Sventoji

The second-largest city of Liotain. Founded in the 900s, Sventoji quickly grew to become Liotain's second-largest city. The city is dubbed "The Queen of the Gulf" due to its long maritime history and the beauty of the city's construction.  Sventoji is divided into New and Old Cities.  The Old City of Sventoji, built in the 900s, has regular roads, while the New City (started in the 1300s) is built out on the shallow lagoon, being crisscrossed with canals.

## History

Founded in the 900s by the order of Titas Saulius, the city of Sventoji was reportedly named for Saint Jurate the Chaste (Sventoji Jurate Skaiscioji), who was martyred in the region sometime in the 780s.

During the Second Reman Empire, Sventoji served as a major base for westward expansion into modern-day Celtica, Antargentina, and beyond. This sparked an explosion in the city's population, which reached 300,000 in the year 1200.

### Republic of Sventoji

The collapse of the Second Empire, and the dissolution of its client state in Liotain, resulted in Sventoji becoming a functionally independent city-state, being ruled by the Dukes of Sventoji. Possessing a state-of-the-art shipyard called The Arsenal, as well as the remnants of the Reman fleet, Sventoji established itself as a maritime empire which competed with Antargentina and Valpo for control of the Gulf of Argent and the Nestorian Sea. The city was besieged several times by the Pictish Federation and by other rivals, but was never successfully taken.

Beginning in 1205, the denizens of Sventoji began expanding their city outward into the shallow lagoon. Portions of the new construction were houses built on stone or wood pilings driven into the harbor bottom, although floating houses and caissons of stone and fill-dirt were also employed. This city expansion became known as the New City, while the portion of Sventoji built on dry land was known as the Old City.

Sventoji fought the Azularie War (1354-1359) against Valpo, which gained them permanent control of a large portion of Breizh. Valpo retained a foothold on the island until 1589, however. The end of the Azularie War, in 1359, is widely identified as the high-water mark of Sventoji's maritime empire. During this period, Sventoji took the nickname "Queen of the Gulf."

In 1479, the city-states of Eletrenai and Neris, which both served as traditional rivals of Sventoji, declared a new kingdom of Liotain (the Third Kingdom). Sventoji initially resisted this process, but the rising power of Antargentina, the unification of Celtica, and growing military pressure from distant Anitkabir made Liotainian unity impossible to avoid. In 1521, Sventoji's independence came to an end.

### Liotain's Second City

Upon rejoining the Kingdom of Liotain, Sventoji maintained its importance as the second-largest city in Liotain. The ducal family which ruled Sventoji during its independence merged with the monarchial line.

The city's domestic politics, with its unusual mix of direct democracy and aristocracy, provided much of the initial impetus to the development of Liotainian democracy.

## Culture

The creation of the New City, with its mix of floating, stilt, or caisson houses, resulted in the creation of an extensive maze of canals, many of which were extended into the Old City between the 14th and 15th Centuries. Relatively few roads were built in the New City, as those who moved there acquired boats, called barcaccias, which they used for transportation.

The barcaccia remains a distinct visual symbol of Sventoji to the present day, and most city-dwellers own at least one. Usually, a family will put considerable care into their barcaccia, using gilding (for the rich) or colorful paintings.

The few roads constructed in the New City tend to be elevated in order to match with the second floor of houses, and the bridges which span the canals. By default, this often means that houses have their primary entrance on the second floor (where the door is found) while the water-level entrance is reserved for the family and their closest friends.

During the days of the Republic of Sventoji, citizens were required to possess swords, of a standardized length and design, as part of their civic duties. It became customary for the sword to be worn for public votes and a number of other select events as a way to demonstrate the bearer's citizenship. The sword remains a key part of Sventoji's traditional costume, which is worn for official city gatherings - including voting, where it is used as proof of citizenship. Since the 1600s, swords are numbered in order to match them to the citizenship rolls. Wearing a sword without being a citizen, or wearing an un-numbered sword, is a misdemeanor offense.

### Architecture

Much of Sventoji's architecture follows a style known as Neo-Vydmantine. Forerunners of this style were first popularized in 1280s by Duke Vydmantas (one of the early rulers of the Republic of Sventoji). Between 1450 and 1700, this style came back into fashion, and many of the major buildings in Sventoji were either built to or reconstructed in this style.

Neo-Vydmantine architecture employs a mix of stone and wood, smoothly blended. Buildings are multi-story, usually having at least three but occasionally up to five floors. The lowest floor, sometimes called the dock floor, has double-flap wood doors or a cast-iron portcullis, allowing a barcaccia to be docked inside the house. Hoists are often set in the ceiling to lift barcaccias out of the water. The first floor is also often used for storage and, in larger houses, servant's quarters. The second floor usually has a family's public spaces, usually a multipurpose parlor, kitchen, and dining room. The third floor, and any further floors above it, are private rooms reserved for the family.

## Trivia

* In the 1600s, Sventoji adopted a series of laws prohibiting waste disposal into the city lagoon.
* Sventoji is the only large Liotainian city lacking a sritije club within its city limits. Sventoji's suburb of Alkas has a sritije club which serves in Sventoji's place.