Barony of Bolunburg
Once a province of the old Kingdom of Reinhart, the Barony of Bolunburg is one of the first of the Mountain Principalities that a traveller from the south would encounter once entering the region of the Felsspitze Mountains. Situated in the Felsspitze’s rolling, though still rather sizeable foothills, Bolunburgians believe that their barony is much more comfortable and civilised than those of their former compatriots who live further into the mountains.
Its position at the edge of the region, with only the large Dukedom of Flache-Ebene lying in-between it and the rest of Turoza means that the Barony is able to benefit greatly from the flow of trade to and from the mountains and is thought of in the wider world as one of the less parochial micro-nations of the region.
Structure
Bolunburg is a baronial seat and is ruled in essence as an absolute monarchy, though the Barons, like all of the other micro-nations in the area of the The Mountain Principalities have not adopted the title of ‘King’ or ‘Queen’, as they all aspire to the long vacant throne of the old Kingdom of Reinhart.
The Barons of Bolunburg have traditionally retained a small council of advisors, mostly made up from members of their own family, and the current Baron is no exception to this.
Assets
Due to its positioning in the south-western foothills of the Felsspitze Mountains, the Barony of Bolunburg is uniquely placed to benefit from the trading routes that pass through their territory on their way to the other Mountain Principalities in the north. This means that the population have a keen mercantile sense and has made Bolunburg a hub for the buying and selling of goods before they are both imported and exported from the old Kingdom of Reinhart.
In addition, Bolunburg is fortunate to have @Lake Lagune entirely within its borders, with the lake being the location of several major fresh water fisheries. This provides Bolunburg with a vital supply of fish, much of which is dried and preserved for the harsh winter months. It also provides the Barony with a valuable trade good, which can be sold to the other baronies, dukedoms and city-states of the Mountain Principalities. Bolunburg is notorious for grossly inflating the price of their preserved fish when selling to other micro-nations in the Felsspitze who are suffering through bad winters.
Demography and Population
The Barony of Bolunburg is a mixed society, though most of its inhabitants are Humans, Dwarves or Halflings. Members of other sapient species are frequently seen in Bolunburg but when they are seen it tend to be when they are passing through on their way to somewhere else.
On the whole, the people of Bolunburg are subsistence farmers who scratch out a rather meagre living on their family farms. There is a reasonably large body of craftspeople and merchants who occupy the middle strata of society, but most of these are concentrated in the Baronial Capital of Hoffstadt. The Baron and his family, along with a few trusted and well-liked retainers and advisors, solely occupy the upper class of Bolunburgian society. It is with this small group that the majority of the Barony’s wealth lies.
Military
Like its neighbours, Bolunburg maintains a small army of several thousand troops that it uses to defend it’s borders and the Baronial Capital Hoffstadt. The core of this force is located in Hoffstadt, where it is tasked with the defence of the town and the Baronial family.
Unusually for a nation in the Felsspitze Mountains, Bolunburg maintains a standing force of cavalry, mounted on hardy hill ponies, that were used to great effect in the The Three Day War against the Barony of Zeiten. As Bolunburg is in the foothills of the Felsspitze, cavalry can be used much more effectively than they could in the highland areas of the region. Having said that, away from the hills and mountains of the Felsspitze, Bolunburg’s cavalry force would be quickly outmatched by the cavalry fielded by other nations, as the ponies they use have sacrificed speed for sure-footedness.
Type
Geopolitical, Barony
Demonym
Bolunburgian
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Economic System
Market economy
Parent Organization
Location
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
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