Preamble Column

The Preamble Column is a 51-meter high marble column, one of the national monuments of the Republic of Guntreland and a landmark of the city of Eustata.

Location

The Preamble Column is located on the Republic Square in Eustata, in front of the Palace of the Reversed Throne, the former Royal Palace. The location was chosen as the place of martyrdom of National Representative Johann Gelbs, who was broken on a wheel by the royalists eight years earlier in the same place.

Construction and Material

The Preamble Column was inaugurated on the last complementary day of the 15th year of the Republican Era. It was built from white marble from the Eastern Massif, quarried exclusively by former aristocrats who, in the old regime, severely abused the subjugated population, hence in the Republic were condemned to hard work in stone quarries.

Height

The Preamble Column is 51 meters tall, which is the number of sledgehammer blows that Citizen Gelbs for the Republic took on the wheel before he expired.

Inscription

On the Preamble Column, the text of the Preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of Guntreland is engraved and shown by stylized reliefs:

Proceeding from the Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity of the Republic of Guntreland,

Proceeding likewise from the principle that said Sovereignty naturally belongs equally to every person born upon the soil of the continent of Guntreland or naturalized into the Guntrelandite Nation, united in a Social Contract;

With the exemption only of those who renounced Guntrelandite Nation by their own will, by renouncing the said Contract;

That each of Guntrelandite citizens stands equal in rights, duties, and the dignity of Citizenship — be they man or woman, werewolf, vampire, or classic human;

And that said Territorial Integrity encompasses the entire mainland of the continent of Guntreland and all islands which, together with that continent, form one Natural Whole;

Proceeding furthermore from the truth that it is the State alone — by virtue of its system of laws and its monopoly of physical force — which guarantees to Man, by his free human will, the integrity of his life, security, liberty, and property (the emanation of his person), as well as his right to partake in the governance of the community wherein alone the essence of humanity may be fulfilled; whence follow the sacred duties of each citizen toward the State, holier than any others they may bear toward any other;

 Proceeding moreover from the principle that the Salvation of the People, the Homeland, and all Humanity must stand as the supreme law; that all superstitions against races be rejected and condemned;

 That all offices and all employments be equally open to every citizen of the Republic, save for the distinction of natural ability and the merit of their deeds;

 LET ALL CITIZENS AND ALL MANKIND HONOUR THE CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF GUNTRELAND!

The Preamble Column and the Palace of the Reversed Throne on the Republic Square in Eustata. (Image by Midjourney)