WEIßENWALD CULTURE
Weißenwald has a culture that is heavily devoted to the royal family, nature and strict moral codes. This attitude has had a major impact on the culture of the nation.
MUSIC
While Reinsberg is the national capital it is Vilbruck that is the nations musical capital. It is here that in the summer many nobles retreated to in the 17th Century and competed to try and give patronage to the next young composing star. The period between 1680 and 1800 is seen as a high point in the nations musical history with there seemingly always two elite composers competing for the patronage of most of the royals. During the summer there would always be debuts of new pieces as musicians had worked on pieces during the winter and now showcased their best works for their clients. Stylistically marches were always popular. The city of Vilbruck is home to three Music Academies that have a long history of producing some of the nations finest musicians.
In the period 1750-1850 royals focused on getting composers to write songs on the nations history with the idea of highlighting the achievements and legends of the nations royalty. For the high class this saw operas written telling tales from the nations mythological period c.800AD while lower classes enjoyed a vast array of folk songs.
In 1780 the royal family established the Royal Boys Choir Society in Riensberg which is considered the nations premier choir group winning the national championship every year since 1980, this is mainly as the family are able to place considerable influence on individuals to join. In 1982 a female equivalent was set up and since 2010 they have dominated the female national championship.
The national dance is known as the Ländler and is considered like an early form of waltz. The dance is done with partners and features lots of leaping and hopping. Participants are also encouraged to yodel and be vocal. It began as a peasant dance as it featured close physical contact between the sexes however it soon became popular with younger people and by 1800 it was featured in many of the popular seasonal balls.
Performance by a class from the Royal Boys Choir
The high point of Weißenwald literature is considered the early 1800's. A group based in Reinsberg calling themselves "The Salon" became heavily influenced by folk tales and set about writing stories inspired by them. These novels were also focused on demonstrating the divine heritage of the royal family who gladly made the books easily available to the general public. The whimsical nature of the books featured many fantastical creatures and adventures and as such this has inspired many future writers.
With many of the nations nobles being encouraged to demonstrate the virtues of the past it was expected that men in particular would try and woo their future wives with poetry. As such their have been a huge number of poets from Weißenwald. This also has been put down to the beautiful countryside which has inspired many of the writers. It is not uncommon to find cairns on the hillsides claiming to be a spot where a particular poet penned their work.
In more modern times the royal family have funded lots of plays featuring historic tales from the families history and with folk stories intertwined with them. This served two purposes, first it helped cement the public perception of the family thus creating loyalty and secondly the family would subsidise showings to the poorer elements of society to increase their popularity.
ARCHITECTUREWeißenwald has a large amount of "green space" and this can be seen by the vast number of rural castles, estates and palaces that are dotted throughout the country. The nation also has cities that are designed to contain as much open green space as possible inline with the nations faith which highlights a connection between nature and humanity. Large periods of peace in the nations history means that the cities tend to feature almost intact historic centres that are today almost like living museums. Around these centres are more modern areas which have tried to blend in and therefore have created a sense of traditional throwback in terms of design. Some visitors to the cities have spoken of it being like going back in time. The nation is keen to protect its historical sites and has an extensive register of buildings deemed "Nationally important."
The nation is home to 40 noble families all of which have their own estate and various palaces have sprung up on these. In addition in the middle ages a network of forts and castles across the Kingdom existed, some of which have today been converted into either museums or more modern residences. The royal family own four residencies designated as Palaces and several other estates.
The Capital Palace
The Capital Palace is the main royal residence and what most citizens would think of when you mention "The Palace"
During the 1800's a huge infastructure construction project took place building canals and railways across the nation. While this was designed to be practical for promoting trade and industry there was also an aim to make it look incredible and as such railway bridges were built with beautiful archways and columns. Canals featured intricate pathways designed to showcase artworks.
VISUAL ART
In a similar way that Vilbruck became the centre of music it also became famed for artworks. With young artists keen to sell their wares and skills to the nobility they would travel there and try and set up galleries, exhibitions and other such events. As a result several art schools were established to give artists a place to work on their craft during the winter ready to earn money during the summer.
Throughout the nations history portraits of the royal family were utilised as a way of showcasing their power and prestige. Often these portraits were loaded into carts by members of the household and taken on tours around the kingdom. Symbolism was heavily important in these portraits and often the artists would accompany the tour. In many areas they visited the local nobles would request their own portraits and wanted to be able to say they had the same artists as the royal family. Often these portraits of nobles, especially of eligible noble daughters, were added to tours and taken back to the capital where the royal family would view them and potentially pick brides for Princes from them. As a result many of these portraits have survived and are on display in the National Portrait gallery which is close to the Capital Palace. Many of these portraits show signs of wanting to demonstrate love and devotion to the royal family in order to demonstrate their loyalty.
While Vilbruck is the art capital of the nation it is Unswahl that has staked a claim to TV and film. The reason for this is in the 1930's as cinema became popular in the Kingdom it was tales of the old mythological kings that appealed to audiences and as such filming these often required a huge number of extras and battlefields. This meant the small town was ideal as within 30 minutes you can find mountains, lakes and forest which made it ideal for these scenes. Since then the city has become an integral part of film production in the nation, so much so the municipality offers tax relief on productions here.
PHILOSOPHY
Philosophers from the Kingdom have always highlighted the idea that within nature hierachies maintain order. This was encouraged by the royal family as a way of promoting loyalty to the crown. As such most philosophical thought within the nation has been about the nature of ensuring a strong monarchy. The gaining of knowledge has been encouraged as it is believed that through greater knowledge the crown has greater resources to care for the nation.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGYMEDIA
The nation permits an independent press however their are regulations such as requiring all print media to obtain a sales licence. These licences are required to be renewed every five years. There is the "Crown News" which is the "Official" news outlet for the Kingdom. Their is also a TV and Radio Network that are also seen as "official". Royal Radio runs three stations, one classical, one popular and one broadcasting reruns of live events or live events themselves. The "official" TV network features three channels. Channel One shows general viewing, Channel Two shows live performances and shows along with reruns of them, meanwhile Channel Three shows children and educational programmes. The TV networks shut at midnight each day, unless Channel Two is showing a live event, and when it goes off air play the national anthem while a portrait of the monarch is on screen.
Citizens have access to a wide variety of print magazines.
The internet is popular and a variety of government operated providers is available for customers.
LANGUAGE96% of the population speak Weißenwaldian (German) while 3% speak High Weißenwaldian (German +). The two languages are extremely similar and speaking one usually means you can understand the other. It is harder to read High Weißenwaldian without practice however. High Weißenwaldian is spoken largely by the nobility and Priests but all legal documents are also written in that language meaning that the general public sometimes rely on those educated in it for matters such as property transfers.
FOOD
With the nation being rather cold in terms of climate many believe this has impacted food. Traditional cuisine tends to be hearty and most dishes tend to feature meat and potatoes. "Wild Food" is extremely popular with seasonal produce found in the forest being a big seller in markets. Waste of resources is seen as almost offensive and this is extremely true in terms of food. This means that many cuts of meat maybe seen as for "poorer" people, such as hearts, lungs and liver are popular in rich stews.
SPORT
Football is extremely popular in the nation and a national Royal League is the premier competition. This is the peak of a three tier professional pyramid and features 14 teams who play home and away. There is also the Queen's Cup which is the nations top knockout competition.
Skiing and snow sports are seen as important not just from a sporting point of view. The nation relies on coping with snow and ice and as a result this has heavily influenced sports. Ice Hockey is massive and players are often seen as superstars.
Climbing, hiking and orienteering are also extremely popular as they give people a chance to stay in nature.
EDUCATION
Education is compulsory for all people aged between 5 and 18. The curriculum puts a huge focus on the nations literature and history as a way to promote the Royal Family. Education is seen as important and valued by the vast majority of the nation. Students sit exams at age 16 and the results of this determine what options they have for the final two years of their education. Those excelling complete highly academic qualifications while those doing mediocre are given vocational training. Those getting the lowest results are given apprenticeships. There is not a huge choice of where you go between the ages of 16-18.
University education is seen as something reserved for the nobility or the academic elite. Those unable to afford university are heavily subsidised by the state in order to allow them to attend University. For many the two military Universities are seen as popular choices for those wishing to get the best education on offer. In return for being permitted to attend a person must serve five years in the military.
Many nobles opt to send their children to the Adelskollegium, this is not an option for some noble children and is compulsory under an ancient system that see's noble children effectively held hostage. This served two purposes they were indoctrinated to be loyal to the royal family while at the same time became friendly with royal children hopefully further cementing loyalty.
RELIGIONThe majority of the nation follow a folk faith which sees humans work to support the relationship between humans and the Moosleut. Humans are expected to value and love the natural world but lack the understanding of what spirits or Gods control it. As a result followers of the faith work on a system many say is similar to Pascals Wager. We must lead a positive life in order to be allowed into the spiritual world where we will come face to face with what exists there. The faithful believe that Moosleut will speak on our behalf to ensure favourable existence in the afterlife. Prayers are not necessary but instead the faithful try and communicate with Moosleut by visiting sacred sites and leaving them gifts. It is believed that a Moosleut lives in each tree and thus should one be required for industry or construction notice must be given. A person cutting down a tree wil plant a new one somewhere before visiting the tree they will cut down. They will offer words of love and give instructions of where the new tree is. This must be done at least an hour before cutting takes place. Large scale timber felling can be achieved by mass planting and the use of loud speakers to inform the Moosleut of what is going to happen.
TRADITIONAL EVENTSEach Spring - Transhumance Festivals - As the countryside wakes up farmers begin to move herds of livestock from the pastures in the lowlands to more Alpine ones. This often sees roads closed as vast herds are moved along them by groups from villages. It is not uncommon for the settlements that the livestock pass through to come out and decorate the animals with garlands of flowers and other such things. There is no set date for these but usually people are given a weeks notice.
Badalisc - Takes place on 1st of May every year. This festival is based on the idea that a mischievious Moosleut comes to the human world for one day to spy upon the world. A member of the local community dresses in green attire designed to mimic the forest and is chased by the children and eventually caught. He is brought back and told to give people gossip they have heard. This is really an excuse for messages between people in the community to be passed in an amusing way. For example marriage proposals, pregnancy announcements or other such news. Once the gossip has been given Badalisc is released and a celebration in his honour thrown so that he is happy when he returns to the spirit world in the morning.
