The Sun Gardens
The Sun Gardens are a massive palace complex, situated on the Summer Spire. The complex, whose construction began under Ratna Angara and finished under her grandson Hecai Angara, is considered by many to be among the greatest architectural feats of Pronis, earning it the moniker the Second Southern World Wonder. The palace, which covers nearly four-hundred acres consists of two large palaces, five smaller palaces, about thirty smaller complexes and nearly fifty gardens. The largest of these gardens, the Sun Garden (which covers nearly thirty acres), gives the palace its name.
Purpose / Function
The Sun Gardens were built for the express purpose of acting as a summer palace for the Imperial family and court. Ratna Angara herself envisioned an entirely new capital to be built on the Summer Spire, with the Sun Gardens at its peak but the expense and unrealistic architectural nature of the project (due to the island's topography) ended that idea in its infancy, though the island is littered with the half constructed shells of a few large buildings.
Alterations
The Sun Gardens have been altered numerous times. The ambitious initial goal of Ratna Angara in its construction was revised multiple times, with her successors vacillating between expanding and shrinking the size of the palace. Hecai Angara, who finished the palace, decided to follow Ratna's original size, but eventually deemed her idea to be, by his standards, under-ambitious. After deciding to proceed with just the palace, and not build a new capital (whose efforts had been stopped by his mother Megawati Angara), Hecai doubled the size of the Sun Gardens, desiring to use them as a symbol of Imperial prestige. Following the Fifth White~Black Succession, Koin Angara, Emperor of Yura, decided to renovate the palace, added numerous new apartments and clerical space, modernized many of the palace's amenities; all of these changes made to allow the palace to have a much larger capacity of occupants.
Architecture
The Sun Gardens are an amalgamation of traditional Yuran architecture blended with Athumoran architecture. Thus, it combines a Yuran fondness for elaborately carved stone facades, tiled domes and intricate pillars, with Athurmoran wrought iron, stucco, and vaulting. The palace is constructed almost entirely out of stone and the material used to create the palaces are almost all either yellow, white or ocher marble, travertine rock, stucco, and limestone. Notably green marble was used for many of the domes. All of the stone used, with the exceptions of basic foundational stone was imported from other continents. The interior of the palaces are decorated using traditional Yuran hardwoods, Yuran precious metals (primarily silver) Athumoran stucco, and Eriran gold. The gardens themselves, including the Sun Garden itself, are populated with native Yuran flora, although some exceptions have been made (primarily in the introduction of far-eastern fruit trees and Eriran roses).
History
The Sun Gardens were envisioned by Ratna Angara upon her succession as empress and victory in the War of Seven Satraps. Feeling Magava, Capital of Yura and Artamus was unfit to be the seat of imperial power Ratna commissioned the Summer Spire, up to which point was all but empty, to be the sight of a glorious new palace and capital. Construction was started during her reign and the enormous expense involved was a point of great aggravation among both the Satraps and people of Yura, as Ratna introduced a number of draconian taxes to fund the project. Construction was continued under her daughter Megawati Angara, who was responsible for finishing the palace itself but halting all attempts to make the Summer Spire a new capital. Further construction was halted during the reign of Utari Utami Mosal and the loss of Angara sovereignty during the Second White~Black Succession. Under Hecai Angara the palace was doubled in size, reaching its current form near the end of his reign. No more significant changes were made until after the Fifth White~Black Succession when Koin Angara, Emperor of Yura updated many of the older and, in some cases dilapidated, palaces.
Founding Date
429 A.L.
Alternative Names
Second Southern World Wonder
Type
Palace
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
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