Vlud
Vlud may also refer to the province of the same name, in which the city is situated.
Vlud
Vrisdad Vluds Free City of Vlud | |
|---|---|
| The Vludeer Gildaas from the River Fule The Vludeer Gildaas from the River Fule | |
| Nickname: Sdad vun Sdyn | |
| Country | File:Flag vyv.png Vyvland |
| Province | File:Flag-vlud.png Vlud |
| Parliament constituency | 21 seats |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Moijel Angkeuk (KDC) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 2,087,572 |
| Demonym | Vludeer |
| Time zone | UTC-6 |
| Postcode | P0000-P3999 |
| Phone code | 185 (VL) |
| Area Population density | 588km2 3,550/km2 |
| Elevation | 97m |
| Website | http://www.vrisdadvluds.gov.vy |
Vlud (pronounced /flʌd/, Vyvlander pronunciation: /vlʊd/, locally: /flɵd/, officially Vrisdad Vluds - Independent City of Vlud) is the largest city and former capital of Vyvland. It is an internationally renowned cultural and financial centre, with a population of approximately 2.1 million. Vlud has a long history as one of the most important towns in Vyvland; it was the national capital prior to 2006. The city lies on the River Fule, Vyvland's longest, which meanders past the city centre and joins with the smaller River Heg, which itself flows through the oldest quarters of the city. Vlud city is also the capital of Vlud province.
Nicknamed the Sdad vun Sdyn (or City of Stone), Vlud's portland and sandstone buildings are a distinctive characteristic of the city, having been built up during the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries to prevent fires, the likes of which had previously ravaged the city. The Niklaskatejral in the city's centre is a particularly prominent late Gothic church which is visited by millions of tourists every year. Modern Vlud is a vibrant and cultured city, with a healthy economy bolstered by the city's prominent financial industry. The city is home to the headquarters of major international organisations such as NOSDO and the Esquarian Secretariat.
Etymology
Vlud's name is an archaic spelling of the Vyvlander word vlut, meaning "river". This refers to the city's situation at a bridging point on the wide River Fule. In the past, the city has been recorded as Fludde, Flud, and Fulde, often by a process of analoguising the city with the river, which derives from the same root.
History
Vlud was historically a village in the sparsely-populated central plain before the arrival of swathes of settlers in the far interior of Vyvland in the late fourteenth century. The small town which had existed on the site for centuries previously was near-deserted shortly before the arrival of the settlers due to the effects of the Black Death, which affected Vyvland particularly strongly. In addition to its preexisting church, the site was chosen as an optimal fording point for the wide, shallow river by the new settlers, who chose to make the city the capital of their territory, which would later evolve in itself into the province fo Vlud. Due to its central location, position on multiple trading routes, and command of the River Fule, Vlud was able to rapidly grow from trade profits. Following the Wars of the Banners between Vlud and Sdaamro over succession to the Vyvlander throne in 1728, the new king, Johan II, requested that Vlud become the royal capital. It took on this position from Lorence, while the monarchy chose to move from Lorence Castle to Vecanbek Palace in Vlud, although the Royal Chamber, Vyvland's parliament at the time, mostly continued to sit in Lorence. Vlud has remained the royals' main residence since.
Vecanbek Palace, just outside Vlud, has historically been the seat of the monarchy, and thus was where political power was vested during the times of absolute monarchy in the North before the late nineteenth century. Following the Vyvlander Civil War, Vlud lay roughly twenty miles away from the new border with South Vyvland. The city thus was often shelled by the Southern army before the North-South armistice in 1971.
Upon Vyvlander reunification, it was suggested that the capital should be moved away from Vlud due to its already great power and wealth, especially when compared to ailing Southern cities. In 2006, the old capital of Lorence was officially chosen as the new capital by the Socialist administration of newly-elected President Sofia Beket and Minke Selengborg, much to the anger of many Vludeers. Many foreign embassies, government ministries, offices and departments are still located in Vlud, such as the head offices of the Vyvlander Security Commission at Aas Dyk Enrigs.
Geography
Vlud is situated on the plains surrounding the River Fule, Vyvland's second longest. The site was chosen as an optimal fording point for the wide, shallow river, around a millenium ago, and has expanded massively since then, with the modern city's urban area covering hundreds of square kilometres. The city is centred around the Piterbruj bridge over the Fule, which runs northeast-southwest in a meander facing inwards towards the city centre, which lies on the left bank of the river. To the east of the bridge is Goydmurt, Vlud's main shopping street, while Vlud's old town, centred on the Niklaskatejral, lies to the north of this, on the banks of the smaller River Heg, which originates immediately to the city's east. The Heg is surrounded by parks for most of its length, the most notable of which is the extensive and popular Dirgurdenpark to the Innerwand's immediate east. Vlud's financial district is situated downstream from the bridge and across the Fule from the city centre.
Administrative divisions
Vlud is composed of eleven boroughs, each with a population of approximately 200,000. The city's centre is mainly contained within the Innerwand borough, named after its historic position inside the city's walls. East of the river, the other boroughs are prosperous Aaterwand and suburban Avdal to the north; working-class, densely populated and post-industrial Rumpe and neighbouring upper-class Kongsborg to the south; and Hegfrop, which contains the main campus of the Sarumian University and large Teergurdenpark, and outer Vluberg to the east. On the river's west bank lies Piterkusel, which contains Vlud's old Piterkusel Fort and the modern financial district, historic Gyrmdal, Sunbryk and riverside Domeviy.
Climate
Vlud enjoys a temperate climate in common with most of Vyvland, although its temperatures tend to be somewhat more varied than elsewhere due to its inland location. It experiences a slight urban heat island effect due to the large quantity of motor traffic and and very dense cityscape. On average, it is also drier than many areas of coastal and western Vyvland, with notably more snow than most areas.
Economy
Vlud is a renowned financial and business centre, with major banks headquartered in the city, including Vludbank, City Investment Group and Hester-DeWarre; special, yet controversial, legal exemptions known as the Vlud Laws have protected this status since reunification. It also contains many Vyvlander branches of foreign companies, such as TPBC. This situation has generated much wealth, but also income inequality, for many of Vlud's inhabitants; although some suburban areas of the city, including Vlud-16 constituency with an average wage of over µ120,000, are very rich, the city still contains many poor areas such as Brayeersig, Rumpe and Loganven. Therefore, Vlud has the largest Gini coefficient of any of the twenty most populous Vyvlander cities.
Transport
Vlud's main airports lie at Wesge and Wesjren to the north of the city. Wesge is the country's largest airport, with tens of millions of arrivals and departures each year, as well as the hub for Eer Vyvlu, the country's unofficial flag carrier. Wesjren Airport is used more by budget airlines. Bid Air Hub to Vlud's south is being constructed by Vlud, Brudon and Plains provinces to better connect the areas to the coutside world, and is expected to handle 35% of air arrivals to Vlud in the future. It is projected to open in 2019.
Vlud is also a major rail hub, with its main overground train station, Vlud Piterkusel, being the second-busiest for mainline trains in the country. Vlud Goydmurt, the city’s other main station, deals primarily with urban and suburban train services, in addition to being the main hub for the Vlud Metro. Construction is nearly completed of Vlud Greetbansdop, which is expected to increase Vlud's station capacity in addition to serving as a terminus for future high-speed rail and a stop for regional and national express services. Fast direct links to many major cities in Vyvland operate from the city's stations, including Vyvland’s first dedicated high-speed rail line to Wesge Airport and on to Mafiy Norgerplaac, and the soon-to-be-opened high-speed line to Lorence, to be extended to Jesel by 2024. Suburban rail services into Vlud's wider commuter belt are organised into the Vlud Sdadbaan system.
In addition to surface-level trains, the Vlud Metro consists of four lines which span the city and its suburbs; it is the second-busiest metro system in Vyvland. A tram system also operates within the city and into the suburb of Greves. The tran system currently runs eleven routes, three of which are served by modern high-capacity trams and were formerly run by the metro.
Politics and government
Vlud City Council is controlled by a Liberal-Socialist-Capitalist-Libertarian coalition which together makes up fifty-eight percent of the seats on the council. The council is elected proportionally by borough. The largest opposition party is the Conservatives, which holds twenty-six percent of the seats. Contrary to many similar large cities in Vyvland, the Socialists' presence in Vlud is weak; this is partly attributed to the moving of the national capital away from Vlud, which happened under a Socialist administration. Within the city, the Vlud City Interest party (Vlud Sdadbelang) is relatively prominent, holding around 6% of the council's seats and one seat in the Vlud Provincial Assembly. Historically, the party has had up to two seats in the national Parliament, performing strongest in the 2009 general election, in which they gained two seats and 10% of the provincial vote due to the moving of the capital away from the city. However, the party does not currently hold any Parliament seats.
The city council meets in the Vludeer Gildaas (Vlud Guildhall), which was previously the seat of the Vyvlander Parliament before the capital was moved to Lorence. It now serves as the centre of administration for both Vlud city and Vlud province, with the Provincial Diet meeting in the old National Diet chamber and the Second Chamber housing the Vlud City Council, which, as Vlud is an independent city, is semi-independent from provincial control.
Vlud was formerly the capital of Vyvland, and still retains many ministerial and diplomatic buildings, including the High Court of Justice of Vyvland and the headquarters of the Justice Ministry. In addition, the city houses the Esquarian Secretariat and headquarters of the Northern Sea Defence Organisation (NOSDO), an international military alliance.
Town twinning
Vlud's status as an international city lends it to twinning with many other major cities of Esquarium. Among those are:
- Template:Country data Geadland Bondhaven, Geadland
- File:Flag of Nevanmaa.png Kaarela, Nevanmaa
- File:Flagofvjaarland.png Strandhavn, Vjaarland
- Template:Country data Iglesiantis Larena, Iglesiantis
Culture
Arts
Vlud is Vyvland's preeminent location for many cultural pursuits. Vlud's theatre and film industry is historically based around the Teergurdenpark, while the centre for fine art is Piterkusel, in which lie the internationally famous Vyvlander National Museum and many smaller galleries and studios, bolstered by the presence of the Sgol Unjrewerps, responsible for the education of many prominent Vyvlander artists, designers and architects such as Vemke Ohldermaan and Mafjas Langmaan. The Kunstfabrik art museum-cum-factory is located by the former docks at Syfaagen in Rumpe. Revered composers such as Albus Zletsbruj have been produced by the Vlud School of Music, part of the city's Sarumian University.
Media
Vlud is also the base of VNB, Vyvland's main domestic television and radio broadcaster. The nationwide Vludeer Post is fully based and was founded in the city, while Vlud is also the centre of operations for fe Bysbereer, which hails from Mafiy, and de Kronikel. Together, these three newspapers make up three of the four most read broadsheets in Vyvland, along with Entwerd. In addition, tabloids Jeddeg and Viy are published in Vlud. Kogelweg in the Pannesdad district contains the main Vlud offices of all aforementioned newspapers, and is thus often referred to as a metonym for the major Vyvlander news outlets.
Sport
Vlud has two teams competing in the 1f. Lig, Vyvland's top association football flight. These are Vlud Sdad and Vludeers BK, who play in Sdadpruk, in the city's northwest, and Yses Grynd in the northeast respectively. Historically, the dividing line between support for the two clubs has been the River Fule. Sdad are the joint most successful team in Vyvland, along with rivals Sdaamro VK from Lyksdal; both have won the league seven times.
Education
Vlud's main educational institution is the Sarumian University, the largest in Vyvland. The university was founded in 1852 as an amalgamation of different Vlud educational institutions by the Duke of Sarumie, who lent his name to the modern university. Approximately 38,000 students study at Sarumian, with its campuses spread around the city. The main campus (Weskampus) is located in the Ynisdad area in the north of Hegfrop borough, but significant additional facilities include the Elvedkerkampus in Elvedker to the river's west, the Sgol Unjrewerps design school in Piterkusel, and the Vlud School of Music in Pannesdad, in the north of the Innerwand. The smaller University of Vlud and Pannesdad School of Economics make up most of the remainder of the city's 70,000-strong student population.
The school system contains roughly 185,000 children in 392 schools spread across the city. Historically, Vludeer students have been able to achieve some of the best results in Abejyr exams due to the city's good teaching quality, although in recent years many other areas have begun to catch up.