Baldur's Gate

Baldur's Gate, also called simply the Gate, was the largest metropolis and city-state on the Sword Coast, within the greater Western Heartlands. It was a crowded city of commerce and opportunity, perhaps the most prosperous and influential merchant city on the western coast of Faerûn. Despite its long-standing presence as a neutral power, the leaders of Baldur's Gate were members of the Lords' Alliance of powers in the west. The strong peace-keeping force known as the Watch, along with the presence of the powerful Flaming Fists mercenary company, kept the city generally peaceful and safe. This inherent sense of security allowed the Gate to keep a tolerant and welcoming attitude towards outsiders, whether they were wealthy merchants, poor refugees or, as it historically attracted, less-scrupulous individuals such as pirates and smugglers.
“Baldur's Gate is a viper's nest of schemes and schemers.” — Coran

Geography

Baldur's Gate was located to the south of the great city-state of Waterdeep, north of Amn along the well-traveled Coast Way road, that passed over the Wyrm's Crossing, through the Outer City and into the Gate proper. It was nestled on a stretch of poor soil, within a natural bay that formed on the north bank of the River Chionthar about 40 miles east from its mouth on the Sea of Swords. As the minstrels of the 14th century described it, the city was a crescent moon that wrapped around the great harbor, though in the century that followed it grew well beyond that form. While the terrain of the Upper City was flat and level, the Lower City was built over steep bluffs that overlooked the Gray Harbor.

Throughout its history, Baldur's Gate had little stake in the affairs of others. For the most part, the city was respected as a neutral power, that never involved itself with the politics and conflicts that arose between the other states of the Sword Coast and the Western Heartlands. Perhaps more importantly, Baldur's Gate, while undoubtedly a rich prize, was so well-defended by its massive walls and well-trained Flaming Fists soldiers that few ever seriously considered invading and occupying the city. Historically, Baldur's Gate has had a long enmity with its southern neighbor, Amn, which nearly resulted in war during the iron crisis of the 1360s. Over the next century however, the only major threats to Baldur's Gate were the pirates operating out of the ruins of Luskan or the merchants of Waterdeep, who resented the city's continually-growing wealth and power.