Republic House
Republic House, colloquially known as Old Parliament House, was most famously the seat of government for Stolisia from 1247 until 1256, and housed the First Interim Parliament. Prior to this, it was known as Kysra's City Hall and facilitated meetings between guild leaders, mine owners, and representatives for the Divinitian elite. At the time of its destruction in 1256 during the Bombing of Kysra, it was considered the grandest building in Stolisia.
Purpose / Function
The original purpose of City Hall was to act as just that - a city hall, and a meeting place for the various elites and representatives from the surrounding regions of South Divinice. Meetings would typically be held once per month, attended by a representative of the Empress, guild leaders, mine owners, and prominent members of the local nobility. These stopped being held as frequently in the 13th century.
After it became Republic House, it became the meeting place for foreign benefactors and diplomats supporting the Stolisian Parliament. In its final year, it held the first meetings of the Interim Stolisian Parliament.
Alterations
Having fallen into a level of disrepair during the 12th century, it was renovated and made far larger under Empresses Tsisia I and Celeste I, including more imperial touches to mark it as an official 'affiliate' of the Imperial House. It again fell into some disrepair in the early 13th century, but was restored during the First Stolisian War and reopened a month after the end of the war with imperial stylings removed and the addition of two chambers, with the old hall being made into a foyer.
History
Originally built as the center of the Stolisi town of Kysra, when Divinice came and took over, they realised the logistical importance of its position and set about transforming the town into a great city. The town hall was completely rebuilt during the reign of Empress Azure I to act as a hub for the entirety of south-eastern Divinice, and held many meetings between local leaders. The series of wars and conquests during the rest of the 11th century caused meetings to be held infrequently, leading to its slow decline. This was what sparked Empress Tsisia I, and her successor, Celeste I, to fund renovations to revitalise the region, in the hopes this would boost productivity amongst business in the region.
The building once again fell into disuse in the early 13th century due to advances in technology making such a meeting room not as vital to business, and stopped being used altogether after the Stolisi Revolt of 1235, as the leaders in the region sought backhand deals to ensure stability instead of a forum with public accountability.
After Kaisa and the rebels took the city of Kysra in 1247 and declared the Republic of Stolisia, it was decided the old city hall would become the seat of government. Renovations occured intermittently throughout the proceeding eight years, with materials spare to the war effort used to turn it into a grand beacon of democracy. It was reopened in the winter of 1256 and celebrated with the first meeting of the Interim Stolisian Parliament, who elected Kaisa as their President until elections could be held. Regular meetings were held with partial parliamentary attendance for the next two months, including agreeing on the designation on districts, the approval of independant entities to handle vote counting, and the decision of the date for the first elections.
The building was destroyed in the Bombing of Kysra in the spring on 1256, during an informal meeting of a small group of the Interim Parliament to decide on party strategy. Only one person of those in attendance survived the explosion, having been personally protected by President Kaisa. The building, and indeed much of the city, has since been claimed by a raw magic scourge that was likely part of the bomb itself, and is only visited in groups. There is hope that, once the raw magic is removed from the city, that the building might be restored or become an official landmark.
The destruction of Republic House and of Kysra as a whole was what caused the capital to be changed to Kaisa's home town of Windermere, renamed Kaisamere in her honour.
RUINED STRUCTURE
1256
1256
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