Fine Arts. These statues, many of which are still made to this day, are unveiled at the annual Festival of Art which is celebrated in Ildumparken and where those graduating students to choose to may submit their graduating art for a competition, in which the prize includes the right for the statue to be situated in the Ildumparken. Most famously for the Ildumpark however is the Walk of Memorial, a 2km stretch of pathway with statues and memorials flanking it. These memorials mark every tragic and hostile event that has happened to the city and the country ever since 1826, when 16 civillians were massacred while demanding democracy. One of the greatest of these monuments include the 1978 Monument for the faldne på Tårnøerne ("Monument for the Fallen in the Tårnøerbe"), which entombs several soldiers who fought in the War of the Njord, a conflict fought from 1971 to 1972 between Sjealand and Ambrose over the Tårnøerne Islands.

Housing

Map of major sights in Asgård including 1.Asgård Palace 2.National Gallery of Sjealand 3.Royal Opera of Asgård 4.Royal Theatre of Asgård 5.Sjealandic Rigsdag 6.Vort Museum 7.Avenuen 8.Frejas Hal (Amusement Park) 9.Livgardens Kaserne (Asgård) 10.Royal Sjealandic Ballet 11.Asgård Grand Temple 12.Asgård MultiSport Arena 13.Asgård Private Port 14.Asgård Central 15.The Citadel 16.Royal Museum of Trade 17.Fiskertorvet 18.Magasín du Ásgard 19.Nordanian Naval University 20.Naval Fortifications of Asgård 21.World of the Sea 22.La bonne vie Beach 23.Astoria Nightclub 24.Skuepilshuset 25.Son de la musique 26.Asgård City Museum 27.Nordic Museum 28.Western Rampart Market 29.Nordanian Museum 30.Wittburg Museum (East and West) 31.Sjealandic Museum of LGBT history 32.Hymer Ølstue 33.Kinnarum Airport 34.Asgård Airport 35.Den Søde Gourmet 36.Ramsø Beach Park 37.Ærkekongens Æblekælder 38.RA-LA Parken 39.Asgård Waterpark and Aquatic Adventures 40.Ølgod

The most expensive residential streets in Asgård in 2018 by average price per square meter were Kongsholmsavenuen, at $25,031 per square meter; Store Kongsgade at $22,853; and Sønder Strandvej at $21,451 per square meter. These areas are traditionally the home of the nobility, aristocracy and wealthy of Sjealand, and as such these streets are lined by palatial apartments, mansions and luxury apartments. Kongsholmsavenuen is especially expensive because of its central location leading to Asgård Palace, and a great degree of prestige thus comes from living there, something greatly seen in the types of people who typically owns apartments on it, Archdukes, the Lec royal family and the richest of the Sjealandic business elite. These richer housing areas typically consists of whole and several floor apartments as well as whole buildings owned by one person. Contrasting this, the majority of the city's residences are 2 or three room apartments rented by the residents. In 2018 the total amount of residences in Asgård was 1,357,251 a figure which has risen significantly from the former high in 2010 when it was 1,326,042. The majority of these are the homes of families and students, with students generally living in the center of the city in smaller apartments while families rent larger apartments on the outskirts. Around 84% of the residences serves as primary residences with the remaining serving as secondary and tertiary residences.

Around 17 percent of the city's total residences consist of social or public housing primarily on the northern shore and in the far west of the city. The vast majority of these are located in the poorest areas of the city, and most of the poor Nahua population of Asgård resides in public housing projects. These social and public housing projects were initially built for working-class families, but as these moved into the sub-urbs and sattelite cities around Asgård, the areas became filled with descendants of Nahua thralls and Swastrian immigrants. The local and national governments have tried often to re-invigorate the areas but to little avail as they have gained a strong social stigma.

A count of the homeless carried out in 2017 by the city government found that 1,756 were sleeping on the street and 549 were residing in temporary shelters.

Approximately 64% of the buildings in Asgård are from 1952 or before. With the vast majority constructed in the 1800's as part of the wide renovations of the city carried out by the government and monarchy. 21% of buildings were built between 1952 and 1980 with the remaining being built after, but there exists a current push for more modern and effective city planning as the city expands and more calls for modern and climate-efficient cities grows.

Asgård and its suburbs

One distinct difference between Asgård and similar cities abroad is the lack of any real sub-urbs, which instead have been replaced by a series of satellite-towns growing around the light rail and railways surrounding the city, as well as the roads. Contrary to most sub-urbs, these towns work as independent towns with mixed commercial and residential zoning aswell as facilities such as school, sports centers and further. Thus decreasing the immediate amount of people travelling from the towns to the city and decreasing the amount of car-travel. As public transportation can lead most working-age adults into the city, while those working in the towns can walk or bike to their destinations.

This system has helped severely decrease the carbon footprint of the city, and has generally improved the quality of life, but the requirement to build mixed zones has however increased the amount of land needed. As such fears exist over the satellite towns over-spreading and leaving the surrounding natural areas a concrete jungle.

International relations

Twin towns and sister cities

Asgård is twinned or cooperating with several cities, some of which include :

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• Huimont, Ainin
• Talon, Ainin
• Elsbridge, Ambrose
• Kalnaspilis, Aucuria
• Template:Country data Ássoras Porto Alvorada, Ássoras

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• Template:Country data Ceresnia Trafov, Ceresnia
• Desena, Desena
• Ostramar , Karazawa
• Kaldfesting, Jorland and Lothican
• Semprihevosk, Luziyca

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• Template:Country data Oelia Wéppy, Oelia
• Wittburg, Swastria
• Ladumra, Tinza
• Rongzhuo, Xiaodong
• Estanban, Union of Nautasian Islamic Republics

See also

• Trafov
• Elsbridge
• Huimont
• Wittburg