Kleinhaupt
Though it doesn’t look much when compared to the great capitals of Turoza, Kleinhaupt is the principal town and Baronial seat of the Barony of Hohensten. In comparison to the other towns and villages of the Barony, Kleinhaupt is by far the biggest, and as a result enjoys the greatest benefits of hosting and trading with visiting merchants.
Demographics
The population of Kleinhaupt is predominantly made up of Humans, Dwarves and Halflings, though the presence of a small Cadre of Elves in the city has led to a small percentage of Half-Elves also being born and bred within the confines of the town. There is a notable number of Half-Orc residents in Kleinhaupt, most of whom have found work in the Baronial army, or as guards for the merchant caravans that travel up and down the Tafelland Valley.
Roughly 60% of the wealth in Kleinhaupt is concentrated in and around the Baronial mansion and its fortified hill. The wealthiest inhabitants of the town are the Baron and his family, along with some of the courtiers that hang on within the palisade of the fortified manor. Nevertheless, Kleinhaupt, as the Baronial capital has a strong core of merchants and craftsmen, who are able to ply their trades well enough to live a comfortable life, and who benefit from the passage of trade traffic to and from the town. The poorest inhabitants of the town, which equates to around 55% of its population work as labourers or farm hands in the fields that surround the town, and it is this section of society who are most likely to live nearest and beyond the town’s defensive ditch.
Defences
Unlike most settlements, the primary defence for the town of Kleinhaupt is not a constructed feature, but is instead a negative feature. The majority of the settlement is surrounded by a large, deep ditch which is far too wide and deep for the vast majority of bipedal humanoids to jump across, and that would prove hard, though not impossible to jump down into and then scramble up the other side. This ditch is spanned by three bridges, which are themselves guarded by a pair of palisade towers and a gate.
At the centre of the town is the fortified manor of the Baronial family, built on a hill that was itself created using the earth excavated from the perimeter ditch. A full palisade wall with parapet and archery platforms surrounds the top of the hill. Within this palisade, the large manor house of the Baron, along with garrison buildings and storehouses has been constructed. The Baronial Manor complex was not built to provide protection for all of Kleinhaupt’s occupants in the event of a siege, but to protect the Baron, their family and retainers.
Infrastructure
The three bridges that cross the town’s defensive ditch means that there are three main roads that lead into the town, all of which converge into a large circular road that wraps around the foot of the hill, on which stands the Baronial Mansion. This area of circular road has been left deliberately wider and is used to house market stalls and semi-permanent trading huts that cater to the inhabitants of the town, and has enough room to cater to the needs of the trading caravans that periodically pass through Kleinhaupt.
In addition, the town has three blacksmiths shops, that cater to the needs of the Baronial army and garrison as well as the day-to-day needs of the inhabitants and visitors. Other specialist shops also exist, mostly to cater to the richer citizens and the visiting merchants, as opposed to the general inhabitants. There are several inns and taverns in Kleinhaupt, many of which provide rooms for paying guests as well as stabling for draft animals and caravan equipment. When a trading caravan is in town, rooms and stabling space are at premium, and many tavern keepers will up their prices for non-locals travelling with the foreign merchants.
Geography
The town of Kleinhaupt is built around a hill on which the Baron’s fortified manor house has been constructed. This hill is not a natural feature, but was instead purposely constructed in order to provide a more strategic position for the manor house in the relatively flat landscape that surrounds the town. The earth used to create the hill was excavated from the original perimeter of the town, which has left a large, deep trench that is most easily crossed by means of one of the town’s several bridges.
Type
Town
Population
c.6,000
Inhabitant Demonym
Kleiner or Hauptian
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
Related Reports (Primary)
Related Reports (Secondary)
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