Lochland

The Federation of Lochland, commonly referred to as Lochland, was a sovereign state on the continent of Brigidna and subcontinent of Geinlund. Lochland was comprised of five boroughs, governed by König (King) Reiner I, and by the Tagsatzung. Lochland was a landlocked country and is bordered by Gehenna to the west, and Lausten to the east. The nation was a bicultural nation, with large percentages of the population consisting of two major groups: Gein and Laurentien people. These two ethnic and lingual groups help contribute to a diverse cultural landscape.

Lochland was a developed country and was in the world's top twenty economies. It was considered to have a high income economy and a very high human development index. It was one of the world's first industrialized nations, and continues to rise as a regional power with fellow Geinland nations. Since 1569, the country has been split in two separate nations based on lingual and ethnic groups. These are Gein Lochland and Laurentian Kingdom

Geography

File:MountAust.jpg

Mount Aust in the Behrends

Lochland was a nation of varied elevations and geographical features. In the southeast was the range of mountains that Lochland was famously known for, the Behrend Mountains. From the mountains, west and north, the elevation decreases. The low parts of the northwest are called the Tal region.

Climate and Land

Most of Lochland has a humid temperate climate, influenced heavily by the oceans (depsite it's landlocked location). Annual precipitation in Lochland was plentiful, with heavy snowfalls in the winter due to southwest bound storms. With a large amount of precipitation, the soils further away from the mountains are very fertile. Soil in lands closer to the mountains are not as fertile, with the exception of the Holzbauer Valley that was considered an excellent farming area for crops like apples.

A large majority of Lochland consists of rolling hills, that increase in height the closer to the Behrend Mountains.

Water

File:Lochlake.jpg

Wunderwald Lake

Lakes, such as the famous Lake Krummel, are an important feature of Lochland's landscape. Many settlements in the nation are on the millions of lakes in Lochland. There are lakes of all sizes. Lake Krummel was by far the largest of the lakes and was actually a main transportation hub in the nation. With connections to rivers and man-made canals, Lake Krummel has affected industrialization and the economy of Lochland more than any other body of water. Most of these lakes were created by glaciers that used to cover Lochland, which have since reseeded into the mountains, a fraction of their previous size.

Transportation was not the only use for these lakes, 70% of Lochland's water source comes from them. Some lakes are so pure that they need not be treated for public usage. Lochland's water source was among the world's cleanest due to tough environmental laws regarding run-off.

Connecting many of the lakes as well as running through mountains are deep rivers. These rivers are also main transportation routes and provide water for citizens. The largest was the Schwarze River that runs through the center of Gotthaus and all the way into Gehenna. A growing number of these rivers are being used for hydroelectric power. It was estimated by the government that 54% of all energy created in Lochland was due to hydroelectric power.

Administrative Divisions

Template:Main Article Lochland was divided into five boroughs: Kirschlundt, Walpzigne, Chavronque, Montagneau, and Gotthaus-Britzbern. These divisions are no longer, as the nation has split. Now, Kirschlundth and Walpzigne as well as the city of Britzbern are now in Gein Lochland, while Chavronque, Montagneau and Gotthaus are in Laurentian Kingdom.

Cities

Template:Main ArticleA majority of Loche people lived in large cities, with over 75% of the population living in 'urban' areas.

All new cities built in Lochland had to refer to the Bureau of Planning for each individual borough. Each borough established Urban Growth Areas for every municipality. These areas are places where it was permissible to build. Each lot in the UGA was controlled under a local ordinance of type of structure that was allowed to be built. Some lots are only allowed to be individual family homes, whereas some are made for industry. This planning approach keeps people living in designated areas and gives the government the ability to control the population growth of each town.

City government was available to all incorporated municipalities. The most popular form for small towns was the five-person city council. This allowed for a more localized government. Larger cities had the option to set up districts, which each elect representatives to a larger city council. Some cities, such as Gotthaus, had well over 60 different districts. All local laws were overriden by borough and federation laws in case of any overlap.

Gein Cities

The largest cities of Gein Lochland inlcude Britzbern, Neustark and Leipstadt.

Older cities are arranged in a specific way, with a square in the center of the city. This city square is most often surrounded by public buildings including but not limited to city,borough, or federation government, schools, universities, places of worship, libraries, etc. The public buildings are often surrounded by commercial districts and are areas of high population density.

Commercial area of Holtburg

Commercial areas are often along side streets in cities

People

Template:Main Article The two major ethnic and lingual groups of Lochland wereGein and Laurentian. The largest concentrations of Gein were in the borough of Walpzigne in the north, while the Laurentian culture is centered in Chavronque. The areas in Kirschlundt, Chavronque and Gotthause-Britzbern were the most bicultural with large amounts of bilingual and biracial people.