Halvaderom

Halvaderom, known famously as the "City of a Thousand Bridges" was a major Sverden city and one of the most technologically advanced settlements in Beurum. Built in the Third Era using massive funds gained from trade with the Kantaran Empire, the city was composed largely of hanging bridge structures suspended from the rock spires of Sverdenland.

History

By the Third Era, a growing population among the Sverden, combined with economic prosperity, resulted in the chartering of a new settlement in Sverdenland. The region had recently been taken from tiefling tribes in the War of Towers, and its conqueror, Queen Herda of the city Iciclatom, sent a contingent of skilled engineers from the University of Iciclatom. Because architecture was a chiefly feminine pursuit in Sverden society, these engineers were nearly all women, and Halvaderom with its complex infrastructure would sometimes be known as the City of Women.
Though the building of Halvaderom was a success, and newcomers flocked from the crowded cities of Astriderom and Iciclatom to begin new lives, the breakdown of trade with the Kantarans and the construction of the Vrelheim Dam, forming the Vrelheim Lakes, led to general decline in Sverdenland. The lower portions of Halvaderom itself were completely flooded within five years. By the latter parts of the Fourth Era, Halvaderom and most other Sverden settlements in the region were abandoned.

Architecture

Construction of the city centered on the remains of an ancient settlement built in the center of Sverdenland, and had two major focuses: the building of canals to transport water from the Makovai Mountains, and the building of hanging bridges connected between the huge rock spires of the region. Construction of the bridges presented a great challenge, but was accomplished through careful planning, temporary support columns, and testing on smaller scales.
The reasons for building a city in such a way were many. One reason was that the charters of Halvaderom wanted to assert Sverden might by constructing a city in such a non conventional way; additionally, the engineers sent to build the city wanted to use, rather than ignore, the spires that occupied the area. A more sinister reason for the architecture employed for Halvaderom was Queen Herda's desire to separate the rich and poor inhabitants of the city in the face of growing income inequality among the Sverden, a byproduct of the economic prosperity they enjoyed. Separation, it was thought, would reduce risk of an economic revolution. The nobility and upper middle classes could be placed atop the hanging bridges of Halvaderom, and all others could be placed below with the canals.

Type

City

Location under

Sverdenland