Ripuaria

Ripuaria (/ri:ˌpʊˈɛri:ɑ:/), officially the Grand Duchy of Ripuaria, is a landlocked country in Western Vestea. It is bordered by Lindenholt to the north and Umbrellia to the south. Its capital, Ripuaria City is the official capital of the Vestean Union. The Ripuarian cultures and people are highly intertwined with its neighbours and is considered a mixture between Lindian and Umber cultures.

With an area of 5,441.5 square kilometres (2,101.0 sq mi) it is the smallest sovereign nation on Vestea. In 2020, Ripuaria had a population of which made it one of the smallest country on the continent. Although it is minuscule in size, Ripuaria is one of the essential building stones of the Vestean Union and has much influence over the affairs of Vestea.

Ripuaria was established in its current form in 1950 after the signing of the Treaty of Artwingen. During a transitional period lasting until 1954, the main national institutes of Ripuaria were established and signed into local laws. The status of the royal family was restored. The Treaty of Artwingen dictated Ripuaria would become a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with the grand duke as head of state and executive and legislative powers vested in the Chamber of Deputies which derives its powers from the citizens of Ripuaria according to democratic values.

As a Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy, it is headed by Henri III von Ripuaria and is the world's only sovereign Grand Duchy. Ripuaria is a highly developed country with one of the highest GDP per capita in the world.

Ripuaria is a founding member of the Vestean Union. The city of Ripuaria City is the seat of several Vestean Union Institutes.

Etymology
Ripuaria is derived from Latin Ripuarii meaning "River People". The exact instances by which the word was introduced in Latin is still debatable and no clear answer is present.

The original Latin word, if using proper form would be Riparii. It is suggested by some linguists that a probably cause for the shift to Ripuarii occurred when the Latin word was introduced to a native language spoken at the time in the region.

Ripuariaschloss
The first historical accounts of Ripuaria go back to the 11th century with the acquisition of Ripuariaschloss(Today Staatsschloss) situated near the historical area of Lauterhügel south-west of Ripuaria City. A town developed around the castle ruled by the barons of Ripuariaschloss. The gradual development of the territory highlighted the great strategic value of the castle. The castle provided overwatch over the regions of Lauterhügel, Howffwiese and partially Lindenholt's Hoveland province.

Nineteenth century
The treaty of Ripuaria signed on 14 May 1839 between the Grand Duke and the Lindian King established the Grand Duchy of Ripuaria as an independent state from Lindenholt. The new independent administration of Ripuaria brought the option for diplomatic relations with Umbrellia and the development of the steel, coal and railways industries in Ripuaria. The Ripuarian railway network expanded greatly from 1842 until 1850 and Ripuaria became a hub for transport around Vestea.

Ripuarian neutrality was established around the second half of the 19th century when Ripuaria established itself as a center for diplomatic mediation between the nations of Vestea. Neutrality allowed the Ripuarian economy to grow considerably.

Twentieth century and beyond
The first years of the twentieth century saw an industrial economic boom in Ripuaria. Modern agriculture was introduced to many regions of the duchy and the industrial revolution only increased the production of Ripuarian steel mills. Population growth increased to an all time high and it is generally considered a prosperous time for Ripuaria. The requirements for more rural workers saw the founding of many of today's towns and cities.

In 1941 the Vestean War broke out between Umbrellia and Lindenholt. During the first year of the war Ripuaria couldn't maintain its neutrality being a stratigic point bewteen the two nations and was invaded and occupied by Umbrellia. During this time many of the previous administrative institutes of Ripuaria were disbanded. The royalty exiled into Nordal.

In 1950 after the end of the Vestean War, the Treaty of Artwingen was signed with re-established Ripuarian independence. Ripuaria entered a process of rebuilding and returning of the pre-war administrative national institutes.

Politics
Ripuaria is described as a parliamentary democracy headed by a constitutional monarchy. Executive powers are exercised by the Grand Duke and the Governmental Cabinet, consisting of the Prime Minister and several junior ministers which are appointed from the Chamber of Deputies.

Legislative power is vested in the Chamber of Deputies, a unicameral legislature of sixty representatives called deputies who are elected by their respective district's citizens to five-year terms.

Ripuaria has six district tribunals, twenty-two communal tribunals, and a superior court of justice. In addition there is a constitutional court and a administrative court both located in the capital

Administrative Divisions
Ripuaria is divided into six districts which are further divided into a total of twenty-two communes. Ripuaria-City commune holds a special capital-state status.

Foreign Relations
Ripuaria has long been a prominent supporter of Vestean political and economic integration within the Vestean Union. Since the start of the 20th century Ripuaria has been in an economic union with Lindenholt preceded by the Vestean Union Common Economic Zone. Ripuaria is a founding member of the Vestean Union and seats the Vestean Union Parliament.

Military
The Ripuaria Armed Forces, established in 1957 after the Second World War, is the military branch of the Ripuarian Security Forces. The military numbers 25,000 personnel active standing army including civilian employees. Ripuaria has mandatory conscription for all men aged eighteen years for eighteen months of basic and specialty training after which the conscripts are considered army reserves which are called for regular training once a year for a few weeks. According to the Ripuarian conscription and mobilization laws, mobilization includes fielding of at least 80,000 reserves and can get up to 130,000 reserves called for active duty. The commander-in-chief of the armed forces is Grand Duke Henri III. The armed forces are divided into the Ripuarian Army, Ripuarian Air Force and the Royal Home Guard, which includes a small navy stationed in Lindenholt and Umbrellia.

Geography
Ripuaria is the smallest country on Vestea. It is about 5,441 square kilometres(2,101.0 sq mi). The country measures 110 kilometres wide and 90 kilometres long. To the north-east, Ripuaria is bordered by Lindenholt's Elstergouw province and to the north-west by Hoveland. To the south it is bordered by Umbrellia's Grenitame.

The northern portion of Ripuaria, called the "Howffwiese", burial plains, are more densely populated due to their abundance in aquifer water, comfortable climate and lack of changes in elevation. The southern portion called the "Lauterhügel", Luther's Hills, are less populated although scenic in views and attract many tourists especially around the cities of Jena and Hachenbech.

Elevations range from 20 meters from sea level at the lowest points in Howffwiese up to 600 meters some areas in Lauterhügel where significant natural resources can be found such as iron ore, coal, copper, nickel and potash.

Ripuaria has two lakes, Jenaers See in the Jenaer See District and Hachen See in the Sud District.

Ripuaria is located on a region considered a climate, with no dry season, warm summers and cool winters.

Climate
The climate is with significant precipitation in all seasons (Köppen climate classification: Cfb), like most of northwest Europe. It has warm and humid summers with precipitation and cold winters with higher precipitation values. The average temperature is lowest in January at 4 °C (39.2 °F) and highest in July at 21 °C (69.8 °F). The average precipitation per month varies between 46 mm (1.8 in) for February and April, to 62 mm (2.4 in) for July. Snow is uncommon in Ripuaria, the Lauterhügel region and the administrative district of Ripuaria City average 30 days of snowfall while Howffwiese can reach at most 12 days of snowfall.

Ripuaria is considered an environmentally conscious country with great drives towards cleaner air and reduced pollution. The Ripuarian ministry of environment was established in 1980.

Ethnicity
The nationals of Ripuaria are called Ripuarians, but are diverse in ethnicity, especially since the second half of the 20th century due to the arrival of immigrants from Lindenholt, Umbrellia, Nordal and Felsinia. In 2018, there were 508,002 permanent residents with Lindian nationality. In 2018, only 63.6% of the population were Ripuarian nationals.

Languages
The three languages recognized in Ripuaria are, and. Ripuaria is in a unique position where, in the 2018 census, 77% of the population speak on some level all three languages and at least 85% of the population are fluent in at least two of the recognized languages at some level. While Ripuaria is the most spoken language, it is not used for all administrative purposes and there are yet many regions in Ripuaria where either Lindian or Umbèrge are spoken on a daily basis by the local populations.

is the official administrative and legislative language of Ripuaria and as such all official government documents, signs and letters must be in Umbèrge. During the second half of the 20th century, has increasingly become a de facto administrative language with Umbèrge translations appearing underneath official writings. Debates in the Chamber of Deputies often use both Ripuarian and Umbèrge, with Umbèrge being used as the technical law language and Ripuarian being used as a more informal language.

Each of the three recognized languages have their own spheres of everyday life. Ripuarian is used in everyday conversations on the street. Umbèrge is used in street-signs and often appears as a professional language. Lindian is used alongside Umbèrge as a professional language and in the media alongside Ripuarian, mostly since the two are more closely mutually intelligible.

Religion
Ripuaria is a secular state, although it has recognized religions that are administered by the government in exchange for funding for running and maintenance costs. These recognized religions are, , , and.

Traditionally Roman Catholicism is Ripuaria's major religion with more than 70% of the population adhering to the faith. Despite in recent rise in nonreligion, even those who consider themselves nonreligious have strong Catholic identity, The religious culture makes an important part of the Ripuarian lifestyle.

Ripuaria's policy of separation of state and church falls short of definitive separation as churches are largely funded by the government and are not allowed to take in large donations. Despite the interference of the state in religions, in the legislative sense, Ripuaria's constitution and most of its laws abide by the policy of separation. Almost all legislative aspects of life in Ripuaria including marriage, death and newborns have secular alternatives to church ceremonies.

Economy
Ripuaria's strong globalized economy and its transport are integrated with the rest of Vestea. It's location at the center of the Vestean Union has helped making it a large trader of goods on the continent. The economy is characteristic by a productive workforce and organized executive hierarchies in companies.

The Ripuarian economy is heavily reliant on services and tourism due to its small size. Manufacturing and natural resources are not large industries and the biggest portions of the economy are taken by professional firms, consultants, solution firms and banking.