Olham

Olham Aldham (Borish)
City
Central Olham from above
Etymology: ald “old” + ham “town”
Nickname:  Bookham
Country	Borland
Yend	Midlands
First mentioned	765
Given town rights	945
Boroughs	Seven districts Centre Baronhall/Honnon Lindon/Eppenthorp Brenshed/Sunders Leerham/Warron Gerthorp/Casthorp Rymen/Herdon
Government
• Body	Olham Steadcouncil
• Mayor	Gera Rummede (Centrum)
Area
• Total	145 km2 (56 sq mi)
Elevation	95 m (312 ft)
Population  (2020)
• Total	365,000
• Density	2,500/km2 (6,500/sq mi)
Postal code	List of postal codes 0301 0302 0303 0304 0305 0306 0307
Area code	030
Website	www.aldham.bo (in Borish)

Olham (/ˈɒləm/; Borish: Aldham [ˈɑɫdəm]) is a city in the southern Midlands. With a population of around 365 000, it is the second-largest city in the Midlands and the third-largest city in Borland, behind Newstead and Westhaven. The city is surrounded by rivers on three sides, with the River Lisse forming its northern border and the River Aire forming its western and southern border. Olham is bordered by six cities: Minster, Warmen, Hertonham, Bermon-Legham, Ysernach and Steanford.

Olham is one of the oldest cities in Borland, having town rights since 945 and being first mentioned in the 8th century. The city grew throughout the Middle Ages to become the second-largest city of Borland at around 10 000 to 12 000 people. In the latter half of the 15th century, Olham became the centre of Borish-language printing, yielding the city’s nickname Bookham. The Olham Cathedral was completed in 1515, being destroyed in the Amendist Wars only decades later. The city stayed one of the centres of Borish culture and literature into the 17th century, when it experienced Estmerification. By 1750, the city was regarded as Estmerophone. The city grew to become an important industrial centre during the industrial revolution, specialising in the textile, steel and machinery industries. After the Great War, the city became the centre of Borland’s car manufacturing, which lasted into the early 21st century. The University of Olham opened in 1965 and is now one of the country’s largest universities.

Olham is known for having undergone a language shift over the 20th century, as Borish replaced Estmerish as the language of education, commerce and everyday communication. Some claim that the city also underwent a cultural shift from identifying more with the Borish Lowlands and Estmere to identifying with the northern Midlands and Borland.

History

Early history

Having held market rights since the 880s, Olham had grown to a small economic centre in the region between Bermon and Minster by the middle of the 10th century. It gained town rights under Borish law in 945, making Olham one of the first towns to receive them. From around 950 onward, there was a notable minority of Sotirians in the town. In 976, Olham became a part of the yend of the Midlands after the yend of Minster was abolished. It is estimated that around 5 000 people lived in Olham by the year 1000. The town was burnt down in 1025 during the Estmerish invasion of Borland, although Estmerish forces were ultimately expelled.

Rudolphine Confederation

Under the Rudolphine Confederation, Olham was a trade hub on the border between the Confederation and Estmere. Although it had little political relevance, it would grow consistently throughout the centuries, reaching a population of 10 000 by 1300, although its population declined throughout the 14th century due to several plague outbreaks. Nevetheless, it surpassed that population again by the end of the 15th century. Starting in the 1450s, Olham became a major centre of printing in the south of the newly-established Ostbank Estate. Between 1489 and 1515, the Olham Cathedral was constructed, although it was destroyed in 1598, when the city was besieged during the Amendist Wars. Cultural and linguistic influence in the city grew in later centuries, and the city became viewed as Estmerophone by 1750. During the late decades of the Rudolphine Confederation, Olham witnessed the start of the industrial revolution.

Kingdom of Estmere

The city rapidly industrialised and experienced a population boom during the 19th century, reaching 50 000 inhabitants in 1850 and surpassing 100 000 inhabitants by 1900. It was one of the centres of the textile industry in Borland, although the production of steel and machinery of all kinds became more important as the century progressed. Olham also became a transport hub in the region, with the first railway being built in 1837 which linked the city to Newstead and a line between Newstead and Westhaven opening in 1843. There was a major port on the River Lisse in the north-west of the city alongside a smaller port on the River Aire in the south-west that still exists today. In 1910, Olham incorporated several surrounding cities and towns, leading it to surpass 200 000 people just a decade after having surpassed 100 000. Inspite of the prohibition in the Kingdom of Estmere, Olham was a major centre of beer production.

Great War

Only days after the fall of Morwall, the city surrendered to Gaullican forces in late June 1929. Nevertheless, Olham suffered great damage during the war, with around half of the buildings in the city centre being significantly damaged or destroyed. Several ten thousand people fled the city during the war, both before and after the arrival of Gaullican forces. Refugees from other parts of Estmere, especially from the Lowlands arrived in the city in great numbers from May 1929 onwards. However, many left from 1932 onward, as the city suffered from an undersupply of food and other basic goods.

On 20 March 1931, at least 25 civilians were killed and more than 100 were wounded during a stampede after Gaullican soldiers opened fire on a crowd on Bonham Street in the city centre for unknown reasons. Subsequently, a riot broke out that lasted for several hours before Gaullican forces were able to surpress it. The exact number of casualties of the riot was not recorded, the number is generally placed between 150 and 200 people.

As Weranian forces were approaching the city, another riot broke out in the city centre, although the weakened Gaullican forces were unable to supress it and ended up retreating into the western and southern suburbs several days before the arrival of Weranian forces. The heaviest fighting between Weranians and Gaullicans took place in the western and north-western suburbs, which had previously seen only fairly little damage.

Recent history

After the Great War, reconstruction in Olham was slow initially. A major reason for that was that many buildings, although not completely destroyed, had been damaged to a degree that made repairing them almost impossible. Between 1935 and 1940, all passenger railway transport was routed through Morwall Street station (called Olham West since 1940) and Union Cross station (called Olham North since 1940), to allow for the construction of the Olham Central station that replaced all other railway stations in the city centre after 1940.

In 1935 and early 1936, regular rallies were held in Olham against the 1936 Borland independence referendum. In the referendum, 42% voted in favour and 56% against the independence of Borland from Estmere, although anti-independence rallies continued to be held until the end of the decade, even after the country had become independent.

During the 1940s and 50s, there was some opposition to the preferencial treatment of the Borish language in Olham’s schools as the city had been largely Estmerish-speaking prior to the Great War. Population movements during and after the War as well as political and social changes, however, caused the steady decline of the Estmerish language in the southern Midlands, with Olham seeing a notable language shift from 1930 onwards. During the 1950s and 60s, a majority of young people in the city primarily spoke Borish, with Borish having replaced Estmerish as a primary language of the city by the 1990s.

Geography

Olham is located by in the southern region of the Midlands in the southeast of central Borland. The city lies by the River Aire, which forms the city’s western and southern limits.

Economy

Olham is a major economic centre in the south of the Midlands in both services and industry. As of 2022, the city has an unemployment rate of 6.5%.

Industry

Olham was dominated by the industrial sector between the early 19th century and the late 20th century, as the city’s economy transitioned towards being primarily service-orientated. There was a major shift in the industries present in the city starting with the Great Collapse in the 1910s and ending in the post-War era. During this time, the textile industry, which had previously been a major employer in the city, completely vanished, while vehicle manufacturing and shipping became major industries.

The textile industry’s demise is generally attributed to its already struggling position at the beginning of the Great Collapse. As multiple textile manufacturers had gone bankrupt by the end of 1913, there was noone left to buy up factories that were closing, causing a steady decline in the industry’s role, which culminated in the remaining two factories closing shortly after the onset of the Great War due to a shortness of workers and resources.

The vehicle manufacturing industry was a major presence in Olham from the 1930s until 2006. It had its roots in the arms manufacturing of the Great War, with the Olham, Warron & Leerham Armoury Company being reformed into the Olham, Warron & Leerham Automobile Company (OWLAC) in 1935. After changes in company law after Borish independence in 1938, the acronym OWLAC became its official name. The manufacturing hall on the border of Olham proper and Leerham employed more than 15 000 workers in the 1960s and 70s, and still employed 10 000 workers in 2000. Producing mostly lower-end cars, the company was initially extremely successful, though it began to struggle over the decades. In 2005, a deal was reached that would see the company be sold, but the deal broke and the company ended up in bankruptcy. Unable to find a buyer, both OWLAC works were closed in March 2006. While the OWLAC work east has since been transformed into a business park, the work west has seen a large social housing development being built.

The steel industry declined from the city’s biggest industry in the post-War era to a minor industry by the end of the century, although there still are steelworks in the north-west around the former harbour on the Lisse. While most industrial workers were employed in only a few large companies in the 1970s, the situation has changed so that most industrial workers are employed in small or medium-sized companies as of 2016.

Transport

Railways

In 1837, a railway line from Newstead to Olham opened, followed by another line between Newstead and Westhaven opened in 1843. There were four railway stations surrounding the city centre until the Olham Central Station was built after the Great War.

Public transportation

A horse-drawn tram line opened in 1863. It ran between the city centre and Honnon for 5½ kilometres. By 1900, when electrification started, the network reached more than 50 kilometres and connected to lines from neighbouring cities. With line closures between 1930 and 1950, the network became increasingly disconnected from neighbouring networks and became increasingly centred on the central station in the city centre.

Olham has two metro lines: the U30 runs from the university to the city centre and terminates at the zoological garden and the U31 starts in the city centre and runs to the northwest of the city, serving the Baronhall borough and terminating in the neighbouring city of Bermon-Legham. These two lines are the only parts of a larger network of five lines that was planned for the city in the 1960s. Construction started in 1960, with the line between the city centres of Olham and Legham and the line to the university being partially completed by the end of the decade. In 1973, further construction on the network was put on halt, only continuing in 2016, when construction on an extension of line U30 northwards into Greden started,

Waterways

There is a small port on the River Aire in the south-west of the city.

Airports

Between 1935 and 1991, there was a small airfield in Sunders. It offered several passenger flights a day to various domestic destinations until 1952 and was turned into a private airfield in 1953. Additionally, the Olham Regional Aeroport offered passenger flights to domestic as well as a handful of international destinations between 1940 and 2016. Between 1940 and 1957, it was located in Sunders, close to the smaller airfield, but it was moved by several kilometres outside the city limits to make way for the campus of the University of Olham. In 2016, the airport was closed, making the Newstead International Airport to the north and the Westhaven/Tarnick International Airport to the south the closest airports to Olham.

Demographics

Languages

Language shifts took place on two separate occasions within the city’s history. From the 17th to the mid-18th century, the common language of the city changed from Borish to Estmerish as part of a wider shift towards Estmerish in Borland at the time. In the 19th century with the reviving of Borish national identity under Borish nationalism, the Borish language started to get a presence within the city again. This was aided by Borish-speaking workers from other parts of the country during industrialisation. After Borish independence, the role of the Borish language further grew within the city, and young people began to use Borish among themselves by the 1950s and 60s. By 1990, Borish had largely replaced Estmerish. As of 2020, 23% of Olham residents claim Estmerish as their native language, but only 8% claim to communicate primarily in Estmerish.

Religion

A majority of Olham residents (65%) are Amendists belonging to the Church of Borland, although the Solarian Catholic Church has a notable presence within the city, making up 15% of the population.

Olham is home to one of the oldest Sotirian communities in Borland, the city’s first church predating the Sotirianisation of the Rudolphine Confederation. Between 1489 and 1515, the Olham Cathedral was constructed, although it was destroyed in 1598 when the city was besieged during the Amendist Wars. In its place, the Holy Cross Church (Borish: Healigh-Kross-Kerke) was built in the mid-17th century.

Education

Since 1965, Olham is home to the University of Olham, the second-largest university in the country with approximately 25 000 students as of 2022. It is located in the east of the Brenshed/Sunders district in the southeast of the city.

Sister cities

Outhall, Borland, since 1950.