In-depth: the city of Lauhas
From lauhas.gov.av and the Lauhas Times
Lauhas, the bustling and vibrant Suthnic city in the centre-south coastal region of the Avancenic nation, is one of the two constitutional government centres, alongside that of Alançon.
The city is home to over 5 million people, and of the two capitals, is by a clear margin the economically stronger. Lauhas is the southernmost capital of Kian, and one of the most southerly in the world, at nearly 60 degrees south. This gives the city, and region around it, a markedly cool temperate climate, mediated strongly by the Southern Ocean's current; as such, the city receives cool summers and winters alike, seeing stable temperatures. This gives it a large amount of snowfall, fairly evenly distributed, across the winter months, and a relatively spring-like summertide in the middle of the year, with the hottest heatwave in history taking the city barely above 25C.
(left) Lauhas' location in Avancene
Lauhas is situated in the south-west, between Svargard and Helgesen, and historically was a part of the historic farthing of Helgesen (though the farthingbyen was the smaller Helgen). The Lauhas district has a population of nearly 6 million, and the metropolitan area is home to over 7 million. The Svargard mountain range to the west, and Høyder to the east, shelter it from strong storms; however it still receives a high amount of rainfall each year due to its location.
History and culture
Lauhas' culture is Suthnic; this means they speak the Suthnic language, a North Gotic-derived language, and originally derive from Gothis themselves. In the first millennium CE, the original Suthnic settlers - known as the "Arvish" (derived from Arv, meaning heritage) - settled in Regnbronn, Molbrygge and Svargard; the Svargard Arvish group then moved east to the inland bay of Lauhas, where the slightly milder and more sheltered climate, and flatter, more arable terrain, was ideal for farming and settling. The Arvish displaced the Sudoçonian settlers - the Sudoçonians no longer exist as an entity, except in Autecasse - throughout the 600s into the 800s, and drove them north of the Ridge (Storrygg in Suthnic), a range of varying hills and mountains separating north from south. The first Realm of Suthnia (Suthniveldi) was founded in 838, and although initially headed in Regnbronn's original capital of Hoy, the capital moved to Lauhas in 960CE.
In the 10th and 11th centuries, the city boomed. This came as the national trade links solidified across the southern coast, connecting Molbrygge to Lauhas and Svargard, while further trade links improved the relationship between the Oçonian north and Suthnic south. The United Kingdom of Oçonny was formed soon after, and the two countries developed a strong relationship that amounted to the Alliance of the Storrygg in the 1200s and 1300s.
The Reòm (derived from "monarch" and "man") of Oçonny, Alexandru V "lo Roge" (the Red), broke this pact in 1410; the dispute over the delineated border had deteriorated as Svargard, a fully Suthnian-ruled farthing, had a significant population of Oçonians - especially in the northern third of the region, which has persisted into the modern day to an extent. The King of Suthnia, Karl Oskar II, hosted Alexandru V in Lauhas, signing the Treaty of the West; this gave way to the first joint-jurisdiction between the two states, giving some degree of self-determination to the local populations. This settlement ensured a temporary détente, however relations were never fully recovered for any sustained period.
The industrial age came to Lauhas in the mid-1800s. The pioneering of Northern hemisphere technology arrived first at the Lauhas docks, and as the Opplysning (similar to Enlightening/Renaissance in other regions) hit - bringing human rights, self-determination, early democracy and constitutional monarchism to both Avancenic regions, with the Oçonians seeing the similar Renaissença. Lauhas quickly became the centre for Suthnic industry, and experienced a demographic explosion - with 185,000 living in the city in 1780, rising tenfold to 1,794,000 by 1880, and doubling again in the following 50 years. Lauhas voted heavily in favour of proposed plans during the referendum of 1897 to scrap the monarchy, bringing a presidential republic that Avancene's Federal Republic follows to this day; Kristjan IV abdicated in 1898 thereafter, bringing to an end the monarchy. Originally poor conditions were improved significantly under the Liberal-bloc governments of Olafsen and Toksvig, who spent their governments in 1906-1915 and 1922-1934 instituting national healthcare programmes, slum clearances and new suburb creation, as well as the Byrådet of Lauhas (city council of Lauhas) aiding and funding transport programmes.
(left) King Ludvig II in 1858, in his Lauhas dressing room
The 20th century brought the issue of "the Avancene" to the forefront. Suthnia and Oçonny, under Anders Garde and Reòm Pau III, united in 1919; the union was quickly fraught with political issues. Both Lauhas and Alançon claimed the role of the nation's new capital - the former claiming that they had the economic might to lead, and the latter the cultural heritage of native Avancenians - and a stalemate eventually led to the nation having two capitals in 1920. Anger in the quartièrs and farthings at the further centralisation of power to two cities led to permanent constitutional distribution of legal sovereignty, leading to Lauhas and Alançon devolving large portions of their power to the regions. Cultural tensions began over the economically richer south, especially as it became dependent on food from the more agrarian north, while Alançon's growth was dampened due to Lauhas' influence. Initial attempts by the weak and loosely-tied-together Avancenic federal government to maintain normality and unity quickly fell apart, with the first phase of the war lasting just weeks and leading to the total capitulation of the North.
In the 1970s, Avancene fell into a deep economic recession. Lauhas felt the economic bite hard, but the North felt it worse; the situation worsened into the decade so badly that Oçonny declared independence under a Picardist military junta, who took control of the quartièrs at the following election and unilaterally ratified their independence. The two states co-existed for some time, with Lauhas regaining its sole control as the
de facto only capital of Avancene, however the replacement of the relatively peaceable Léa Verlèun in 1996 with Maxenç Bourdieu led to the Workers' Republic of Oçonny declaring itself the Workers' Republic of Avancene. Domestic tightening quickly led to the outbreak of the second "hot" phase of the Civic War, however Lauhas and its governments had spent a long time both reaffirming support by their peoples, and arming heavily - the result was that the Federal Republic, now a nuclear state and no longer a barely tied together loose union of federal states so much as a united federal nation, was capable of not only holding off advances, but actually pushing Bourdieu's regime back. Fearmongering and a hasty worsening of rhetoric ensued, however the 2013 outbreak gradually saw the Bourdieu regime lose more and more ground; by 2019, the Workers' Republic had lost all of its north-eastern territory, with a last minute scramble off the coast of Eroisèn to reach Ingresia's large port city of Amalha, while its territory in the north-west has gradually but stably fallen, with realistic possibilities of total capitulation in the 2020s.
Lauhas today
Lauhas in the 21st century has adapted to these crises and demographic shifts relatively well, though tensions do exist. Many Oçonians have since moved south for work and prosperity - since some now Federal Republic-controlled regions in the north are as much as two-thirds poorer than the capital region - leading to a rising level of ethnic diversity. Approximately 1 in 7 Lauhas residents are of Northern heritage, and a rising portion are mixed. Furthermore, the city has seen a regeneration in mass transit and housing in recent years, after the Liberal-bloc government relied on the left - for whom Lauhas has politically become a stronghold - for governance, who seek public programmes and investment.
Politically, Lauhas is a left-wing city. It has returned Left-bloc members by a majority to the Jorgmote since the 1990s, and historically was aligned with the Liberals even more strongly. Lauhas, along with Molbrygge, have become some of the most progressive socially as well - this has been attributed to their high level of secularity, and of urban settlement, seeing rising trade union memberships and gentrification side by side shaping their cultures respectively.
Lauhastrikkvei (Lauhas Tramway) blue tram making its way through suburban Lauhas (right)
Lauhas has by far the most comprehensive mass transit system thanks to its relative size, centrality and Alançon's history as part of the communist regime. Built mostly in the 2000s and 2010s, its blue trams and buses have become symbolic, while its transport system has become envied - and copied off of - throughout the Avancene.
Lauhas houses some of the most prestigious universities south of the Equator (known in the Suthnic language as the Midtlinje). The city itself has eight - the University of Lauhas, the King Haakon University, Grønngatt University of Technology, the Republican University, the University of Heritage Lauhas, Lauhas Veståsen University, University College Lauhas and Chancellor's University. The University of Avancene, the country's largest multi-campus facility of higher education, is partially centred in Lauhas. Lauhas also by far produces the most research out of any Avancenic city, and the most graduates, and as a result has a relatively young population. Demographically as a result, Lauhas is a growing and diverse city.
Economically, Lauhas is by far the most economically productive city of Avancene. It has a GDP per capita of 74,000 IBU (compared to about 41,000 nationally, and 53,000 in the south) and boasts a mixture of attractive economic policies - from relatively low corporation tax, to subsidies and "innovation schemes" (innovasjonsordninger). In particular, Lauhas is a powerhouse of finance, however also has a strong tourism and research sector, as well as healthcare, manufacturing and chemicals.
(left) the Helgesen National Park, with the Høyder range in view
The city boasts the Forest of Helgesen, within the Helgesen National Park (Helgeskog and Helgesen Området), on its doorstep; Avancene is 27% forested, and Helgesen is one of the most forested farthings of Suthnia as well as nationally. This is host to a wide range of animals, including the white fox, red squirrel, boars and beavers; the infamous Skjultmann (roughly "Hidden Man") is said to roam the woods of Helgesen in the wintertide.
The rural belt surrounding Lauhas is potentially one of the most affluent areas of the nation, nicknamed "the Purple Band (det Lillabånd)" - purple referring loosely to its royal connotations. Many commuters come from this Lillabånd and travel into Lauhas for work in white-collar jobs, sometimes nicknamed "purple collar" due to the connotations therewith. The region receives plenty of rainfall per year for all seasons, giving the south coast the nickname "the wet coast" (with the "dry coast" being that of the north), while there is often permanent snow cover on the tops of the Høyder mountains.
Lauhas is seen by the nation at large as pioneering but hard-nosed - a city of hard-working, if slightly self-entitled or agitated, youthful people who are at the front of their generation and who represent the nation well. Lauhas possesses a dialect of Suthnic known as "hovedstad" (literally "Capital"), which is distinct from the surrounding regions but which has - particularly since the mid-20th century - permeated other dialects, particularly in its returned use of pronouncing and spelling words with "th", a harder "dt" at the end of some words, and a less nasal tone than some other dialects - though its largest oddity is potentially in the vocabulary it invents, with most new words often sourcing from Lauhas. Lauhas' cultural influence has also reached the North, with Oçonian often including words from Lauhas Suthnic / Hovedstad Suthnic (such as the word "Suthnic" itself, which drove the Ostsuthnic word "Sørniske" out of fashion in northern regions).
