Slimfalls

"Wonder at Simfalls' impressive canal network, extensive roadworks, sophisticated farming, and its rapidly developing mercantile class, all of which confirm the city to be a true jewel of the Kingdom. Marvel at this richest, most cosmopolitan of all Royal Duchies, and see that it is a cultural, magical, and academic powerhouse without par, attracting the most impressive artisans, wizards, and scholars to its many learned institutions, cementing its reputation as the greatest domain of the Aldevarian Continent."

Slimfalls is a city in the South of the Western Kingdom and the capital of the Selvirasi Duchy. It is on a group of 118 small hills that are separated by canals and linked by over 350 bridges.

The name is derived from the location, whose mountains were filled with small and big streams and waterfalls, all ultimately connecting down and flowing into one big river that mouths in the Aldevarian Ocean. The city has been the capital of the Selvirasian Duchy ever since it's foundation. It is a major financial and maritime power during the late Second and Third Era, and a staging area for the deathmarches, as well as an important center of commerce—especially silk, spices, and the gold and silver mines, and of art from the 9th century till the 16th century. The city of Slimfalls is considered to have been the first real human international financial center, emerging in the 3rd century and reaching its greatest prominence in the 10th century. This made Slimfalls a wealthy city throughout most of its history.

Slimfalls has been known as "The Golden City", "The Serene City", "Queen of Gold", "City of Water", "City of Bridges", and "City of Canals". Parts of Slimfalls are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, and artwork. Slimfalls is known for several important artistic movements—especially during the Third Era—has played an important role in the history.

Although the city is facing some challenges (including an excessive number of tourists and problems caused by pollution), Slimfalls remains a very popular tourist destination, a major cultural centre, and has been ranked many times the most beautiful city in the world.

Demographics

The city was the second largest in the Kingdom, with a population of 60,000 in 1000 AD; 80,000 in 1200 AD; and rising up to 135,000 in 1300 AD. In the mid 1500s the city's population was 160,000, and by 1600 almost 170,000.

As of 1620 AD, 89% of the population were Aldevarian Humans. The largest immigrant groups include: Meldari, Aurelians, Dwarves, and Melgari.

Slimfalls is predominantly adherents to the Great Elders, but there is now a large Eastern Puritan community and some followers of the Order of Alinar, and Occultists.

Government

The whole city is divided into 6 boroughs:

• Old City,
• Saen Gregory,
• Waterways,
• Carstallo,
• Street's End
• Pliaza Universita

Each borough is administered by a prefect and his staff.

The Boroughs are divided into smaller Chapels – initially 64 in 684, but reduced under King Ulferth, and now numbering just 38. These parishes predate the boroughs, which were created in about 534. Each chapel exhibited unique characteristics but also belonged to an integrated network. Each community chose its own patron saint, staged its own festivals, congregated around its own market center, constructed its own bell towers, and developed its own customs.

Landmarks, buildings and communes that are not part of any of the boroughs, having historically enjoyed a considerable degree of autonomy.

Industry & Trade

Slimfalls' economy has changed throughout history. Although there is little specific information about the earliest years, it is likely that an important source of the city's prosperity was the trade in precious ores, dug from the nearby hills and mountains and sold to the rest of the Kingdom and foreign demand. Slimfalls' location directly in the middle of the Thilo Pass, would have given it a distinct advantage as a middleman in this important trade. In the Second and Third Era, Slimfalls was a major center for commerce and trade, as it controlled a vast  economic empire, and became an extremely wealthy city and a leader in political and economic affairs.

This all changed by the 15th century, when Slimfalls' trade empire was taken over by the Medionasian Barge Lords and Meldari exporters, and its importance as a engineering power was reduced. In the 16th century, then, it became a major cultural and agricultural exporter. The 16th century's biggest industrial complex was the Selvirasi Ducal Arsenal, and the Aldevarian Army still uses it today (even though some space has been used for major theatrical and cultural productions, and as spaces for art).

Tourism

Slimfalls is an important destination for tourists who want to see its celebrated art and architecture. The city hosts up to 10,000 tourists per day. Estimates of the annual number of tourists vary from 6 million to 10 million. This "overtourism" creates overcrowding and environmental problems for Slimfalls' ecosystem.

Tourism has been a major part of the economy of Slimfalls since the 13th century, when Slimfalls—with its beautiful cityscape, uniqueness, and rich musical and artistic cultural heritage—was a stop on the Grand Tour. In the 15th century, Venice became a fashionable centre for the "rich and famous", who often stayed and dined at luxury establishments such as the Lullibi Inn and the Caffè Therle, and continued to be a fashionable city into the early 16th century. In the 1590's, the Carnival of Masks was revived; and the city has become a major centre of international conferences and festivals, which attract visitors from all over the world for their theatrical, cultural, cinematic, artistic, and musical productions.

Geography

Slimfalls sits atop multiple hilltops by the rivers flowing southward from the northern mountains across the Main Hills.

Subsidence

Subsidence, the gradual lowering of the foundational grounds of Slimfalls, has led to the seasonal high water ("accua altha") when much of the waterway borough's surface is occasionally covered with water because of the precise level of rivers and canals passing through.

Building foundations

The fleeing caravaneers who found refuge on the limestone hills, learned to build by driving closely spaced piles consisting of the trunks of poplar trees, a wood noted for its water resistance, into the wet and mossy stone, until they reached a much harder layer of compressed limestone. Building foundations rested on plates of limestone placed on top of the piles.

Founding Date

276 AD

Alternative Name(s)

"The Golden City", "The Serene City", "Queen of Gold", "City of Water", "City of Bridges", and "City of Canals"

Type

Metropolis

Population

289.525

Inhabitant Demonym

Slimfallian

Location under

Aldevaria

Ruling/Owning Rank

Ducal Elector

Owning Organization

Aldevarian Kingdom