Cities of Urcea

This article is an overview of several cities of Urcea, sorted by province, state, or crownland. For the purposes of this article, only locations within metropolitan Urcea are listed.

Ardricampus
Ardricampus is the cathedral city of the eponymous province of Ardricampus. It is situated on the southwestern coast of the Magnag within a region known as the Urcean frontier and north of the Hortus Mountains. Ardricampus is viewed by many to be a cultural crossroads of Urcea, as its position between the Valley and the Ionian Plateau with general proximity to both Gassavelia and Dericania provide for a unique local culture with divergent mores than that of most cities in the Valley. The city's rich culture is centered on the Magnag, and the dozen or so blocks radiating out from it are considered the cultural downtown of the city. Ardricampus is known, cuisine-wise, as the "inland heart of seafood", with freshwater seafood forming the backbone of traditional Ardricampusi cuisine. This traditionally incorporates Gaelic and Gassavelian spices and methods into seafood, creating a unique blend.

Ardricampus was established in the 14th century during the Saint's War as a fortress and residence of the House of Cónn. The castle, built over an oasis in the otherwise arid Urcean frontier, was an impressive structure; its large walls were complemented by its location in a dry, foreboding area that made it difficult for armies to supply a siege. Despite the current location of the city, the castle itself is several miles inland, and the modern port and downtown of the city were not constructed until the 18th century. Though the Cónn family died out, the castle was never taken and remained an important military structure during the 15th century as House de Weluta assumed control of the Kingdom. It was both the primary point of control over the surrounding arid wasteland and the main southern-facing defense against the Kingdom of Gassavelia. As gunpowder warfare became more commonplace, the castle at Ardricampus gradually lost military significance, but the community that sprung up around it remained. Demolition of the castle's oasis segment allowed easy access to water for all residents, leading the city to grow dramatically around the middle of the 16th century. Its remote location shielded it from the worst effects of the Great Confessional War. The community of Ardricampus grew such that it spread across several miles by around 1730, when Aedanicus VII arranged for the construction of a major port on the Magnag nearby. The port city, originally called "Aedansport", became functionally joined to Ardricampus. In 1771, King Brian II issued a Royal charter for the City of Ardricampus, which included the old city as well as Aedansport, and the 1771 Charter still functions through the present day. As part of the Administrative Reorganization Act of 1892, Ardricampus became the capital of a province named after it which included most Urcean possessions on the southern and eastern shores of the Magnag. The new provincial government became the major employer within the city by 1950.

Ardricampus's primary industries today are its provincial government as well as tourism. The largely-preserved 14th century castle, as well as several Magnag-related sites including beaches, are the most popular destinations. Its unique cuisine is also an important tourist draw.

Cana
Cana is the cathedral city of Canaery. It sits on the Bay of Novec, often just called the "Crescent Bay", at the end of the Caenish peninsula. Cana's position in the Bay creates a large natural harbor that has been used since antiquity, and throughout its history it has been one of the busiest ports in the world, often serving as a waystation for trade between Urceopolis and the Valley to the north and Sarpedon to the south and west.

Cana was settled in the 900s BC by the Adonerii, and was one of the earliest Latinic cities in Levantia.

Harzenon
Harzenon is the cathedral city of Gassavelia and is situated on the Saianda River. In the pre-industrial period, it was the furthest northern navigable point on the relatively mild Saianda River, giving the city a reputation as a strong "inland seaport".

Archaeological evidence suggests that Harzenon was the site of an Ancient Istroyan city, settled sometime around 600 BC. Little is known about early Harzenon other than it experienced periodic feuds with the nearby Gaelic people, and it's likely that the city's inland location isolated it from the rest of the Istroyan world. It was likely destroyed in the 4th century BC, as it does not appear in the written record of Great Levantia who conquered the area in the 2nd century BC. Upon arriving in Levantia in the 7th century AD, Artaxerxes I found the site uninhabited according to the saga of the Hištanšahr. The Artaxerxid dynasty built Harzenon and moved its capital there after the court briefly resided in a coastal city from 680 to 692. The inland location of Harzenon allowed Hištanšahr, and later Royal Gassavelia, to project power up and down the Saianda River valley. Harzenon remained the center of Gassavelian political life until the city was taken by King Leo II of Urcea in 1567, destroying the Kingdom. It fell under Urcean control, was the center of a brief uprising in the 1670s, and began to recover after a century and a half of political turmoil. After the Administrative Reorganization Act of 1892, an autonomous Gassavelia was restored with Harzenon as its capital. Today, it remains the major cultural center of the Gassavelian people and the main economic center of southeastern Urcea.

In terms of architecture and urban planning, Harzenon in considered to be among the most unique in Urcea. Its 7th century foundation was established by prominent leaders from Audonia, employing relatively leading-edge urban planning from Audonia. Consequently, Harzenon eschewed both Gaelic round cities and Latinic grid cities; its medieval urban core is instead based on a system of interlocking diamond-shaped roads and plazas.

Cálfeld
Cálfeld is the cathedral city of Harren and is located on the Yonus River. The city, which is the seat of power in the second of the two primary constituent parts of Urcea (Harren) according to the Golden Bull of 1098, is often considered the "second city" of Urcea and its inland cultural capital. It is the largest city in Urcea outside of the main part of the Valley, although it is sometimes considered to be the terminus point of that cultural region. Cálfeld sits at the base of the Ionian Plateau.

Cálfeld is considered by many west-coast Urceans to be the most "Levantine city" in the country, with Levantine meaning similarities to both Dericania and Burgundie. Historically, the city was the main place, rather than Urceopolis, from which the Apostolic Kings conducted foreign policy inside the Holy Levantine Empire, and today the city retains some consulates. Accordingly, The city was also an important waystation in the "Eastern Via", an alternative route through the Urcean frontier during the 19th century, and some cultural traditions associated with the frontier became popular in the city during the 20th century.

Cálfeld is often contrasted with Urceopolis with regard to its history; as Urceopolis was established as a city of the Latin Adonerii, Cálfeld was built as a city of the Gaelic people. Although continuous human settlement is documented on the site for thousands of years, the area did not become a major urban center until around 500 BC. Much of its pre-Levantine history comes from Great Levantine sources, and these 400s BC Latin contemporaries believed it to be the "great city of the Gaels". Unlike the grid-like Latin cities of Levantia, ancient Cálfeld appears to have been built in concentric circles around a ford in the Yonus River, each with its own defenses. Latin legends suggest that two attempts to take the city occurred in the 400s BC both failed as the besiegers only took the outermost ring and were lost in the maze-like interior of the city, though historians are unsure of the historicity of these sieges. The city became the major urban Gaelic power by 450 BC, and for the next century and a half it resisted the Latins' eastward spread. It was finally captured by Great Levantia in around 300 BC, after which time it was heavily colonized by both Latins and some nearby Ancient Istroyans, though over the next few centuries the city was gradually re-Gaelicized as laborers and slaves arrived from the Ionian Plateau.

During the Latin sack, it appears the innermost rings of the city burnt down but the outermost rings survived during the siege, suggesting that the residents of each ring held a degree of political autonomy which allowed the outermost rings to surrender to the Latins. The innermost rings were replaced with traditional Latin grid layout while the outer rings survived, creating a mixed urban design. Cálfeld, now known as Calivaldium, became a major city in Great Levantia as it became a primary destination for any trade or travel with the Ionian Plateau. The city thrived until about 300 AD, when trade and economic activity in the peripheral parts of Great Levantia began to decline, closing warehouses and causing merchants to leave the city. Despite its downturn, its design ensured the city remained relevant as its supply of freshwater and defensive perimeter made it a viable place to live in increasingly dangerous times. Calivaldium was the administrative center of the province of Hortia, which became independent from Great Levantia in 486 under an elected local Dux. The Duchy of Hortia existed as an independent part of the Latin League and sometimes rival of the Duchy of Urceopolis until its conquest by Conchobar and incorporated into the Levantine Empire as the Duchy of Harren under a member of the Julian dynasty. The Harrenic branch of the Julian dynasty would later inherit the Archduchy of Urceopolis. During this early medieval period, Cálfeld flourished as an important political center.

During the medieval and renaissance periods, Cálfeld remained an important political center in the new Urcean Kingdom, though it was overshadowed for a time by Ardricampus during the Saint's War. It was the primary diplomatic center of the Apostolic Kings with the rest of the Holy Levantine Empire. During and after the Great Confessional War, the city's stature declined considerably as diplomatic and political functions were centralized in Urceopolis. Despite this, it remained an important economic center and retained some prestige as the Hermitage became a main Royal residence. The city was heavily industrialized in the early 19th century, losing much of its historic urban design. It suffered as a result of the '97 Rising and began to lose population until after the Second Great War, when many veterans relocated to the city from the Valley as irrigation and government spending allowed for the construction of large suburbs in the area. By 1980, it regained the status as the largest city outside the Valley, and beginning in around 2005 it became the center of significant real estate investment and new construction. The city began to be viewed as a trendy alternative to life in the Valley, and combined with the presence of the newly renovated University of Harren began to attract a predominantly younger demographic. Today, it is an important hub of culture and the technology industry, and it remains one of Urcea's fastest growing cities.

Coria
Coria is a city in the province of the Cape. The city is situated on the small Selaforta River which feeds into the southern inlet of the Creagmer; the city center itself sits about a half mile inland from the Creagmer, making Coria a relatively important port city. The city is one of the oldest continually settled urban areas in Urcea, and was established as a colony of Adonerum in around the year 920 BC, predating the establishment of Urceopolis by about 40 years. The urban core of Coria is similar to that of Urceopolis's "Old City", retaining some of the basic, three-milennia-old urban layout of its foundation. Unlike Urceopolis, Coria never became a nation-leading urban area, instead remaining a slow-but-steadily growing Creagmer port city for most of its existence. The city was an early adopter of industrialization due to its favorable location.

Among other industries, the city is well known for its historic association with the industrial processing of, giving it the nickname "Birdtown". The long association between chicken and Coria is perhaps best known from the fast food chain Coria Clux, which began in Coria. Though most of the industrial slaughter houses closed by the 1950s, the nickname and "bird culture" remain. The Coria Hens are a CBC minor league team in a league associated with the Urceopolis Imperials. Many bars and restaurants in Coria have a chicken-based visual theme, including the "Dirty Chick", a bar which opened in 1962 and became famous after being featured in several television programs.

Coria is a moderately popular domestic tourist location. Most Coria tourists visit from Urceopolis. Besides several famous bird-related restaurants, the city's close proximity to the Creagmer makes it a desirable location for beach-goers. The Creagmer beaches in the area are gentle and mostly sheltered, making it a favorable swimming locale. The city's population allows tourists to have access to a wide variety of amenities, but it is much less densely populated than much of Urcea's western coast, contributing to its reputation as a reasonable getaway for dwellers of the Valley.

In 1954, Coria hosted the second Istroyan Games - the Coria 1954 Summer Games. The city was selected due to its favorable waters and accessible port facilities. The 42,000 seat Istroyan Stadium was built for the games. In 1972, the stadium was downsized significantly to 28,000 by demolishing one of the stands as part of a plan to make it economically viable. The facility today hosts both the minor league baseball Coria Hens as well as football and baseball for the local university, the University of Coria.