Nordhaven admitted District status

(Year 233, Fall) Today Council House announced that the Nordhaven community has been granted status as a district of Mazaloom kingdom. Having district status means they will elect their Mayor come the Year 235 election.

Nordhaven, located just north of Windenburg, is a quite old community. Founded in Year 84, while the area was still property of the Crown, it was a popular off-trail destination for hunting royals. King Wizar established a new harbor up here, and also had a small estate, Haven Herrenhaus, built to oversee the increased business with SimNation farther north.

These days Nordhavens original settlement is known as Gammelvik. Thanks to its chilly climate and less fertile soil, this area was never desired by farmers. Instead they built a decent lumber industry, leading to woodworking and other crafts like pottery and gem cutting. Fishing and hunting took place from early years, too.

Gammelvik offers interesting history and many lovely views, including the channels accompagned by traditional architecture. This hood is also home to the most northern estate still owned by the Crown, the mentioned Haven Herrenhaus, a semi large manor with a caretaker section occupied by generations of the Hyggeloth family since Year 86. Also Windenburg dukedom owns a nice additional home located in Gammelvik, their Heimlich Abode used to be the base of distant members of House von Heimlich who made a business from selling cut crystals. Today Heimlich Abode is let to renters.

Nordhaven offers a few monuments erected by central persons and local businesses, quite often with reference to the traditional focus on creative crafts. One of them can be seen in what is left of Gammelvik's park, a lovely area once designed for recreation, originally part of the Haven Herrenhaus.

Nordhaven's greatest benefit was being the nation's northern harbor, which triggered more trades with SimNation. It's said that the pottery tradition was based on impulses imported from SimNation, but this influence must have captured Nordhaven quite early, as there were numerous related finds at older dig sites. Who has not heard of the ancient Nordhaven Bowl found in the grave of one of the first local business men? That grave was dated to several decades before the official Nordhaven founding. It's interesting how that clay bowl inspired generations to come - there are still crafters dreaming of creating the next unique item from Nordhaven.

Thanks to unique local soil quality, the pottery industry grew rapidly. Today the bigger pottery businesses are found at Iverstad. This is where the old factories arised, buildig the base of a long gone industry of exports. You will still find pottery activity, but these days they are a bit more hobby and art related, or occasionally combined with other crafts or small businesses. Lectures are popular, too. Most old factories were modernized over time, and the vast majority was rebuilt to meet residential demand.

Iverstad is also known for several tattoo parlors. Officially the art of tattooing was imported by seamen from harbors around te world. Sailors brought the art to Nordhaven where it developed over time, and today most locals see it as their own tradition. Some says that the art of tattoo was brought to Nordhaven by the mermaids, but well..., if you visit you are allowed to hesitate - the beautiful and mythical statue near the new harbor also has a few other, slightly more likely, references.

Also Crysals businesses established in Nordhaven. There were little mining acivity, so perhaps the raw crystals were imported. Like with most other crafts, crystal cutting became popular because it kept locals busy. In districs farther south families were busy with their farming, while Nordhaven residents had time for all these crafts instead. The became famous among collectors for their top quality cut crystals, but they rarely crafted jewellery. Some says the crystal cutting became big with the Church of Similius having their Cathedral built in Windenburg, and plumbob cut red ruby and green sapphire became very popular.

Nordhaven is still a rather small community. Latest population numbers are 48,000 and with its fresh district status it ranks in the lower half of districts with only 6 districts having a smaller population. It is a thriving town, though, and it might still be possible to find a vacant apartment above your own little business. Although there exist quite some pottery activity, other businesses are welcome, too.

Before achieving district status, Nordhaven did organize their community in certain ways. They never bothered with the formal elections, not until now. In particular two local families organized the place in a good way, each family controling one hood. The Hyggeloth family hails from the first woodworkers in Gammelvik, having a rich history involving both woodworking and clay crafting. The Hyde family in Iverstad owns several artist businesses in Iverstad, including both galleries and tattoo parlors. Both these families are expected to run for the Mayor position, one year from now.

Being so much smaller than their neighbour Windenburg, and basically offering a different history despite being located pretty close, the change of status will hardly impact region Windenburg's national influence. That said, with their population of 48,000 Nordhaven might actually secure a 3rd People Chamber seat for the Windenburg region.

This coming Spring we will know.

Disclaimer: This text relates to my game Mazaloom, and not necessarily to the official EP description.