Hollenberg
Hollenberg, officially known as the Grand Duchy of Hollenberg, formerly as the Grand Duchy of Danouvia-Scneimunt, is a state located in the deep south of the continent of Cinder. The capital is Scneimunt city in the north-east of the country below the highest peak on the continent of Cinder, Scneimunt mountain. It is bordered by the Commonwealth of Sanéa to the north-east, The Holy Pyrannic Empire to the east and north and Durnath to the south, taking it's colonies into account it also borders Sprúsia.
Hollenberg first emerged as a state after being granted independence as the County of Scneimunt during the fall of the Grand Duchy of Danouvia, later on it was raised to a Duchy itself and proclaimed to be Danouvia-Scneimunt, to the anger of Messenia and Dirynum. During March of 2024 the country experienced a revolution, which succeeded in creating a revolutionary government and toppling the Grand Duke. Later on Danouvia-Scneimunt became a member of the revintern which it left after a monarchist coup. After the establisment of a democratic government the nation was renamed to Hollenberg.
Etymology
The name Danouvia-Scneimunt comes from the lands of Danouvia and Scneimunt, the former part has caused some contreversy among the residents of the Commonwealth of Sanéa as the area of Danouvia proper is not in the revolutionary state of Danouvia-Scneimunt. Despite this, the name was chosen as the then head of house Kazymir allowed Count Stefan Sagadyn to elevate himself to Grand duke and also because the area was settled by residents of the former Grand Duchy of Danouvia and because the County of Scneimunt itself was a vassal of the Grand Duchy.
The name Scneimunt is taken from the region of Scneimunt, which recieves it's name from the mountain of Scneimunt, which is the highest peak on continental Cinder and was for a while the highest known peak in the world. It was first written down as Scnémut translating roughly to Snowy peak in the Pannun language. Later on it was changed to Scnémunt and then finally to Scneimunt.
The name Hollenberg comes from the mountain and massif of Hollenberg in the north of the country, meaning Mountain of caves. This mountain was the first to be discovered by Danouvian explorers and is also favoured by the current grand duke Stefan II who himself resides in the Hollenberg valley. The name itself was voted by the citizens as the most suitable for the name of the country when the short-lived democratic government set up a referendum on the name. Notably there was much opposition to the referendum as the name Scneimunt was not even an available option.
History
Settlement
The first documented settlers of the region came in November of 2023 from Danouvia. These settlers were mountaineers, among them being Stefan Sagadyn, the later Grand Duke of Danouvia-Scneimunt. After falling in love with the natural beauty of the area, Stefan Sagadyn almost immediately proclaimed it a part of the Grand Duchy of Danouvia, which caused some tensions between Stefan Sagadyn and the Danouvian government, specifically Frankos Kazymir. After long talks it was decided that the newly discovered land would be a vassal of the Grand Duchy of Danouvia, the new land was henceforth known as the County of Scneimunt. The area first settled was on the western side of Scneimunt mountain, the original cottages remain standing to this day.
Fall of Danouvia and statehood
On January 4th 2024, the dissolution of the Grand Duchy of Danouvia was announced, this came as a shock to the Scneimuntinian population, who are known as fierce patriots. One of the last orders of the old Danouvian state was to set free the County of Scneimunt, who's first and only count was Stefan Sagadyn. During this period the construction of Scneimunt city began with the northern facade of the Egjenist church, it is considered one of the greatest architectural monuements in Danouvia-Scneimunt. Even though Stefan Sagadyn was granted independence, he was dissatisfied with the dissolution of Danouvia, and yearned for a new Danouvian state. After recieveing permission from the head of house Kazymir, Stefan Sagadyn proclaimed himself Grand Duke Stefan I. of Danouvia-Scneimunt. The news was met with backlash from the states of Messenia and Dyrinum, as the core Danouvian territories lay on their land.
Revolution and fall of the monarchy
On March 10th 2024, a revolution broke out in the town of Smilets By in the west of the country. The initial revolt was quickly suppressed, but it inspired further revolutionary activity across the nation. Soon the Ducal army could not control the situation and the revolutionaries siezed the capital. After an intense struggle, the revolutionaries even managed to break into Duke's castle, where they promptly defenstrated him.
Colonialisation and expansion
Following the collapse of neighboring Beira at the hands of a plague, its leader decided to give its lands to Scneimunt, increasing its landmass. The state also established colonies in the South-eastern continent of the world. Later on it also became one of the signatories of the Southern border treaty, which divided the south eastern continent between Danouvia-Scneimunt, Sprusia, Firgaards and Castelania. According to the treaty Danouvia-Scneimunt's colonial claims were recognised and an exploration zone was added in which the state may have colonised further without any interactions or obstacles from treaty signatories. In this exploration zone was the highest peak in the entire world Hohenstrmivrh (y:256) and the province of Landsberg.
Counter-revolution and restoration of the monarchy
In mid June 2024, the monarchist remnants from the colonies toppled the revolutionary regime and restored the Grand Duchy of Danouvia-Scneimunt. It was found out that the line of the Sagadyn grand dukes had in fact not gone extinct and the last surviving member was living in the colonies. He and his supporters first siezed the revolutionist stronghold of Pičkovškovo (named after the chairman of the party Josef Pičkovšek himself) and from there sailed to the mainland. The monarchists were warmly welcomed as the Revolutionary government had become unpopular due to bringing the country into a war with Ashannar. With the public's support the monarchists now overpowered the Revolutionists and Josef Pičkovšek had no alternative but to step down but to disband the revolutionist party and welcome the monarchists into Scneimunt city.
Democracy and dwarven issues
After his trial in Barbacena, Khanstantin Linetti of Tintorini and his supporters fled Ritannia and found refuge on the southern frontier of Danouvia-Scneimunt. There they soon came into contact with Danouvian cartographers and geographers who were mapping the region and making sure it was suitable for settlementation. Soon an agreement was reached and the Ritannian refugees were warmly welcomed into Danouvia-Scneimunt. They soon began building their own city near where they had landed, that city becoming known as Brück an der Kan or Kansbrücke as it's most iconic feature is the bridge over the Kan river. But the Ritannians did not come to stay and after a short stay, they decided to return to their native land. At this point in time another group came to the region, these being the Dwarves. Eventually the Dwarves grew so much in number that they outnumbered the Danouvians and forced upon them a democratic system. Soon the name of the nation itself was changed, to the relief of the Danouvians a dwarven name was not chosen. Nonetheless the Danouvians still heavily invested in the southern regions and helped the dwarves, but the dwarves felt that their and the Danouvian culture were not remotely similair and so they held their own referndum on indepenendence which resulted in a tie, notwithstanding the result of the referendum and the advice of his closest companions the Grand Duke still decided to let the Dwarves go, which greatly angered Josef Pičkovšek, who had come back into favour with the monarchy and even became Grand Vizier. The land and population loss of Durnath gaining independence was severe, Hollenberg lost more than half it's population and a massive chunk of it's territory. Despite this Dwarven-Hollenberger relations remain good, as was the only condition of the Grand Duke.
Return of Absolutism
Following the independence of Durnath, the population of Hollenberg felt like it had no more need of a democratic government, and so did the Grand Duke, who was always in opposition to it. From his winter residence west of Alfama he issued a decree that dissolved parliament, invalidated the constitution and gave all power to himself. The populace greatly rejoiced after hearing this news.
Geography
Hollenberg is situated in the southern tip of the continent of Cinder. It is a predominantly mountainous land, with it's highest peak being Scneimunt mountain which reaches all the way up to y: 218. Danouvia-Scneimunt posses only 1 surface body of freshwater, that being the Valewood lake, which is in the far east of the country. Indigenous tree types are spruce, oak, dark oak, birch and jungle.
Settlements:
- Scneimunt City - 1 permanent inhabitant
- Smilets by - 1 permanent inhabitant
- Valewood - no permanent inhabitants
- Pičkovškovo - no permanent inhabitants
- Alfama - no permanent inhabitants
- Valverde - 2 permanent inhabitants
Culture
While Hollenberg may not be rich in riches, one thing it is rich in is culture. The nation is famed for it's numerous architectural landmarks, considered some of the highest quality on Cinder. While the Danouvian buildings are high quality, they are also very expensive and time consuming to build and so there has been some contreversy as Danouvian builders did not finish the backs of these buildings. In May of 2024, a breakthrough was made, as it was decided by the Scneimunt city authorities to finish the backs of the buildings in the city something which unfortunately has not yet been fully realised as of September 2024.