Monstad

Monstad is the capital and most populous city of Ecoralia. 6.5 million people live in Monstad, the city, while another 7.5 million people live in the surrounding areas that make up the ward. Monstad sits at the mouth of the Gaal River, where it meets Onse Bay, next to the major cities of Oosthaven and Keesham. Due to its economic importance, the city draws in commuters throughout much of the main area with its transit system.

Monstad has consistently been the seat of power in Ecoral politics through time. It first emerged as a political centre during the Samenwaterijk period, as one of the major economic ports participating in the trading network. It and Roodham, to the north, were two of the most dominant ports of their time. The city became the capital of Ecoraland after the Upper Gaal River Valley conflict in the 1100s. The Ecoralian monarchy established itself at Monberg Castle, which sits in the southern part of the city. It continued to be an important trading port in the North Alutran Sea and experienced a major economic boom after the completion of the East Ecoraland Canal, which gives Monstad Port year-round oceanic access rather than seasonal access via the waters north of the Witland Peninsula.

Today, Monstad is a modern city that boasts much of the cosmopolitan features of Ecoralia's global image. It holds some of the largest communities from the former Ecoralander colonies and is a financial capital for much of northern and eastern Alutra. The city is also a political and cultural hub within the Ecorophone world. Its largest airport, King Gijsbert Monstad International Airport, is an international hub for commercial aviation.

Name
The city's name, Monstad, comes from the combination of mond, river mouth, and stad, city, in Ecoral. The city's first settlements fit around the Gaal River estuary, where the river feeds into Onse Bay. It emerged as a key trading port during the Samenwaterijk period, connecting the agriculturally rich Gaalland region to other parts of the world.

History
The Gaal River estuary has been long-inhabited since BCE. The city became one of the first urbanised parts of the world with the emergence of the Ecoralian monarchy. Its proximity to Monberg Castle has long given the city a reputation as the centre of power in Ecoral politics.

The city first emerged to prominence during the Samenwaterijk period. Monstad provided navigable ports for merchants bringing in goods from across the Gaal River estuary, Gaalland, and the Sams River valley. The city also served as the main market town for Keesham and Monberg Castle, with the wealth of the Ecoralian monarchy creating consistent economic demand for worldly goods in Monstad.

The city expanded its capacity as a global port with the completion of the East Ecoraland Canal in the early 1800s. The canal's completion reduced travel times between Monstad and other ports in the world and brought about an economic boom throughout the region as the rail system emerged and Monstad grew as a city.


 * (Further details TBC, based on emergence of neighbours and narratives.)

Geography
Monstad is the core of the ward by the same name and sits at the geographic centre of what are considered the Ecoraland home counties. It forms a continuous urban area along with is neighbouring cities, Keesham and Oosthaven. The city directly borders the Tweestromen ward to the west and also draws in commuters from Netjestrand and Gaalland.

The city sits on the southern coastline of Onse Bay, where it meets the Gaal River. It is a vast, mostly low-lying ground along the river estuary. This terrain has enabled the city to be any easy spoke of transportation networks through the entirely of Ecoralia, north to south and east to west.

Climate
Monstad has a. It experiences two main season through the year: a mild summer and a long, cold winter. Snowfall and rain are modest but consistent throughout most of the year. On average, the longest day in the year is about 15 hours, and the days get as short as 9 hours and 20 minutes around the winter solstice.

Parks and nature
Monstad has a number of green spaces throughout the city, including:
 * Park Hill, the highest natural point in Monstad city and holds a noted view of the city's skyline.
 * Monberg Castle Grounds, a large and expansive estate with varied grounds to the southeast of the city's urban core
 * Olympic Park, a repurposed grounds connected to Monstad's recent hosting of the !Olympics
 * Oostkade Pool, an urban swimming area in Onse Bay
 * Zandenhoek Beach, a national park to the far west of the city and frequent summer hotspot for Mondstaders
 * Zoas Forest, bordering to the southwest of Park Hill, with a number of trails and meadows

Government
Monstad has a popularly-elected mayor and a city council with members elected by a system. The mayor is elected every three years and was most recently elected in 2018. Current mayor is Eilert Jansen, a member of the Social Democratic Party, who was elected to his first term in the 2018 election. The Social Democrats hold a plurality of seats on the city council and operate in coalition with the Liberal Party. The next local elections will be held in November 2021.

Monstad is a city within a ward of the same name. The ward was created via the Local Government Act 1967 as a split from the Gaalland ward. However, Monstad the city has has some form of democratically-elected governance since the 1840s. The position of a directly-elected mayor was created in 1934.

Uniquely in the Ecoralian major cities of Monstad, Netjemond, and Roodham, the powers of local governance are shared across three tiers of governance: wards, cities, and boroughs. Across Ecoralia, the thirteen wards are are responsible for transport, utilities, healthcare administration, and revenue collection. All other power belong to lower forms of governance. In Monstad, the city has responsibility for housing, roads, public safety, and land use planning. The remaining activities of education, planning applications, libraries, waste collection, and recreation are controlled at the borough level.

Monstad has eighteen boroughs. The most populous borough is the central Westenbaai district, while the largest is the southwestern borough of Kaldorp. These boroughs provide a number of local services and work in coordination with the Monstad Municipal Council. The borough elections in Monstad are held every three years, in syncronisation with the city-level elections.

Demographics and society
Monstad is the most populous city in Alutra. The city proper has 6.5 million residents, while the surrounding ward includes 14 million people. The Monstad metropolitan area, which includes parts of eastern Tweestromen, northern Gaalland, and western Netjestrand reaches over 15.5 million people. The area has experienced substantial population growth over the past thirty years with increasing immigration to the area.

Statistics on ethnicity are only available at the ward level. Ethnic Ecoralanders represent just under two thirds of the city's population. Immigrant communities from the Ecorophone diaspora represent the next largest group, along with the Tretuish and Eduran communities.

Monstad is a moderately religious city compared to Ecoralian national standards. Around one third of the city are Stroomists, one third left religion as undeclared, and the rest of the city's population belong to a mix of other faiths. Stroomism remains one of the most influential faiths in the city, including the prominent Monstad Badehuis.

Economy
Monstad is one of the two major economic centres in Ecoralia. Compared to Netjemond's industrial and transport-oriented economy, Monstad's economy is dominated by the services and public sectors. High-earning modern industries in the city include medical research, telecommunications, and financial services. Monstad also has a strong cultural sector, as the host city for IOM Studios and a key city for Ecoralian film production.

Globally, the city is a centre for telecommunications and ICT-based industries. The state-owned Ecoratel is headquartered in Monstad. Lea, a computing and device manufacturer, is also based in the city. Lea, among other firms, form the basis of the southern Parkenberg neighbourhood, Telenberg, which is a hotspot for tech start-ups in the country.

Shipping and maritime trade have also been historically important to the city's economy. Monstad Port has always been one of the largest ports in the North Alutran Sea. Due to its geographic position at the mouth of the Gaal River, received raw materials through much of Ecoraland's mainland and the Alutran Steppe. It remains an essential part of the Monstad economy, although it has reduced as a percentage of the overall economy over the past century. Monstad's position as the largest Ecorophone city and as the capital city of Ecoralia has given it substantial basis for performing arts. Monstad is the host city for the country's public broadcaster, IOM Ecoralian Public Media. It also features one of the continent's largest theatre districts, measured by annual ticket sales, in Ochtenveld. The redveloping neighbourhood of Oostkade has transitioned into a bustling arts and cultural scene since the collapse of industrial shipping in that area. Monstad also has the Royal Ecoralian Ballet, in Monstad Centre, and the Royal Ecoralian Opera, in Zuidoever.

Government offices and the public sector are also prominent features of the city's economy. Monberg Castle, in Keespark, draws in extensive political business and tourism to the area. Pratenplaats, the country's is based in Monstad Centre, nearby Monstad City Hall. Zuidoever boasts the upscale Ambassadeweg neighbourhood with a number of embassies and regional offices for international organisations. The city also holds a number of universities which have been common contributors to the publicly-owned and publicly-financed medical research programme, held by the Ecoralian Crown Trust. The three most prominent members are Zoas University, Monstad City University, and the Monstad Free University.

Cityscape
Much of Monstad has built out from the sides of the Gaal River as it meets Onse Bay over time. Monstad Centre and Westermarkt contain the historic dual centres of the urban area. Keespark, more inland and to the southeast, has the oldest architecture in the city, surrounding Monberg Castle. The Zuidoever and Ochtenveld boroughs, situated between the Monstad Centre and Keespark cores, have historically been very diverse and thriving urban neighbourhoods.

To the north, the city extends across much of the Onse Bay shoreline. Westenbaai contains the city's central business district, the industrial Monstad Port, and the passenger-oriented Monstad Ferryport. Further along its eastern shore are Oostkade and Zeedorp: these boroughs have been the recent sites of major urban renewal, along with Oostwijk, as part of the !Olympic redevelopment of the city's eastern boroughs. Zandenhoek, to the far west of the city, is a wealthy residential neighbourhood surrounded by a national park and a common leisure destination in warm months. Groenveld, closer to the city centre, contains King Gijsbert Monstad International Airport.

The southwestern part of the city includes landmarks like Telenberg, Park Hill, Zoas University campus, and Zoas Forest.

Culture
Monstad is a cultural hub for Ecorophone world and Alutra generally. It holds a strong cultural appeal for its performing arts scene. Monstad Film Festival is one of the world's largest film festivals and takes place early March every year. Ecoralian library culture also means the the city boasts an above-average number of internationally-known museums and public libraries per capita.

Museums
Monstad has a large number of museums and libraries. The most famous is the National Museum. However, a number of other museums also welcome visitors from across the world. Many of these museums are financially supported for their archival activities by the Ecoralian government and in turn offer free or subsidised access for most visitors. The city holds a wide variety of history museums to cover the city's changes over time. This includes the National Museum in Zuidoever, near Ambassadeweg, and the National Library in Westenbaai. Westenbaai also holds the city's Samenwaterijk & Maritime History Museum. Monstad City Museum operates in Monstad Centre. Other major landmarks, such as Monberg Castle and Monstad Bødehuis, also welcome visitors year round.

A number of museums in the city cover cultural life in Monstad, across Ecoralia, and the Ecorophone world. The Ecoral Film Institute in Westenbaai covers the history of the Ecoralian film industry and offers regular screenings of Ecoral films. The Monstad Fine Art Museum in the city centre has the country's largest collection of fine arts. The Gallery of Stroomist Arts is an art museum and cultural centre supported by the Monstad Badehuis. The Monstad Contemporary Art Museum occupies space at the foot of Park Hill.

In addition to cultural institutions, a number of science and technology museums operate in Monstad, many with affiliation with Zoas University. The Natural Sciences Museum and its affiliate Archeological Institute occupy an entire block in Westermarkt. The Museum of Medicine & Hygiene sits next to Zoas University Hospital in Zoasdorp. The Royal Botantical Gardens sit on the Monberg Castle estate in Keespark. Other museums include the Ecoralian Postal Museum, the Monstad Transport Museum in Oostwijk, and the Spy Museum in Zuidoever.

Leisure and entertainment
The Ochtenveld neighbourhood, with its theatre district, has always boasted the best of Monstad's nightlife and culinary scene. Although in neighbouring districts, the Royal Ecoralian Ballet and the Royal Ecoralian Opera feature world-class programming in their fields. Nightlife and clubs extend into the city centre and Zeedorp, especially along Zeedorpsteeg.

Sports
The country hosts a number of international sporting events throughout the year. Some of the most popular include the annual Onse Bay Open Water Swim from Zandenhoek to Oostkade, the Zoasbossen Cross-Country Ski Race, and the Monstad City Marathon. Monstad also hosts the Monstad Skating Cup, one of the world's most prominent speed skating events, every other year. City is the host to a number of professional sports teams. A number of teams play in the Ecoralian Ice Hockey League. (spelled schijf in Ecoral) is the second-most common team sport nationally, and the rivalry between Westenbaai SC and Monstad SC is a frequent social marker. There is also a sportsball team, based at the Park Hill Municipal Arena.

Monstad recently hosted the Winter !Olympics, with a number of events held at the New Olympic Arena, the Olympic Park, and throughout the greatest Monstad metropolitan area. The Oostwijk borough, as the main location for many of the key sporting events, has been the target of a major, multi-year redevelopment project.

Transport
Monstad, as a major population centre in Ecoralia and Alutra, is a well-connected transport hub. The city is served by two airports with regular commercial flights. The city also has two major railway stations, Westenbaai and Monstad Unie, that serve as termini for many passenger rail services throughout the country. The city also has the underground light rail system called Monstad Ondertrein, locally known as "The O". There is also Monstad Ferryport with daily passenger services.

Two airports provide regular commercial service for Monstad and the surrounding area. King Gijsbert Monstad International Airport is the main airport for the city, with the widest network of destinations, most flights per day, and the largest passenger capacity in the region. It is supplemented by Monstad Keesham International Airport, which dominates among and seasonal routes. Both airports have direct connects on the Ondertrein, while Monstad International also has its own mainline railway station, including an express service from Westenbaai station. Both airports have seen a rapid decrease in the number of passengers with recent policy changes that have reduced demand for commercial aviation in the country.

Monstad is well-connected through national rail network. The country benefited from the early emergence of rail transport in Edury, and Ecoralian railways expanded their work along electrification. Rail gained special dominance in the city due to the roads in much of Monstad city centre and Westermarkt borough being too narrow for the development of serious bus transport networks. Much of the rail system in the city, besides some key routes to the major termini, exists underground. Notably, the Keespark borough is comparatively underserved by the rail system, due to a historic ban on any ground level or above-ground railways been constructed in the borough.

The Ondertrein is one of the world's densest light rapid transit systems and the most popular form of transit in the metro area.
 * Description of various lines.

Monstad Ferryport, based in Westenbaai, offers daily passages to ports throughout Onse Bay. Daily departures, much of it fit to a commuting timetable of city-bound in the morning and city-departing in the evening, operate to Roodham, Oosthaven, Zandehoek, Amskil, and Koningspont. There is also a weekly Canal Cruise to Netjemond Ferry Port via the East Ecoraland Canal for enthusiasts.

Notable people
A list of notable people who were born in, lived in, had, or have a connection with Monstad include:
 * Gustaaf van Heide, influential Ecoralian writer of My Strand in Time and other books
 * Eilert Jansen, the current mayor of Monstad

International rankings & relations
Monstad is a world-class city due to its population and its political and economic importance to the region. Its residents are frequently considered to have a high quality of life, and the city often appears on international rankings of the best cities to live.

Twin towns and sister cities
Monstad has sister cities.