Little Caldera

Little Caldera is the capital of Austro-Caldera. Founded in 1607 to house representatives of the Volkspartei, Little Caldera is a majority Gothic city. Home to 100 thousand residents, it's biggest markets are fishing and boat construction.

The city was built in a strategic spot, inside of a circular valley that opens to the sea, to deter invasion from hostile forces. Although this placement has come over time to raise controversy, and military experts remark that the mountains all around allow enemies to gain ground on Little Caldera and invade without any room for residents to escape. Regardless of the actual protection gained, this security was the basis on the capital's name, as it seemed like it was placed inside a little caldera.

Establishment of Little Caldera
Little Caldera was established in 1607 as the country's capital due to concerns over too many Indigeno-Calderans in the first capital of Neu Maessen. Despite these concerns and the creation of a new capital, many Volkspartei leaders still lived in Neu Maessen and even held legislative sessions until 1619 when it was deemed illegal to legislate anywhere besides Little Caldera. This law inadvertently also brought all provincial capitals and legislators to Little Caldera, ironically raising the Volin population.

Before Little Caldera was established, it was home to a small 10 person Indigeno-Calderan settlement called Awap. Awap was mainly a fishing village, but they had built a shrine to honor the sea god, which was later turned into the modern day hall of Mashk museum.

Further development of Little Caldera
Over time, Little Caldera became a popular city in Caldera for its beautiful buildings constructed to display the Volkspartei's prowess. Museums and parades became the most popular past time, and this lead to the nickname "Parade city". A parade is held in Little Caldera at least once a month, in order to celebrate various events such as the Volkspartei's founding, military founding, city founding, Caldera's discovery, election day, and much more.

Little Caldera is considered to be a "model city", in that it's highly regulated to appear great, and this includes an expansive police force, high beauty standards on structures, and the removal of homeless populations. To achieve the goal of making Litttle Caldera perfect, Little Caldera Police will enforce high punishments for minor infractions, and this has led to a relatively low population compared to other Calderan cities.

During the Second Great War, Little Caldera was invaded and occupied by Daxiaese forces throughout the war, and the Calderan capital was temporarily moved to Neu Maessen, where the government had established a small foothold in Caldera.

Post Second Great War
Many legislators were hesitant to move back into Little Caldera after the war, and many provincial representatives argued that it was the perfect time to establish different capitals for each province. The Prime Leader pointed out the 1619 clause and announced that any legislative decisions made outside of Little Caldera were not legally binding, and that every government representative had to come to the city in order to promote unity.

Little Caldera is a major tourist destination, and many Calderan families choose this city as their vacation destination. Above 1/4th of Little Caldera's economy is based on tourism.

2003 Austro-Calderan revolt
In 2003, years of oppression led the Volin people to organize militias and protest in the capital, which eventually led into all out conflict. During these few months, Little Caldera was a war zone, and multiple neighborhoods and streets were decimated, only to be rebuilt and renovated months later thanks to extra budget given by the Volkspartei.

Topography
Little Caldera is seated within a mountainous region, but the entire area of the city is flat.

Climate
Like the rest of the country, Little Caldera is a tropical climate, however, due to bordering the ocean and being partially surrounded by mountains, Little Caldera has slightly cooler weather that even brings in snow occasionally.

Population
Little Caldera is home to a little over 100 thousand residents, which is smaller than other cities in Caldera. This is due to high restrictions on construction, activities, decorations, and few economic opportunities, as many do not fit the requirements of an occupational provider. Despite these, Calderans still flock to the city for its beauty and lack of crime. Suburbs past the mountains exist, allowing non-residents of the city to visit for a job or for entertainment.

Languages
The primary language of Little Caldera is Gothic, and it is enforced that every sign must be in Gothic, however, suburbs of Little Caldera use Volin, and occasionally that language may leak into the city. Legislators from other provinces may also make laws and have discussions that are entirely in Volin.

Religion
Little Caldera's majority religion is Christianity, but Austro-Caldera's anti-religious laws law prevents any type of religious institutions in the city, with the exception of a shrine to the sea god of Volinism in a museum. This type of religious artifact is allowed because it is seen as a exhibit that's only coincidentally religious.

Social
Little Caldera is a vibrant city with a lot of people who people watch, or walk through green portions of the city. Locals often interact with tourists, and the city is often bustling with these tourists at wide venues.

Quality of living
The quality of living at Little Caldera is incredibly high compared to other cities in Caldera. Whereas many living standards in Caldera are defined by the cheapest options available, Little Caldera enforces standards on the qualities of building materials and the comfortability of mattresses and pillows sold. All apartments must come pre-furnished, and hotels must have a wide selection of foods and blankets at customer's request. Such a vacation city also comes with incrediby high taxes, with 20% tax on every item sold.

Economy
Due to high taxes, limits and restrictions, many businesses simply do not operate within Little Caldera. Little Caldera is defined by touristic occupations, fishing, and the construction of boats, typically for fishing. Little Caldera is indeed a rich city with wealthy inhabitants, wholly in part by a government which overreaches and ensures high occupational standards.

Government
Due to being the capital, Little Caldera has no mayor and is directly governed by the Volkspartei themselves, through the Department of the Capital, created in 1619 to ensure the highest standards of living to make Little Caldera a fashionable city to visit.

Crime
Crime essentially doesn't exist in Little Caldera, but there have been rioting by Volins who want more representation in government.

Primary education
Children growing up in Little Caldera have access to the finest school in the country, Universal Seuber School, which teaches kids for 12 years. All schooling in Little Caldera is free if you've lived in the city for 4 years.

Post-secondary education
After primary, there are many colleges in and around Little Caldera that are dedicated to certain specifications. All are free, and general classes not related to your chosen degree are omitted from the curriculum.

Architecture
The city of Little Caldera has been rebuilt on at least 3 occasions to keep up with modern styles or to repair damages from a war. All government buildings were originally done in Georgian while much of the residential districts were done in Italiante. Following the First Great War, government buildings were updated in Neoclassical motif architecture, but many of these buildings were destroyed in the Second Great War, resulting in the reconstruction of government buildings in Italiante style to match the neighborhoods and surroundings.

Highways
Little Caldera has no highways, often cited to be due to the lack of cars in Caldera, and the difficulty of building a highway over the mountain.

Transit systems
Suburbs connected to Little Caldera are connected through subways underground. These subways connect to any part of the city, and can be taken for free.

Airports
People flying to Little Caldera will be shocked to find that there are no public airports within Little Caldera. Neu Maessen International Airport operates caddies and taxis to and from their airport to Little Caldera, but the trip takes roughly 40 minutes. Despite the lack of public airports, there exists an airport dedicated to the Volkspartei.