Antonene

Antonene is a small city in Sorland, the Confederate States of Northern Avalonia. The city is founded by Mursian settlers under the leadership of Anton Marek in 1872 in an expedition to find gold along the Oste river. Much of the current day city is reminiscent of Mursland, ranging from architecture (post-Mursian Naissance and Royal Design) to road-signs.

History
In late 1870, rumours were spread about gold in the region of the upper Oste river. This was a ploy of Ringerike to promote Artemian immigrants to settle in the region, suppressing the local native populations. The news reached Mursland and by medio 1871, the first settlers arrived in the region, settling small communities along the river and its many tributaries.

On the third crossing of the Iapetus Ocean in late 1871 a group of 5438 immigrants arrived in Tordiu, another Mursian settlement in the region. Most of the newcomers went downstream, creating outposts along the Oste, and founding Draukoigrad. However, a part of the settlers under lead of Anton Marek went east. When reaching a river they were unable to cross, they build their first encampment. The location saw poor grounds for construction and proved prone to flooding, so the group was forced to relocate. Moving down stream, they arrived at a meandering part of the river, where the grounds proved suitable for the construction of a bridge across the river.

Troubles arose during the construction of the bridge when the flowing speed of the water was too fast to anchor the middle pillar. As supplies were running low, it was decided to construct huts on the hills along the embankment. In summer 1873, the bridge was finally finished, but many of the immigrants decided to stay. News of the bridge reached Tordiu and Drakoigrad, where various goldseekers decided to cross the river to prove their luck. This made the settlement a junction for miners, allowing it to grow quickly.

By the 1890s, the inflow of settlers declined as no gold was found in the region. But the availability of free land and the excitement of adventure guaranteed immigrants from Mursland to come to Antonene.

Post establishment
In the 1900s, the city saw some conflict with a few Dirish settlers who had come along in the initial immigration waves. Surprisingly similar to how Martin I of Bonamech and Traxí would cause a few decades later, a spike in discrimination and abuse was seen within the community. Almost all Dirish would end up leaving the city.

During the Grand Campaigns, Mursian volunteers from Antonene and region joined the Sorland army in the (company sized) Mursarsk Bataljon. The unit was too small for frontline combat as a battalion, and for communication difficulties was not worth deploying as a company in combat. They would be stationed in backlands for guard duty until being demobilized after the war. More soldiers returned than had left for service, which might be attributed to Mursians fleeing their country and joining the battalion under false names.

Sorland War
In the 70s, social unrest dominates in Sorland. Due to land reforms across the colony, seizing much of the fertile grounds, many people became unhappy with the overlordship of Ringerike. Although some protests were organized in the Antonene, not much had changed for the Mursian territories in the reforms. Their desolate location and lack of good farming grounds had made them not a target of the large scale land seizures.

However, when the Sorland War breaks out in 1975, the city is placed on the forefront. With its strategic bridges, it gives easy access to the relative flat grounds between the Silvester hills and Gansleer Hügel. Fighting is of short duration, but bombardments of the bridge does do some damage to the old city centre. Two of the three bridges are destroyed, which were rebuild in 1976 and 1982.

Contemporary history
After Sorland joins the Confederate States of Northern Avalonia, Antonene is raised to the status of Free City. This provides certain political capabilities of the Mursians in the region and provides some cultural immunity. The city still remains under Sorland administration nominally.

Demographics
There are circa 108000 residents of the city. 41000 (38%) is from full Mursian descent, with another 37000 (34%) of partial descent. The most common religion is, followed by

Economy
The Antonene economy is characterized by many small businesses, mostly producing for local consumption.

Culture
Many traditional Mursian holidays are still celebrated in Antonene, such as and Den na Brat.

The local cuisine sees a lot of traditional Reismos recipes reiterated with local ingredients.

Language
In the area of Antonene, a variant of Mursian is most commonly spoken. Additionally, Norsk and are common languages in the city and surrounding area. Over time, these languages have influenced each other in everyday speaking, creating an unique set of dialects.

City ties
The city holds ties with Pristanivesnis, from which many of the settlers left for Avalonia. To this day, the regularly organise cultural and economic exchanges.