First Church of Neo Berrium

The church of NeoBerrium upon completion

The **First Church of NeoBerrium** is a temple located on the capital of the Duchy of Neo Berrium, province of TEK, in Eastern Sparwood. Intuitively, its name comes from the fact that it was the first temple built in the city, dating back to the first half of 2023, when NeoBerrium was still a small independent squatter settlement.

Because the church barely ever exercised as such, it was used in some occasions to hold speeches. The priest's house stores construction material. During the great population growth, the construction of a new neighborhood around the church was ordered by the council, and is now integrated in the upper district. During periods of increasing tensions, NeoBerrium was walled off, leaving the church and the surrounding unfinished neighborhood outside. The elevated cost and the enormous quantities of resources required to build the wall forced the city to extensively exploit the rocky surroundings of the church, keeping the construction of a graveyard.

During newer urbanization projects, it was suggested to demolish the current construction to build a larger one, meeting the needs of a larger city. However, the idea was dismissed.

When Neo Berrium joined makerism, it was the first makerist region in Serafini, and there the new bishopric settled. The church exercised as cathedral for a short time, hosting a few baptisms and masses until the construction of a proper temple.

## History

### Background

Having been kicked from their homeland by the great empires, the few loyal Berrians settled in the highlands to the east of Sparwood, occupying a small valley in Frosmyre territory. In the valley, they developed a very characteristic type of architecture, influenced by their basic beliefs centered around the bushes and fruits of the forest. With the passage of time, the city grew progressively, and the possibility of being discovered by the lords of those lands seemed increasingly closer. In the sight of conflict, NeoBerrian authorities attempted to form ties with hostile nations to Frosmyre. Among the proposals, Illuminatiatiati, a recently established foreigner architect, came up with the idea of building and consecrating a temple to Theiosism. Access to the great church of Theios would guarantee them the war aid of great empires. However, the war never broke out, and the temple was never officially consecrated.

### Construction

Designed by the local architect Illuminatiatiati, the solid structure of the church constrasts with the rest of the berrian-styled wooden buildings. Plans were well received by the council and its construction began on a hill separated from of the town. It was built somewhere between May 20th and 30th of 2023, and responds to the architectural models of its architect's birthplace, based around large works of tracery and pointed decoration.

Due to sudden population growth, the project lost importance. Being overshadowed by newer urbanization projects and due to lacking resources, the actual structure doesn't fully correspond to the original plans and is poorly decorated.

## Architecture

With its single nave of 10 meters high and 7 meters wide, the First Church of NeoBerrium is a small sized temple located on a hill near the historical town, meant to accommodate a rather small number of worshippers. It was built based around the concept of sunlight, and for that reason it was provided with large windows; the main entrance was built on the north side of the church to build the largest window on the east façade, allowing the sunlight of the morning to fill the temple.

Behind the nave, rises the 21 meter bell tower above all the buildings that surround it. Due to sudden redesign to fit in a small dwelling for the priest, the tower was shifted to the right, deforming the northern wall to allow direct access to the nave. Further redesign was made, and the tower was topped off with a conical roof instead of the four original pinnacles that crowned it.