Åranvik
| Free Harbour City of Åranvik | |
|---|---|
| City in Årania | |
| |
| State | Unified Commonwealth 
|
| Region | Årania 
|
| Architectural Density | Mostly Homogen |
| Area | 42500m² |
| Date of creation | 26 March 2024 |
| Creator | Fyndrix |
| Date of creation by lore | -287Ð |
| Date of independence | -48,46Ð |
| Coordinates | X-50; 63; Z-950. |
| Distance to 0;0 | 951,3m |
Åranvik, Aaranvik, or previously Blåflod (use of the name is heavily discouraged) (pronounced ɔraɲvik / o-ran-vik) is the third largest city in the Thorildsby project. It has unique culture and traditions not seen anywhere else.
Geography
Åranvik's geography is complicated, as it borders the Østrebut in the south and the north. There is a channel cutting through the Old Town and connecting both parts of Østrebut. This is why Åranvik was often considered the "Marine Capital of the North". It's weather is warmer and it rains less than in neighbouring Thorildsby. Åranvik is reasonably flat, only having hills in the far east.
Over the channel to the west, there is the Katedraalen of Åranvik, which is FYNesco protected. In the north, there is the Pomåran Havn district, which today serves as a shopping hub. The centre has lots of historic exhibitions, such as a smeltery from -260Ð. The further east one goes, the lower the buildings get, until you rich Urban Park. It is Åranvik's modern district, similar to Thorildsby's Legeplads. To the south-east, you'll find Kavenø, a historic Thorildsbyian exclave sharing the same culture and traditions.
History
First Steps
The construction began on the 26 March 2024 by Fyndrix. Åranvik was supposed to be a small settlement along the Thorildsby to Lanborg high-speed railway, but turned out to be a much larger project. The first building was the Biguldet candle house, the second was the Åranvik City Hall. When Kat noticed, how much warmer the climate was, they suggested for Åranvik to be a tourist trap with lots of beaches and resorts. The controversial resort which is now renewed to look historic was part of Kat's resort complex, which is now torn down. Because at that point in time Lanborg was planned to be the biggest city, a high-capacity regional train was introduced, having two decks and seating 62 players. Because of the expected tiny size of the city, Åranvik Anlæg, or the central station was built to have only two tracks. During the construction of the Åranvik Old Town was also the first time that Fyndrix streamed and didn't privatise the livestream afterwards [1].
Shorts
Åranvik's quarter east of Åranvik Anlæg was completely documented by Fyndrix on his channel in the form of shorts [2]. This encouraged him to build more, better and faster but also depriving him of motivation.
Pre-greenification
After the short quarter has been finished, DrBackstein has conducted the construction of a special type of building, which is now covered by the Åranvik Expo Center and its hill. Additionally, the historic core was expanded dramatically, even in the west of the city, all the way to the Orange Palace Square. In the east, construction on the second modern district in the world, Urban Park, began.
Greenify
Fyndrix' love for greenery became apparent when building Lyvan and wondering why Åranvik is not as green, as he would like it to be. Then he experimented with his custom tree design and Åranvik turned green over the course of 74 days (16 Oct 24 to 29 Dec 24). Additionally, he made the pavement better in the places where it was lacking texturing. The city got more tourists than it had seen before and that became the new standard of buildings everywhere on the server. This is also what sparked the Thorildsby Reparation. Greenify is seen as a complete success.
Today
Åranvik is very slowly being expanded northwards, next to Paradestra'e or east of Pomåran Havn, next to the historic lighthouse. Additonally, Kavenø was just expanded, filled with businesses, greenery, people and better pavement on the 27th February 2025. Fyndrix encourages Kat to expand Urban Park eastwards, as this is one of the places where Kat can build everything they want.
Sights
When visiting Åranvik, there are a few must-visit places, such as the Katedraalen, Bykanalen, the Orange Palace Square, the historic core, Urban Park, Kavenø and the Åranvik Expo Center
Culture
Åranvik's population enjoys a mix of Thorildsbynian culture and Åranian culture, speaking in the Åranian accent.
Holidays
On the first friday of uneven months, the Paradisdag beginns. Everyone takes an orange flying wish paper and orange banner and ventures onto Paradestra'e at around 22:30. There, stuntmen impress viewers and a carnival takes place. This holiday is about impressing the ones that died for independence.
The Duatlon is an annual race starting from Kavenø, then swimming to Pomåran Havn and eating a whole tomato and cod filet there before passing on the torch to your partner, who runs next to the tram tracks all the way back to Kavenø and consumes one cup of Økaffen (45mg) with one blue Spandauer. This festival is to show off the relationship with Thorildhøj, as Kavenø is Thorildsby's exclave and shares the same traditions.
Cuisine
Åranvik shares the same cuisine with Årania, but with a few additional foods: For example, Fiskegry' and Smørrebrød. These foods are widespread in Åranvik, as it has access to populated waters in the north and south. Additionally, Paastje and Sødsnegl are more popular in Åranvik than in the rest of Årania. For that matter, most other common Åranian foods are overshadowed by Paastje and Sødsnegl.
Åranvik is also famous for its wine, just like the rest of Årania. One of the best places to experience this is "Vertikal 34", as it is also one of the most prestigous and most visited wine bars in Åranvik. The controversial community centre also offers more types of alcohol and free music.
Music
Concerts as a concept are not very widespread in Årania, instead, street performers satisfy bypassers for free. But you're always welcome to give them a crown or two for their hard work.
In Pomåran Havn, there is an establishment called "Arvus Musikbutik" that sells vynil discs of all kinds. You can even test their giant collection inside of the shop!
Literature
Åransk Skriveri A/S is one of the biggest bookmakers of the world, even respecting century-old bookmaker traditions. Their books are used everywhere in Årania; from schools to tourist letters.
Religion
About 50Ð ago, most people were very religious. But as the generations pass on, its importance seems unexplained to younger people. This is a problem, because Åranvik has one of the biggest Cathedrals that needs to be taken care of. A non-profit organisation has done a survey, of which about 70% of all Åranvikians would not mind any change to the Cathedral. So about six months ago, half of the Cathedral was greenified, leaving the rest usable for religious traditions.
Stereotypes
As Åranvik is a culture blend of Thorildhøj and Årania it is very difficult to find stereotypes about Åranvik. However, they are known to be very patriotistic for Årania and always admitting to being Åranian, even though the rest of Årania calls them out for being "fake Åranian".
Transport
Åranvik is cut in half by the tracks from Thorildsby to Lanborg and has high-speed as well as regional services to all of these places. Travelling inside of Åranvik is usually done by boats, as there are three lines of them already.
There is also a light rail, named the ₴1 which goes from Åranvik Anlæg all the way to Kavenø.
To visit Åranvik's western neighbour, Lyvan, a regional shuttle (RS1) can be used to visit it. The trip takes about 30 seconds (30 minutes lore) through the stargazing tunnel.
A second light rail is planned, the ₴2. It is supposed to go from southwestern Åranvik to northwestern Åranvik to serve a planned university, possible connecting to the boat line at the lighthouse towards Pomåran Havn.