Nieuw-Gamoor is the largest city in Salamandran. Some consider it to be the capital of that kingdom, but the actual capital is Hveitsvar. This has been the source of many political arguments and incidents. Nieuw-Gamoor wants to compete with its "sister-city" Ildritz, but will never be able to get the glamour of Daleths capital. A very long time ago, Salamandran was a fertile realm with vast plains and lots of forests. It was wet and rainy, with cold summers, and numerous brooks and streams crossed the landscape. In the middle of Salamandran was a big lake, and a river lead from it into the River Is. It was in this place, where this ancient river, now long gone, and the Is embraced each other, that settlers build a town that now is known as Nieuw-Gamoor. But before that, Salamandran became a dry deserted place, and the climate changed, and the big city of Gamoor drowned into the swamps west of the Is River. The swamps, wet and muddy, also took water to the Is River via streams and small rivers. And so, the Is Valley became the site of a big river, changing course with the seasons, demolishing everything on it's way in spring, rewriting the landscape through the years. The first settlement of Nieuw-Gamoor was a small place, with only a few houses, build near the ford in the river. It was an important ford, for it connected the Giant cities Emecebar (Gamoor) and Yâmeqefir (Vameir). In spring, when the river was flooding the valley, the inhabitants used ferries to get the travellers across the river. After the fall of Gamoor and the fading of Vameir, the settlement lost its importance as a passing-through town. But the citizens of both towns came to the village on the ford, build their houses there, and called it after the town that was lost: Nieuw-Gamoor (New Gamoor). They saw the importance of the ford and the river as means of traffic and trade. They sailed over the Is deep into Wythviz and traded with the people there, with Luban and Fanigawi. Nieuw-Gamoor, build on an island between the arms of the Is (some might say between her legs, and the city is a whore), was a safe place in the Salamandran wars. The city was usually neutral in political arguments, and kept war outside her streets. There have been build forts on the banks of the Is though. The city grew and so did her harbours. Every now and then, the site of the harbours changed, because they sanded in or where destructed by the flood. Even if the city now has her contours under control, the old patterns of the harbours can be found on city maps, and old streets following long gone riverbanks. The fords were neglected and bridges were build. The southern part of the city was destructed in the flood of 1378 AFO. It was rebuild in a regular pattern, with wide streets and uniform houses. This was also the start of the water management in the town. Dikes were build, and sluices, and a whole infrastructure to keep the water out of town. The people of Daleth who heard about this, shook their heads and asked themselves why anyone would want to live on an island in a flooding river. The island was filled soon. Further expansions of the city have been build on the riverbanks west and east of the original city. The inhabitants of these suburbs are frowned upon by those of the island; it is not chic to live on the riverbanks, outside the place "where it all happens". Because the island is still the centre of the city, with its shops and markets, and with the government buildings, the theatres and the university, and so on. Even the town of Broeckpoyrte, build after too many poor, homeless people had rushed to Nieuw-Gamoor and thus flooded the town in filth, could not change the idea of the "outsiders", although most people of Broekpoyrte originally lived on the island, still worked there and were in fact the jet-set of the city. Nieuw-Gamoor used to be a town of trade, but changed into a city of science. Its university became the engine for modern living, and the city adopted quickly modern devices in its daily life. No other city has such a vast network of steam post, the steam powered streetcar is a novelty even Ildritz hasn't seen yet, and the old laboratories have turned in factories of successful companies. Nieuw-Gamoor is the only town with steam powered ballistic bridges and sluices, with steam powered mills to pump the water out of the city. In hygiene is the city very modern, it was the first town in Daleth to have sewers, and social housing. Religion in Nieuw-Gamoor has the facets of religion in any metropolis. Yet, the worship of Aaser is the main religion. Nieuw-Gamoor is the only town where Aaser is depicted, in some temples, as a goddess - which might date back to ancient times when the River Is was worshipped as a fertility goddess. Related topics: | |||||||||||||||||||