Nouvelle-Rayenne
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New Rayenne "Nouvelle-Rayenne" (Gaullican) | |
|---|---|
Capital City | |
| City of New Rayenne "Ville de Nouvelle-Rayenne" (Gaullican) | |
 From top, clockwise: the People's Hall, downtown New Rayenne, the Bouhier docks, the MacCearnaigh Waterway, National Museum of Cassien Culture, the Supreme Court of Cassier | |
 Flag | |
| Nickname(s): The City of Rivers, the Rapids, La Cap | |
| Motto(s): Semper Leber (Solarian) "Forever Free" | |
| Country | Cassier |
| Province | Breloux |
| Region | National Captial Region |
| Established | 1814 |
| Incorporated | 1835 |
| Amalgamated | 1 January 2001 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Jean Rouchelle (PNC) |
| • Legislature | Council of New Rayenne |
| Population (2016) | 651,006 |
| Website | www.nouvelle-rayenne.ca |
New Rayenne (Gaullican: Nouvelle-Rayenne) is the capital city of Cassier. It stands at the confluence of the Saint Marcus and Bouhier Rivers, near to where the provinces of New Sylvagne, Monbec, and Breloux meet each other. The city borders Coque, Monbec, which together comprise the National Capital Region. As of 2016, New Rayenne had a city population of 651,006 and a metropolitan population of 1,502,205 making it the sixth-largest city in Cassier.
Founded in 1710 as Parville, it was renamed to New Rayenne in 1814, named in reference to the city of Rayenne in Gaullica. Its location was chosen to serve as the site of a new capital of Cassier, supplanting the city of Sainte-Marie, which had acted as the de-facto capital before. New Rayenne received an influx of wealthy officials and middle-class artisans who came to reside within the newly established city, and it rapidly became a major centre of Cassien politics, culture and diplomacy. As population and scope of the city grew, so too did its boundaries and land area. The metropolitan area now covers an area spanning across all three of the provinces in its vicinity.
New Rayenne is one of the most well-educated and economically productive cities in Cassier, and is home to a number of notable post-secondary, research, and cultural institutions. The city is the host of numerous embassies, and acts as the headquarters of many prominent Cassien and international organizations.
History
Local indigenous populations inhabited the area for thousands of years before the first Euclean explorers began arriving. Archeological findings suggest that humans inhabited the area near to the Saint-Marcus Bouhier tributary shortly after the polar ice sheets of most recent glacial period retreated, around 13,000-years ago. Large quantities of pottery, jewelery, and other goods have been discovered by archeologists, suggesting that New Rayenne was an important centre for trade and travel for Indigenous Asterians for many centuries, likely due to its geography.
The first Euclean explorer to arrive is unclear, as different accounts from different explorers conflict with each other. The first detailed accounts were penned by Nathan de Beaumont, who provided a description of the area during his journey up the Saint Marcus river in 1603. Three years later, another account describing the area in more detail was made by Alexandre Bouhier; a fur trader. Bouhier recognized the geographical and economic importance of the area for local peoples, which drove him and a small group of colonists to establish a fort in the area on 7 March, 1610, on the southern bank of of the Bouhier river. The area near to the fort remained mostly unpopulated until 1710 Clovis Par; an Amendist priest exiled from Gaullica, founded a settlement in what is present-day Coque. He, along with several other families and labourers, set out to create an agrarian community later named Parville in his honour. Par is regarded as one of the pioneers of the timber trade, with his settlement becoming well known as a stopping point for lumber being driven down the river from surrounding regions. Parville witnessed several major conflicts throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, such as the Fur Wars, the Patriote Rebellion, and both major Beaver Wars. During this time, colonial authorities carried out surveys to assess the potential of the area search for a site which was to act as the new capital of Cassier. The site was eventually chosen by Viceroy Henri Lafaille in 1814, beating out various other contending locations due to its proximity to each of the provinces of New Sylvagne and Upper and Lower Cassier, and for its proximity to the Saint Marcus river. Lafaille facilitated the purchase of the land for new government buildings, with construction efforts beginning almost immediately after. Authorities also began to clear rapids and shallows that prevented larger ships from traversing the area safely, laying the foundation for many of the now iconic docks and waterways found throughout the city.
The first "old" Grand Assembly building was completed on New Year's Eve, 1835, with the Cassien legislature officially moving from Sainte-Marie to New Rayenne the following day. The city's population steadily grew in the following decades. Among the most notable of the groups who came to reside in the city were the so-called Exiles (Gaullican: Exils); aristocrats, colonial authorities and various middle-class Gaullican colonists who had fled to Cassier following the Asterian War of Secession, who influenced much of the city's early architecture. Throughout the 1850s, sawmills and other industries powered by the rivers were among the largest in the world. The 1850s also saw the construction of the first railways in Cassier, which linked New Rayenne with other important cities in western Cassier and the developing transcontinental rail network. Work on new government buildings began in the 1860s, using neo-baroque and renaissance revival styles. This project proved to be an ambitious undertaking, and was subject to frequent delays and supply shortages throughout their construction. The "new" Grand Assembly building, now known as the Citizens House, finally reached completion in 1876, which is considered one of the most important events in the city's history.
The 1880s saw New Rayenne continue its growth as an important political and culture centre within the Gaullican Empire. It was the first Cassien city whose downtown street lights were powered entirely by electricity, powered by hydroelectric generators built by prominent Cassien industrialists and entrepeneurs. Public transportation was established in 1870 with horsecart system, which was quickly by an electric streetcar system which operated from in 1889 up until the 1950s.
New Rayenne's appearance was vastly altered in the 1920s, as Cassier endured the effects of the Great Collapse. During that period, Caldian architect and urban planner Niallghus MacCearnaigh was tasked with enriching the city and transforming it into a modern political centre. MacCearnaigh's plan was vast in scope, including the creation of a greenbelt, parkways and waterways, and the removal of substandard housing and industrial areas from the downtown. In 1921, the National Capital Commission (Gaullican: Commission de la capitale nationale) was created to facilitate the implementation of MacCearnaigh's plans, with work lasting up until 1927, following the outbreak of the Great War. After Cassier obtained independence it was decided that New Rayenne would remain the capital of newly established republic, with many notable buildings - including the Grand Assembly - being renamed. The city would go on to successfully host the 1936 Summer Invictus Games and numerous international organizations.
Over the past 50 years, other commissions, plans and projects have continued to be to implemented in order to improve the capital. From the 1960s until the 1980s, the national capital region experienced another building boom, which was followed by large growth in the high-tech industry during the 1990s and 2000s. The old railcar system was replaced by the subterrainian metro system in the 1950s, and the completion of Wilfrid Édouard International Airport.
