Luttenried

The Holy Dukedom of Luttenried Heiliges Herzogtum Luttenried
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Gott, Treue, Reich!" "God, Faith, Empire!"
Anthem: Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott Royal anthem: Luttenlied
Map location of Luttenried in the region of Kali Yuga.
Status	Duchy
Location	Located in the central-south of the Far-East of Kali Yuga.
Capital and	Wilhelmshaven
Official languages	German
Recognised national languages	English, German
Ethnic groups	Caucasian (75%) Native/Asian (20%) Black/Middle Eastern (4%) Other (6%)
Religion	Kirche der Königlich ("Church of the Royal")
Demonym(s)	Lutten(rieden), Commoner
Government	Theocratic Feudal Monarchy, Absolute Monarchy
• Emperor	Emperor JC
• Holy Duke	Duke Friedhelm von Luttenfried
• Reichskanzler	Kunibert Wörner
Legislature	Luttenried Diet
Colonial Duchy of TECT.
• Establishment of "Schwenke" Settlement by Imperial authorities and adventurer-colonist Arne Schwenke.	1402
• The Luttenried Order is awarded authority over the Schwenke Colonial Effort after Arne Schwenke is presumed dead. Luttenried Oberbefehlshaber Burchard Bleier Luttenried is granted title of Earl by Emperor Whilhelm XII, creating the "Earldom of Luttenried" at home while the Order referred to itself now as the "Luttenried Crusader State."	1404
• The Luttenried Earldom/Crusader State expands the settlement's control to modern day Capital District boundries.	1410
• Luttenried Earldom/Crusader State declares a "Holy Crusade" against the "Luttenried Island" Ohanzee Confederation natives after several raids against Luttenried satellite settlements.	1412
• Luttenreid Earldom/Crusader State achieves victory over Ohanzee natives, consolidating signifigant portions of Luttenried Island under Crusader control.	1414
• Total victory over remaining Ohanzee Confederation and other remaining native groups brings Luttenried Island under total control of the Luttenried Earldom/Crusader State. Luttenried Oberbefehlshaber & Earl Burchard Falkenrath Luttenried is awarded title of Duke by Emperor Whilhelm XII, transforming the "Luttenried Earldom" into the "Luttenried Duchy."	1431
• Luttenried Dukedom achieves its modern borders, Luttenried Oberbefehlshaber & Duke Burchard Luttenreid III proclaims the "Holy Dukedom of Luttenried."	1521
• The Republican Movement reaches the Holy Luttenried Dukedome, forcing Holy Duke Gottschalk to enact republican reforms and creating the Luttenreid Diet.	1892
Area
• Total	7,856,487 km2 (3,033,407 sq mi)
• Water (%)	9.25
Population
• 2022 census	29,454,883
• Density	9.56/km2 (24.8/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2020 estimate
• Total	11.567 Trillion NSD
• Per capita	35,498 NSD
GDP (nominal)	2021 estimate
• Total	32,516 NSD
Gini	36 medium
HDI	0.994 very high
Currency	Imperial Dollar (TECT) ($)
Time zone	Luttenried Time
Driving side	right
Calling code	120
Internet TLD	.tct

Statue of Mother Mary, welcoming travelers along Wilhelmshaven's northern shoreline.

Luttenried, or properly known as the Holy Dukedom of Luttenried (also Holy Duchy of Luttenried), is a Colonial Stem Dukedom within The Empire of Common Territories (TECT) located in the Kali Yuga Region. It is comprised of mainland Luttenried (continent), seven major islands off the mainland's southern coast, and thirty-one other islands scattered around the mainland's vast coastline. With an area of 7,856,487 km2, the Holy Duchy is the largest landmass between the continents of Musgorocia and Oriea - Luttenried itself is the sixth largest continent in the region. Luttenried is a largely flat, megadiverse country with a broad variety of landscapes and climates due to its large size; tropical rainforests, savannas, dense forests, mountain ranges, and expansive deserts are all found on the continent of Luttenried.

Luttenried's population of over twenty-nine million people is primarily made up of Commoners (Luttenried natives and newer migrants) and the mixed race decendents of native peoples (Ohanzee people), the remainder are primarily regional immigrants or Christian pilgrims. The Holy Duchy's population steadily rose during its founding in the 15th century, immigration exploded in the 16th century during the Holy Duchy's "crusader" period and continued rising after the post-crusader period. Luttenried is a highly developed country with a largely urbanized population surrounding several major cities including the capital (and largest city) Wilhelmshaven; a signifigant portion of the population is located in rural areas, however. Although starting off as a command economy while a Crusader State, the Holy Duchy opened its economy further after the Luttenried Crusades in order to better recover from the economic devistation proceeding the crusades. Today, as a mostly free-market economy, Luttenried enjoys less regulations and fewer financial burdens while still reigning controls it sees as vital infrastructure for keeping the Holy Duchy economically secure. Agriculture, aquaculture, mining, manufacturing, and services (in that order) are Luttenried's largest income sources with the Empire being the Holy Dukedome's leading importer of goods/services. As a former crusader state and now "Holy" Duchy, Luttenried is a deeply conservative and religious country with the overwhelming majority of citizens practicing Christianity, the Holy Duchy's state religion. Religion plays a central role in every day life within Luttenried with most holidays, tourist destinations, historical locations, and major events centered around Christianity or the church; schools, governments, businesses, and communities are tightly interlocked with the local churches and average Luttenrieden's faith.

Politically, the Holy Duchy is a Theocratic Feudal Monarchy, comprising of fourteen provincial territories governed by Stem Holy Baronies along with several other territories governed by lower ranking Luttenried Noble Houses. The Holy Dukedom itself is a Colonial Stem Duchy under TECT, which is an Absolute Monarchy. Largely unchanged since their creation prior to the Luttenried Crusades, the Holy Barons of Luttenried traditionally held large authority over their lands in exchange for total fielty to the Holy Duke and a universal national identity; a pledge tracing its roots to the Luttenried Order's existance before the Luttenried Crusader State era. Holy Barons today are domestically powerful governors but are submissive to the Holy Duke otherwise, lacking independent powers such as raising actual militiaries or conducting international diplomacy even with the Empire directly. Although unequal compared to the Holy Duke, Holy Barons are largely left to their own devices when enacting domestic policies so long as they're within the Holy Duke's authority. While historically governed from top-to-bottom (like Luttenried itself historically), most Holy Barons have operated some form of legislature or federalist system to meet the demands of the Holy Duchy's Republican Reform effort during the waning years of the 19th century; each Holy Baron governs differently, but most Holy Barons entrust their lands to lower ranking nobles in county level fiefdoms to govern or represent them. Nationally, the Holy Duke is the absolute governor (not ruler, technically) of the Holy Dukedom - their ruler is technically the TECT Emperor. The Luttenried Diet, a parliament comprising of the Lords (governing nobles or their acting representatives) and elected Representatives of each Barony/lower holding, is tasked with enacting laws/policies, representing the people in governance, and settling disputes of national interest. Although Luttenried possesses a legal system like most nations, Holy Barony or lower courts vary in design/scope and Holy Duchy Courts are largely for criminal cases or legal disputes that don't fall under the Diet's prerogative. As the actual governing force of the Holy Duchy, the Holy Duke is the absolute manager of his lands as granted to him under the Crown, thus making the Holy Duke superior to their own government and even most of the Imperial Government/TECT Nobility.

History

Schwenke Settlement colonists before the Luttenried Order's arrival.

As a nation and people, Luttenried's story begins with the Luttenried Order. The Luttenried Order was founded by Arndt Luttenried in 1354 in response to the joint declaration by Reichsstadt Pope Wendelin III "The Peacemaker" and Emperor Whilhelm XI, declaring a "Holy Crusade" against the central pagan tribal nations located in modern day Zentral State. Arndt Luttenried was a fairly wealthy merchant who was a devout member of the Kirche der Königlich. Although never serving on a single battlefield, Arndt founded a religious order originally with the purpose of recruiting fellow merchants to help supply and tend to crusader forces. After serving in the First Central Pagan Crusade, Arndt underwent a drastic lifestyle change due to what he claimed to have seen the pagans do to his fellow Christians; Arndt sold most of his personal possessions for capital, took up the sword and shield, and converted his religious order into a religious military order. In the following years, Arndt lead his Order up until the Third Central Pagan Crusade where he was cut down during the Battle of Veremund Forest. Urs Bleier, Arndt's Unterkommandant (Sub-Commander, second-in-command) and sworn brother, became the Luttenried Order's second Oberbefehlshaber (Supreme Commander). Urs took up his sworn bother's name, becoming Urs Luttenried, and served as the Order's leader until his own death in 1395. His son, Burchard Bleier Luttenried, would become Oberbefehlshaber of the Luttenried Order that same year and take part in the Sixth Central Pagan Crusade where the Luttenried Order earned a noteworthy repuation back home for its devout followers, excellent resource management, and feirce military prowess. In 1404, Burchard and the Luttenried Order were recognized for their achievements during the Crusades and were awarded for their accomplishments. The Luttenried House had been promoted from the title of Knight to the title of Earl by Whilhelm XII. As for the Luttenried Order, it was awarded several honors by both the Empire and Kirche. Emperor Whilhelm XII granted the Order (and Burchard) a territory to "govern, convert, and expand" in the newly discovered Kali Yuga Region. From there, Burchard and the Luttenreid Order completed establishing the Schwenke Settlement in Luttenried; Schwenke was formally renammed to "Wilhelmshaven" and the continent formally recognized as "Luttenried." Thus began the Luttenried Crusader State ("Luttenried Deutschordensstaat"), or formally the Holy Earldom of Luttenried.

Although inhabited primarily by Commoners and decendents of native peoples, the continent's previouse dominant civilization, the Ohanzee people, were said to have settled Luttenried over a million years ago; they are speculated to have arrived from Musgorocia using makeshift rafts and boats, island hopping until settling in Luttenried. The Ohanzee Confederation, a confederation of over thirty tribal nations, dominated the continent by the time Commoners arrived in 1402. As the continent's first governing force, the Ohanzee Confederation was said to have been created by the actual Ohanzee tribes who hail from the northeastern part of the continent. Four Ohanzee tribes total unified so they could cooperate and direct all future warfare against its competitors; competiton namely included other Ohanzee speakers - Ohanzee tribes who were independent - and unknown, possible prior natives, that are believed to have been wiped out by the Ohanzee in the past. Oral tradition states that "the four nations brought together eight other Ohanzee tribes/speakers and defeated eighteen other peoples." In 1412, a full decade after TECT colonists establish their first settlement on the continent, and eight years after the Luttenried Order established their Crusader State, the two sides officially went to war. After almost two decades of conflict, the Luttenried Crusader State/Holy Earldom achieved total domination over the continent in 1431. As recognition for its grand achievements, the Luttenried Earldom was hansomly rewarded by both the Empire and Kirche for its victory in yet another crusade. To cement the state's authority in the region and its position within the Empire, Whilhelm XII awarded Holy Earl Burchard Bleier Luttenried the title of Duke, transforming him into a Duke his realm into a Colonial Stem Dukedom.

The Holy Dukedom of Luttenried exploded economically and experienced a signifigant population boom after the Ohanzee Crusade. The combination of religious and imperial fevor, knowledge of vast untapped resources, and expansive land for settlers to claim attracted immigrants, pilgrims, and businesses to the continent in what historians refer to as the "Luttenried Settler Rush." Holy Duke Burchard and the Luttenried Order spent the next three decades consolidating their position in the region; time was spent developing the Duchy's infrastructure, attracting new residents from home, and learning more about regional neighborhood. After his death in 1492, Holy Duke Burchard's eldest son, Theudemar Luttenried, inherits his father's title and becomes the next Oberbefehlshaber of the Luttenried Order. Holy Duke Theudemar "The Crusader" was a devout believer like his predocessors before him and his loyalty to the Emperor was second only to God. Theudemar's self-proclaimed mission as his father's successor was to build upon what Holy Duke Burchard had established, and to do that, Holy Duke Theudemar spent nearly two decades preparing for war. In 1510, Holy Duke Theudemar and the Luttenried Order proclaimed "Holy Crusade" against several island nations and territories surrounding Luttenried, kicking off the Luttenried Crusades. Over the next decade, the Holy Dukedom of Luttenried, with the Empire's assistance, conquered dozens of islands near and far from the continent. By 1521, the Holy Duchy had achieved its modern day borders and continued its march until reaching its territorial height in 1528. Luttenried's defeat at the Battle of Werdheri Bay in 1528 turned the tides against the Luttenried Crusaiders, marking the downfall of the Holy Crusade.

Luttenried Order Knights furiously defend Werdheri Castle to the bitter end, 1528.

Luttenried, reeling from its untimely defeat during the nearly two-decade long Luttenried Crusades, turned its focus on restablishing itself into a proper state within the Empire. Although Holy Duke Theudemar focused his reforms on establishing an official military and fortifying the Holy Duchy's remaining holdings, his death in 1531 ended all aspirations of continuing the Holy Crusade in the immediate future. Holy Duke Theudemar's successor, his second son Raginmund Luttenried, would be remembered in history as the "Raginmund The Reformer." Under Holy Duke Raginmund's reign as Holy Duke, the Holy Dukedom of Luttenried underwent extensive reforms from top to bottom. Although devout and loyal to both God and the Empire like his predecessors, Raginmund was not nearly as militaristicly centered in his policy making; rather, Raginmund is remembered more as "Father Raginmund" than as "Crusader Raginmund." Historians credit "Raginmund's Reformation" period as the turning point in Luttenried's history, transforming Luttenried the "Crusader State" it was founded as into Luttenreid the "Holy Dukedom." Rather than acting as a polity, Holy Duke Raginmund realized Luttenried needed to properly intigrate into the Empire and reform itself into a proper national entity if it were to thrive in the long term. Raginmund was the first Holy Duke to decline the title of Oberbefehlshaber in the Luttenried Order, instead leaving the Order to decide whom the position suited best; Hariman Luttenried, the Holy Duke's younger brother, was unanimously elected as Oberbefehlshaber in Raginmund's stead. Before his passing in 1588, Holy Duke Raginmund solidified his father's efforts in establishing a proper military force which didn't belong to nor rely on the Luttenried Order. Holy Duke Raginmund also formed a proper government structure by creating the "Stem Holy Baron" system to properly govern the Holy Duchy's territories. Rather than overseeing the entirety of the Holy Dukedom personally, vassals overseeing their respective territories increased efficiency and freed up the Holy Duke for other activities. Smaller territories, such as distant islands, were governed by lower nobles such as Holy Lords as well if they fell outside a Holy Baron's domain. Vassals of the Holy Duke were then selected by the Holy Duke to become ministers (often with promotions in noble rank), ministers being tasked with operating ministries and other segments of the Holy Duke's government. As Holy Duke Raginmund's political and military reforms were enacted, so too were his economic reforms. Knowing the Empire's favor primarily derived from Luttenried's ability to export foodstuffs/food home, Holy Duke Raginmund established policies that would direct Luttenried into specializing in agriculture economically; these policies included tax incentives for farmers, special land development expansion projects, and production level incentives for agricultural producers (percentile tax return based on product weight and gold weight, for example). Vegetables, fish, animal products, and fruits became the highest paying exports Luttenried shipped back home. Although not to fall short, Holy Duke Raginmund was keen on exploiting Luttenried's other resources, such as gold, lumber, and numerous mineral deposits his vassals had discovered. Shipbuilding, a trade Luttenried was in desparate need of, also saw large growth under Holy Duke Raginmund.

First session of the Luttenried Diet.

At the end of the nineteenth century, the Holy Dukedom of Luttenried began experiencing what historians describe as the "Republican Movement" within the Empire. The Republican Movement was a political/cultural shift within the Empire, primarily in the Mainland, that called for the redistribution of governmental authority to the citizens in order to achieve better representation and improved quality of life. This namely translated to eliminating the noble class' iron grip over governance, and reshaping nearly two millennias of governance within the Empire itself. In the Empire, this resulted in the "Federal Reformation," which transferred most noble authority away from their direct rule over provinces and fiefs into civilian elected State Governments; a dangerous period in Imperial history as the citizens fought to achieve recognized liberties and most nobles fighting to retain their authority within the Empire's governance. This period was also marked by civil war, as several nobles took up arms against the Empire which was attempting to please the two sides by compromising with the "Republican Federalists" and satisfying the nobles through other incentives; although brief, the 1891 Nobleman Insurrection was followed up with cold war style political strife after the noble's decisive defeat. In Luttenried, the affects of the Republican Movement were tame but heard. Since the Imperial Government's reformation affected holdings it directly controlled in the mainland, Luttenried itself was not obligated to follow such reforms unless it desired to. Although legal experts of the time expressed colonial stem noble realms fell within the reformation's scope, Emperor Vinzent II decreed (even over the Supreme Court of the Empire) that such colonial holdings held an independent position within the Empire and that their statuses "are all but decided by themselves, as Federalism would rightfully call for." Although the people of Luttenried did not identify completely with the new Republican Movement, it was ever apparent that the Holy Duchy's citizens did wish for liberties its Imperial siblings were receiving and the idea of better representation was all too inticing. Holy Duke Gottschalk took action immedietly before the situation could possibly develop into instibility. Among his first acts, Holy Duke Gottschalk established reforms that changed how vassals operated their domains; all fiefs were required to better document necessary events and statistics in order to better oversee their activities and take action against those violating their oaths. Holy Duke Gottschalk's second action was replacing his Minister Council with the establishment of the Luttenried Diet, a multi-level legislature comprised of the governing nobles and represntatives of their land's peoples. The Luttenried Diet's main function at the time was offering better representation for the Holy Duchy's people and conducting policy making absent of the Holy Duke's direct contribution - although the Holy Duke was still required to approve all matters the Diet processed. Although these and other Republican/Federalist reforms didn't necessairly meet Republican Movement demands on paper, the results however did. Luttenried Nobles, now fearing their power being totally stripped like their Imperial counterparts, were encouraged to provide better liberties to their people, such as more free speech and representation through elected governance. While not changing all too much, the Holy Duchy survived the Republican Movement as a fully entact Theocratic Feudal Monarchy where most other nobles of the Empire either lost their governing positions or were reduced to meerly empty titles.

Government & Kirche

The Holy Dukedom of Luttenried is a Theocratic Feudal Monarchy comprising of fourteen provincial territories and several other smaller island territories. Luttenried is a Colonial Stem Duchy under The Empire of Common Territories, which is an Absolute Monarchy. At the Holy Dukedom's head is the "Holy Duke," an Imperial Duke who's House has historically been aligned with the Kirche der Königlich as well as the Empire, hence the title of "Holy." Historically, Luttenried existed as a "Crusader State" between 1412 and 1531 until it formally adopted traditional medieval noble rule; the Luttenried House was granted the colonial territory to govern originally as a Barondom. Although it has not fundimentally altered its governing system formally since then, Holy Duke Gottschalk formally created the Luttenried Diet along with enacting other Republican reforms that either federalized or incentivised federalization of Luttenried's governing apparatus. In this case, "Federalizing" was done more in spirit and is defined literally as "a system of central governance built from decentralized local governance."

From the top down there are three branches of governance within Luttenried: The Holy Duke (executive), the Luttenried Diet (legislature), and the Luttenried Court System (justice system). Although these are all branches of governance technically, the Holy Duke's authority rests above the Diet and Courts because the Holy Duke's authority over their territory is absolute. This is because the Holy Duke was appointed by the Emperor (Emperor Whilhelm XII originally) to serve as governor of a land on behalf of the Empire; thus a duke may be technically rule his lands as his own, but

Stem Holy Baronies along with governed by lower ranking Luttenried Noble Houses.

Economy

Holy Dukedom of Luttenried GDP by sector in 2020.

Luttenried is a highly developed market driven economy. When compared to other colonial holdings within the Empire, the Holy Duchy is by far the largest due in part to its size; the Holy Duchy's GDP is compounded when Luttenried's regional trade ties comes into play. Luttenried's economy is so large that it often competes with the better developed Imperial States on the Mainland in terms of both size and influence. The Holy Duchy has enjoyed mostly uninterrupted economic growth since the late sixteenth century, owing its successes and higher than average HDI to several factors including having an economy made up of durable/robust industry sectors, careful government interventions if any, and Luttenried's strategic location within the Kali Yuga Region. Trade between the Empire and the Holy Duchy has long been attributed to the Holy Duchy as its primary source of prosperity; the Empire is Luttenried's largest trade partner, which imports almost two hundred billion Imperial Dollars worth of agricultural products every year.

Agriculture

Dominated by agriculture since its inception, Luttenried's agricultural sector remains as the Holy Duchy's primary source of income. Agriculture accounts for forty-eight percent of the Luttenried economy according to the Holy Duchy's Interior Ministry. This trend was created in 1588 by Holy Duke Raginmund during the "Raginmund Reformation." Holy Duke Raginmund knew the Empire invested in Luttenreid largely in part due to the Holy Duchy's ability to produce food for the Empire; this was largely the case under Raginmund's predecessors as well who focused on food exports to the Empire in exchange for goods and services unavailable in Luttenried from the Empire. Many of Raginmund's economic reforms and initiatives focused on developing Luttenried's agricultural sector, including incentives for farmers, land development projects, and investments into agricultural programs throughout the Holy Dukedom. As a result, the Holy Duchy's economy became in large part centered around food and raw resource production. Luttenried's agricultural sector includes farming industries, the forestry industry, and animal husbandry industries to name a few. Aquaculture, the economic sector which focuses on fishing and other aquatic cultivating industries, is separated from agriculture by the Treasury and Interior Ministry. Both sectors accounted for sixty-eight percent of Luttenried's GDP in 2020, or $7.8 Trillion NSD; agriculture accounted for forty-eight percent of Luttenried's GDP alone in 2020, or $5.5 Trillion NSD. There are over 472,375 agricultural workers employeed throughout the farming, forestry, and animal husbandry industries within Luttenried. These workers and businesses account for sixty-five percent of Luttenried's landmass, which are spread over 156,034 farms/pens and associated facilities; eighty-eight percent of these farms/facilities are still family owned.

As a landmass with large swaths of arid land, Luttenried is well known for its practices of irrigation and dryland farming. Other areas, notably the northern and southern peaks, are dominated by tropical climates and support more intensive farming practices. In general, Luttenried's agricultural sector is dominated by mechanization of farming where possible, including the use of large harvesting equipment and support tools for manual labourers. In terms of food production, Luttenried has three primary product groups: Vegetables/fruits/nuts, cash crops (such as sugar cane or coffee beans), and husbandry products (such as meats and wool). Fruit is especially profitable in Luttenried as most of the Empire's mainland lacks any tropical climates suitable for most favord fruit crops, making them rarer or entirely imported. Although not as profitable as many fruits, raw vegetables and meats make up huge segments of Luttenried's exports to the Empire; their value when sold in bulk quantities is what makes these products as profitable as they are. Meanwhile, many cash crops such as sugar cane and coffee beans (Luttenried's most abundant cash crops) are mostly sold domestically to local businesses who then turn those products into bulk exportable products. Aside from coffee, which is Luttenried's largest cash crop export for the Empire, only excess cash crops are exported (typically to regional trade partners or the Empire).

Husbandry is the largest segment of Luttenried's agricultural sector behind its farming industries. The beef industry in particular is the largest segment of Luttenried's husbandry operations. Cattle operations cover almost two-hundred and twenty million hectares of land in Luttenried, accounting for almost two million heads of cattle within the Holy Duchy and around thirteen billion litres of milk in 2020. Around seventy percent of the beef produced in Luttenried is exported - mainly to the Empire - while around eighty percent of the milk produced in Luttenried is consumed domestically. Leather, a product produced alongside beef, accounts for most of Luttenried's leather production and earns around sixty million NSD yearly.