North Kronchester

**Koningstad** (The City of Kings) is the capital and largest city of Brunant with a population of almost 200,000 in the city proper and 265,000 in the capital region as of 2015 (making roughly 8% of Brunant's population). Koningstad is the political center of the country, as seat of Government and location of most government offices. Thus the Congress, Prime Minister, Royal Family and major government agencies are based here. The mayor is Karen House.

Koningstad is one of the newer cities in Brunant, having been founded in the mid 16th century. Founded along the Dortmund River, it is now the most internationally-minded city and important for economics and transportation. The new Koningstad International Airport is located to the south, and several major train stations and lines can be found crossing the city.

## Name

Kronchester means "City of the Crown", derived from the Merrifortian words 'Kron' (crown) and 'chester' (city). It is called North Kronchester due to problems in 1668 when two Kronchesters were founded. To avoid confusion the other Kronchester was called South Kronchester. Until the 17th century, the city was called 'Joshuatown' in honor of King Joshua of Amberhill.

## History

### Roman history

In 276, the Romans established a colony at Villa Fulvia. It was a small settlement, with no more than 100 people. Around the year 380, the settlement was suddenly abandoned by the Romans and largely forgotten. It is presumed a plague destroyed their crops and they were forced to flee.

### Hunting lodge

It was only until the 1500s the area would be resettled During one of Adrianus Graf's hunting expeditions (1554), he came across the Roman settlement. He built himself a villa near the ruins, and soon it became a holidaying place for wealthy merchants and noblemen. In 1572, the King moved his summer home to the town, and then became known as Koningstad- the city of kings. The Royal hunding lodge and the immediate community were very small, centered around the area now known as the Grafstad. Koningstad featured in the famous Benicar Map in 1596.
With the establishment of the town of Dortmund and The Port district in the 17th century, the settlement gained more prominence and was incorporated as a town in 1708.

### Modern history

 File:Carrington's Arch.jpg
During the Franco-Brunanter War in the 1750s, the French laid siege to the Adriankastel in Dortmund, but did not manage to occupy the area north of the Dortmund River. In the 1770's the town was oficially incorporated after renewed construction and expasion. After Carrington's's Invasion of Brunant in 1784, the city became the official capital of the country. He built Carrington's Arch to commemorate his victories and the President's House in 1786.

## Recent history

Koningstad, primarily in the Business District saw the construction of several skyscrapers from the 1970s on, culminating with The Spire in 2013. In response to this the city government passed legislation to prohibit the construction of new buildings over 100 meters in height.

The city has been the site of anti-austerity protests, most significantly the 1028 protests in late 2013.

## Government

The current municipal government is led by the Green Party and Avanze, though headed by mayor Karen House of the Social Democrats. Elections were last held in 2015, though since some seats have changed.

## Geography

Koningstad lies along the mouth of the Dortmund River, which flows into the Mediterranean Sea. Koningstad has very mild winters and warm to hot summers and thus enjoys plenty of sunshine throughout the year, with an average of about 300 days of sunshine and only about 50 days with precipitation annually. Its coastal location with winds blowing from the Mediterranean Sea make the heat manageable during the summer. Koningstad has only recorded snow twice (on December 27, 1894 and February 2, 1966).

### Neighborhoods

Koningstad is split into several neighborhoods:

* **Colt Park** - This park was originally where farms owned by the Brighton family stood. After the city expanded and the farms were abandoned to later be reestablished further from the town. Currently the park is occupied by Neo-Classical style buildings.
* **North Woodruff** - The district is the central area of Koningstad, where most of the government buildings are located. It was where the Garsley Fort stood before Vaska's invasion in 1685. The district is dominated by federal style buildings including modern style as well.
* **South Graytown** - Being the biggest district of the city, South Graytown is known for its biggest port built in the 1600s. You can also expect to find Tropical style architecture here.
* **Wattleseed Gardens** - A resort district built in the 1900s, with fine apartments and hotels.
* **Kronchester International Airport** - The new international airport open since 2016.

## Culture

Koningstad has a very diverse culture owing to its large size and population. The city has traditionally been influenced by Dutch-and-Anglophone cultures. More recently, the significant population of Middle Eastern origin has brought multiculturalism and the introduction of new foods.

### Music

Koningstad has had a number of well-known musicians, such as pop singers Jayne Bell and Estelle Fletcher, rappers Ina and XX3, Eric Craig (and rock group Broken Engines) and others. Koningstad is host to a number of music festivals and events, many around Independence Day. The best-known , though, is Sound Off, an electronic music festival.

## Architecture

 File:Koningstad.jpg
Koningstad follows a typical mediterranean architecture except for downtown Koningstad, which was made in a more Baroque-classical style of Victor Janowicz.

## Transport

Traditionally, many roads from Koningstad began at what is nowadays the Kilometer Zero monument on Liberty Plaza. From here, distances to most parts of Central Island were measured.

Koningstad has one of the best-developed transport networks in Koningstad. Koningstad Transport runs the bus and S-train systems in the city, as well as the regional Connector. The city and French multinational JCDecaux have worked to found the Bici bike-sharing system, operating since 2011. A car share system, Autogo, was also introduced in 2015. In 2014 the city worked on introducing a congestion tax to reduce traffic in the city, though it was eventually never kept.

A rotating rationed driving scheme was passed by the city government in 2015 and will be implemented in 2016. For one day a week, Monday, cars with a license plate ending in a certain number will not be allowed to drive, rotating from 0 and 1 on week 1, 2 and 3 and week 2, 4 and 5 and week 3, 6 and 7 in week 4 and 8 and 9 on week 5.

Some 2800 taxis are found in Brunant, making it the largest fleet in Brunant.

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