Elsbridge
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Elsbridge | |
|---|---|
Federated City | |
| Federated City of Elsbridge | |
 Clockwise from top: Financial District Riverwalk; Farris Keep; Bantry Bay House and Godwin's Market; Executive Mansion; Ruanaidh Square, Astor Building | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Motto: Luoc Elspontem Lux | |
| Country |  Ambrose |
| Autonomy | Harwick |
| County | Harwick |
| Settled | 9th century |
| Incorporated | 1890 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor-Council |
| • Body | City Council of Elsbridge |
| • Mayor | Seward Almundson (R) |
| Population (2015) | |
| • Federated City | 860,721 |
| • Density | 7,486/km2 (19,389/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 2,385,000 |
| Time zone | UTC+10 (GMT-10) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+11 (observed) |
| Website | www.cityofelsbridge.am |
Elsbridge is the capital city of Ambrose, located in the Lower Harwick region of southern Ambrose. At the mouth of the River Els on the Sea of Njord, it is also the country's largest city, with 860,721 residents within city limits according to the 2015 Ambrosian census. The Greater Elsbridge metropolitan area had a population of 2,385,000 in 2015, making it both the largest metropolitan area in Ambrose and one of the largest in Nordania, ranking among cities like Asgård, Wittburg, and Ker Dunnain.
The city has been continuously occupied for nearly a millennia, with the earliest confirmed habitation originating with Castle Elsbridge, a 9th century burh constructed by Saint Luoc, a Norse-Gael priest associated with Zachary Machan. Its location on the Els made it a strategically-vital point during the Esquarian Viking Age, and the town was continuously sacked, burned, recaptured, and rebuilt several times throughout the Middle Ages, which culminated in its capture by Richard the Terrible's Kingdom of Harwick in 1116, for which it was made the Kingdom's capital. It prospered in the 1400s and 1500s as a major city in the Sjealandian-dominated Njord sea trade network, and despite a dropoff in this trade with the War of the Ambrosian Succession, it became the capital and merchant center of the unified Kingdom of Ambrose, and the seat of the landed aristocracy after the broad centralization of Thomas VI. Several great fires devastated the city up until the advent of brick architecture in the 1700s, which today has become the defining architectural trait of the city. The city was sacked several more times up to Black Revolution in the early 20th century, however, it has since recovered to its status as the most important Ambrosian city.
Elsbridge has been considered one of the most prominent Nordanian seaports on the Njord since antiquity, and as such has thriving shipping, canning, and shipbuilding industries. In addition to this, the city is also considered the riverine gateway to the Ambrosian interior due to its crucial position on the River Els. A result, numerous multinational maritime corporations such as the Gough-Chapinswall ferry line and the John Laird Sons shipbuilders are headquartered in Elsbridge. The public sector is also of particular importance to the economy, with the city being the seat of both the confederal government and that of autonomy of the Harwick. As the financial center of the country it includes the Elsbridge Stock Exchange, the oldest stock exchange in Ambrose, and the Bank of Ambrose, one of the oldest national banks in Nordania. Since 1858, Elsbridge has enjoyed the status of Federated City, enjoying the same de facto powers as the semi-sovereign thanedreds; among second level administrative divisions, it is the smallest and most densely populated,
With several universities, parks, gardens, historical buildings, the city of Elsbridge is the largest tourist attraction in Ambrose, and is widely considered the country's cultural center. The Elsbridge metropolitan area fields multiple sports teams in each of the major Ambrosian sports leagues, including: the rounders clubs Elsbridge Dragoons and Elsbridge Arsenal in the Rounders Association, football clubs Elsbridge FC and Ipswich FC in the Confederal League, and hockey clubs Elsbridge Sabres and Elsbridge Ipswich Flyers. The city possesses the largest and most-developed urban transport system in the country, with the Elsbridge Metro known internationally for its characteristic elevated trains.