Hannelkant

"They somehow managed two built two cities with a lack of a proper water supply, one on top of the other.
The top one is pretty, squeaky clean, with amazing architecture, good food, nice people and full of stuff to see. The lower one is fun and not so overpriced." - A small look at the big cities of the world by Riveria Gentleheart

Hannelkant is the largest city in The Empire of Eflad, the headquarters of the Claw Flottila, the navy of Eflad and home of the summer residence of the King or Queen Eflad.  

Geography

Hannelkant is situated on the coast to the Eastern Ocean, in the north western corner of Eflad.

While there are no large rivers that supply the city with water, there is quite a large reserve of fresh water, below the surface, accessible through the many wells in the city.

Layout & Points-of-interest

The city of Hannelkant is almost exclusively build with wood, as there are no stone quarries anywhere near the city.

It is also entirely built on two levels. Most houses have at least 2 stories, with access to the street on the ground floor, as well as access to the main street network, on stilts above it. The lower street is made for wagons, carts and livestock moving through the city, while the street above it is where most foot traffic in the city happens. Between the two lavers are numerous stairs, ladders and pulleys dotted throughout, to get from one layer to the other.
This layout also helps permanent damage from the semi-regular floodings of the city, when the position of the moons Hornus and Celeria coincide with the position of the sun Lithrindir and the seawater rushes through the entire city at ground-level.
Because of this, most craftsmen use the ground floor as their workshop while selling their produce upstairs, many residents and taverns use the ground floor as a cellar or rent it out to less well of residents and some businesses that aren't that welcome operate exclusively on the ground floor.

The two most striking landmarks of the city are The Joint Temple of Hannelkant, in the middle of the city and The Castle of Hannelkant, build partially on the water, at the edge of the harbor.
The Joint Temple is dedicated to Bastermir, the god of farming, and Medriva, the goddess of adventure, the parents of the human race. The ground floor of the temple consists of a small monastery, where monks and nuns live and where other visiting clergy can stay during their visit in the city. Above it, on the level of the wooden street network is the publicly accessible part of the temple. Between two high bell towers, towering over the rest of the city and displaying the symbols of Bastermir and Medriva through ornate wooden carvings, lies the main hall where the worship and related ceremonies take place.
The castle is the only large structure build from stone in the city and a well defended military fortress. It is simultaneously the headquarters of the Claw Flottila and the summer residence of the ruler of Eflad.

Politics

The city is directly governed by the royal family living there. Often being given to a sibling of the King or Queen of Eflad.

Culture

Mainly because of its location at the sea and around fertile lands, the diet in Hannelkant is largely based on fish and grain.

Economy & Infrastructure

While lacking natural resources to mine, the city is a large exporter of fish, wood and manufactured goods.

The city is also the biggest trade hub of the country. Many goods destined for the inner provinces of Eflad enter the empire through Hannelkant and get transported via the roads to their eventual destination. This extra transport cost gets subsidized by the empire, by charging a higher sales tax.

Hannelkants has three large main roads into the empire.
The first heads east along the coast towards Seefeld, before turning southeast towards Norburg, Rotfurt and the Lake of Idrisil.
The second one heads directly in a south-easterly direction through the more sparsely populated inner land, towards Sekerburg, the capital of the empire.
The final main road heads south along the coast, through the Royal Forest of Eflad towards Uplest