SÜDKÜSTE DISTRICT
Every sunrise, a dawn chorus breaks out in Südküste. For some unknown reason, this riverside district is home to thousands of
birds: pigeons nested in empty garrets, starlings and sparrows calling from gardens, and every other variety to be found in an urban setting. Birdsong gives Sudkuste a lighter, more airy ambience than the rest of the city. This is a wealthy district; the grand riverside residences house successful merchants and nobles who can afford to live close to the Imperial Palace. The most notable mansion is the Altdorf residence of the von Krieglitz family, counts of Talabheim and former Emperors.
Perhaps inevitably, expatriates from Talabecland tend to settle here, representing a sizable minority from all walks of life. Visit a tavern such as the Green Chalice or the Old Stag and you could see a minor Talabheim noble drinking with a Volgen-born tinker and a wheat merchant from Küsel. There is little friction with the other denizens of Südküste, other than light-hearted banter about how the merits of the Reikland compare with those of Talabecland.
Südküste has its less salubrious pockets — dark courtyards and overgrown properties left untended by absent owners. There are several small parks, but some are wild and tangled with brambles. Wedged between mansions is the tiny Frobelspark, a garden all but abandoned to the vicious starlings that fill the trees and attack anyone who enters the gate.
Along the river, there are some truly impressive buildings. Many have steadily extended out over the Reik, with the upper floors projecting far over the water below. Altdorf wags comment that it will take the weight of just one pigeon to bring a whole building crashing down into the river.
Type
Region
Comments