Rimso
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Rimso
Rimsø (Mescon) | |
|---|---|
| Free City of Rimso Fristaden Rimsø | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
| Etymology: "rim"; frost + "ø"; island | |
| Country |  Scovern |
| Nation | Mesconia |
| Region | Rimsø hovedstad |
| First settled | c. 10th century |
| Government | |
| • Body | Borgerskab of Rimso |
| • Lord Mayor | Jon Ebsen Schou (SAP) |
| • Government | SAP / A-G89 |
| • Rigsdagen seats | 21 (of 318) |
| Area | |
| • National and federal capital | 612.82 km2 (236.61 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 23 m (75 ft) |
| Population (2021) | |
| • Urban | 3,115,816 |
| • Metro | 4,677,685 |
| Demonym(s) | Rimsonian, Rimsønisk |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (Euclean Standard Time) |
| ISO 3166 code | SK-RI |
| GRP (nominal) | €165 billion |
| GRP per capita | €53,000 |
| HDI (2019) | 0.972 |
Rimso (/'rɪmsoʊ/, Mescon: Rimsø; [ʁe̝m'søː], Gaullican: Rims; [ʁi:m]), officially the Free City of Rimso (Mescon: Fristaden Rimsø) is the capital and largest city of the Kingdom of Scovern, as well as the fifth-largest city in the Euclean Community by metropolitan population. Rimso is also the capital of the Kingdom of Mesconia, a constituent nation of Scovern and one of its three federal entities. Rimso sits on the tributary of the River Elling and its centre lies on Markesø, an island formed by the Elling's fork and confluence, where much of its medieval architecture still remains standing.
Archaeological evidence suggests Rimso was first settled in the 10th century by the marauder population of the Sixtenite Kingdom. After the kingdom's fall and the end of the Marauder Age, Rimso became one of many mercantile city-states that emerged across Scovern, but its geographic position on the Strait of Roetenburg as well as its natural harbour in Markesø allowed it to prosper with trade from the Rudolphine Confederation and North Euclea at large. It joined the confederation itself in the 13th century, but was annexed by Scovern during the Amendist Wars. The capital was moved from the traditional Istebjerg to Rimso in 1624, and underwent extensive development of its ports and markets in the 17th century under the supervision of Etrurian and Gaullican architects, also becoming renowned for its culture during the same period. Much of Rimso's famous baroque and neoclassical architecture comes from this period. Many prominent artists, musicians, philosophers and scientists worked in Rimso during the 18th century, where it emerged as one of Euclea's foremost cities.
Rimso's population grew rapidly as a result of industrialisation, with large factories built across the city. It also became a site of heavy naval manufacturing during this time. Rimso suffered minor damage from air raids during the Great War, but its location far from the frontlines allowed it to escape significant damage. After the war, Rimso was a major centre of government investment in infrastructure like the Rimso Letbane as well as cultural and urban development. The city remains the cultural, economic and political centre of Scovern, its most-populated city and richest urban economy.
The city is often ranked highly for its quality of life and is often among the world's most livable cities. Rimso is a major site of tourism in Scovern, and its ease of access by ferry from Werania facilitates travel from the mainland. Its history and culture have given rise to various nicknames for the city, including Povelien i nord ("Poveglia of the North"), referencing its extensive canal network, and Røde Rimsø ("Red Rimso"), owing to his strong history of social democracy.
Etymology
The first written mention of the city was in the Chronicon Septentrionale, in the 10th century, as Hrímsey, thought to have derived from Old Scovernois hrím - "frost" and ey - "island". Historians believe the name comes from high amounts of hoarfrost on the island (hrím refers specifically to hoarfrost, as opposed to the Old Scovernois frost), which was highly vegetatious at the time, owing to cold temperatures and high rainfall. This explanation is generally widely agreed upon, and links to recounts from the Prose Edda and Poetic Edda, as well as of skalds.
The Prose Edda and Poetic Edda desribes the story of the blind god Höðr and the god Baldr, whose mother Frigg made every object swear to never hurt Baldr. An exception to this was mistletoe, which was deemed too insignificant to ask. The god of tricksters Loki eventually tricks Höðr into killing Baldr with an arrow made of mistletoe. Skaldic poetry then explains that, in anger and retaliation, Höðr swore to freeze Midgard for eternity, however this is only realised for a short period of time before he is slain by the god Váli, during which Rimso is said to be founded. These stories are thought to be euhemerically related to a short period of extreme cold in Scovern at the time.
History
Governance
Geography
Subdivisions
Climate
Greenery and parks
Economy
Tourism
Tourism in Rimso has been steadily increasing since the 1970s. The city is a popular destination for citybreaks, owing to its connectivity and history. Amongst the most popular attractions in Rimso are Korsvej Cathedral, Hunseby Gate, NIPA, Hanbjerg Park, Vesteliensgade, Viemose, Ellingshavn and the Slangeby waterfront. The city's centre is renowned for its impressive architecture, particularly in Pasarel, often regarded as one of the best-preserved sites of gothic architecture in the world.
Duhamelia Park, Rimso opened in 1982 on the island of Slangeby as part of a major regeneration project to clear derelict industrial sites from the island. Its skyline is dominated by the Dreamland Castle, which has since become an icon of Rimso and a tourist attraction in its own right. Duhamelia Park attracts around 7 million visitors per year, making it the most-visited amusement park in Scovern and Northern Euclea. The Royal Rimso Zoo (Kongelig Zoologiske Have–Rimsø) houses fauna from across the world, and is amongst the oldest zoos in the world, established in 1791. The zoo includes the supposed house in which Mikkel Lassen von Fittkau-Kreske first established the binominal nomenclature system in taxonomy.
Rimso also has numerous bars, cafés and restaurants that are notable in their own fields. Eight restaurants in Rimso have been given a five-star rating by Renou–Marchand, the highest possible, and predominantly specialise in New Scovernois cuisine which places a high emphasis on fresh, seasonal, often foraged produce. The city also has active nightlife, with many clubs and bars hosting live music on a nightly basis. More recently, Rimso has seen a sharp increase in recreational drug tourism owing to the recent legalisation of recreational cannabis.
An average of 30 million tourists visit Rimso each year, bringing in around €1.14 billion in revenue for the city, and it has consistently ranked highly as a tourist-friendly city. The Euclean Commission for Culture, Language and Sport ranked Rimso in their top-ten Euclean tourist cities in 2020, and was ranked the best on "smart, green tourism".
Transport
Rimso is a transport hub for Scovern and Northern Euclea. The majority of public transport is owned by the Rimsonian government directly, except the Letbane whose ownership is shared with the Government of Mesconia. The Rimso Travel and Tariffs Association (Rimsøs Transport- og Tarifforening; RTT) oversees public transport operation in the region, though individual systems may be subcontracted to private operators. Heavy rail is overseen jointly with the national rail company Skovernsk Jernbane (SJB). The modal share of transport in Rimso was 58% public transport, 19% car, 11% bicycle and 10% walking in 2019.
Rail
A large chunk of public transport usage in Rimso is via rail. The tram/light rail hybrid Rimso Letbane system serves as the city's main public transport network, serving 122 stations on a total of 8 lines, and is Euclea's largest and busiest light rail network. The Letbane is fully grade-separated across the entire network, and operates underground in the centre of the city. Since 2016, the Letbane has used a Metrozone system to better organise and simplify ticketing, spanning from Metrozone 1 (the city's central underground network) to Metrozone 4 (the city's outer suburbs). Over 350 million journeys were made on the Letbane in 2022, equating to an average daily ridership of around 960,000.
Heavy rail is also frequently used within the city, and is operated by Skovernsk Jernbane (SJB). Most heavy rail traffic originates from outside the city, terminating as the city's main station Rimso Hovedbanegård, which acts as a terminus for domestic high-speed services from Kalstad and eastern Scovern. Since the opening of the Millennium Bridge, the city has also been served by Euclostar services, which go direct to Westbrücken, Weisstadt, Morwall and Verlois. Historically, Rimso had numerous rail termini, the largest of which, Rimso Holmsbro, now houses a railway museum.
An interlinked ticketing system is in place in between the Letbane and local SJB services, where Letbane tickets between two destinations served by the SJB network are valid on select local SJB services.
Roads
Rimso is well-connected to the rest of Scovern via roads, and acts as the centre of the Scovernois motorway network. The A1, A2, A5 and A6 motorways all terminate in Rimso, and lead to Kalstad, Maarslet/Lindby (and the Euclean mainland), Helganes/Sirnes-Tarberg, and Elgebugt respectively, while the A1X serves as a motorway link to Rimso–Fejøbugt International Airport and the A16 (referred to also as the Mellem-Ringvej; "Middle ring-road") serves as the city's main ring road. All motorways entering Rimso are toll roads ranging from €9 to €21. Rimso is also served by numerous N-roads, the second level of roads in Scovern, which branch out to smaller cities and towns not otherwise served by motorways. Many N-roads serve as slip roads into motorways leaving the city. The N86 serves as Rimso's outer ring road (Ydre-Ringvej), while a combination of N19, N214 and N71 comprise the inner ring road (Indre-Ringvej).
Rimso is further served by L-roads (local roads), which connect suburbs and funnel into larger roads throughout the city. Road usage in Rimso has been steadily declining with the introduction of tolls, congestion charges and areas of the city being pedestrianised, which has been coupled with an uptake in public transport usage.
Air
Rimso is a major air transport hub and its main airport, Rimso–Fejøbugt International Airport (IATA: RIM, ICAO: RIMF), is one of the busiest in Euclea. Fejøbugt is served as a hub by the national flag carrier Air Scovern and the low cost carrier Konlunde, who combined offer flights to over 200 destinations. Rimso has been increasingly marketed as a spot for layovers on long-haul flights to the Asterias, with Air Scovern offering direct flights to 17 cities across the Asterias. In 2022, Fejøbugt handled 42.4 million passengers.
Rimso is also served by the smaller Rimso Gislum (IATA: RGI, ICAO: RGIS) and Rimso Oxvang (IATA: OXV, ICAO: OXVG) airports, which primarily handle small-scale domestic traffic on behalf of CARN. Short-distance international flights may also depart from these airports, particularly for budget carriers.
Cycling and walking
Rimso is well-covered by its network of dedicated cycle lanes, and is often described as one of the world's most bicycle-friendly cities. The city has the largest network of cycle lanes in Euclea, with over 500 km (310 mi) of lanes throughout the city. Cycle lanes are sometimes physically separated from the road to prevent accidents with oncoming vehicles, and often have their own signalling systems that give cyclists some extra time to build speed or turn before cars, known as "green waves". RTT operate a free bike-sharing network throughout the city known as Aktivitet, where passengers may insert a €1 coin into the bike when retrieving it from a parking station, and retrieve their coin at a similar parking station at the end of their journey.
On top of its cycling infrastructure, Rimso is also often rated as one of the world's most walkable cities, with many areas of the city fully pedestrianised, including the main thoroughfare Vesteliensgade. All newly-built roads in Rimso must have cycle lanes and pavements.
Waterways
Owing to its coastal location and dense network of canals, Rimso has gradually incorporated boats and ferries into its public transport network. Between 2001 and 2006, loose networks of ferries were brought together under the Letbane branding and renamed the Søbane (literally "sea rail"). The Søbane consists of seven routes marked A–G and serve locations along the city's coast as well as Pasarel and Markesø in the city centre. Typical frequency ranges from 15–20 minutes, and they source significant revenue from tourism, particularly for the views it offers of Duhamelia Park on the island of Slangeby. However, for residents of Rimso's smaller islands, they remain the only option of connecting with the city's wider transport network.
Culture
Music
Rimso has long been a centre for music in Scovern. In the 19th century the city was home to many forefront Mescon composers including Paul Ekern, Mathias Høgh and Arthur Sørensen. It is also home to several notable orchestras and ensembles including the Royal Northern Symphonia, Rimso Philharmonic Orchestra and the Steffanite University Orchestra, as well as many notable musical halls such as the Rimsø Operahus and KRK. More notable modern venues include the Blomsterkrukke in Pasarel, Værdsættesgade, SEMMENfv and the Rentenbank Arena.
