Baneland
Baneland | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
| Country | Greater Normark |
| Capital | Røkhus |
| Largest city | Jotunvarda |
| Population | |
| • Total | 7,000 |
Baneland is a Historical Region of Greater Normark that lies in the northern centre of the country. It lies in the north of the region Skogelag and the south of the region Nordland. Baneland was divided into the two previously mentioned regions after the great region reform in 1975, when several smaller, albeit historically important, regions was merged together to make them easier administratively. The capital is Røkhus, with a population of 2000, that is mostly famous for being an old viking settlement that was burned down down several times, hence it was gifted its name by the Flakkamen who annexed the settlement in the early 12th century. Røkhus was for a long time the northenmost settlement connected to the folks of historical Normark, and often seen as the last civilisation before the region historically known as the wildlands. Several old buildings from the early 11th century, as well as ruins and graves from the first millenium AD, has been found in the town, and Røkhus is deep with history. Nowadays the small town mostly survive on tourism. The largest town is Jotunvarda with a population 4000, which name stems from it being believed that the settlement lies on the grave of giants in the form of several large rocks being balanced on each other to form a large cairn in the centre of the settlement. The Other historical township and municipality in the region is Banihaug, which is an old grave field from battles between the people who lived in the region against the previously mentioned Flakkemen. Banihaug has a population of around 1000.
Baneland gets it name from the two old norse words Bani and Land, which means death, specifically a killed person, respectively land. It's name literally means land of the killed men in old norse, a name that comes from that the poeple that lived there got brutally killed and that the land's occupiers also would get killed in battles by the next occupiers. The region ws believed to be cursed for a long time and there are still stories of the land being haunted by ghosts from the brutally killed men. These myths has only been supported by the very desolated and uninhabitable landscape and with only a few towns with long distance of travelling between them.