Rupertland (metropolis)

The Rupertland metropolis (formerly Grand Wye) is a major metropolitan area located on Rupertland Island in the Province of the New Rupertland, situated on the River Wye. It is the capital of New Rupertland and of Rupert Nation.

Rupertland has a urban area of over 30 million people. It was the largest metropolitan area on the earth from 1410 to 1853, when it was surpassed by London. It was first settled as the capital of Weseopia in the 400s CE, in Weseopian Castle (presently the Lave Residence of Rupert Palace). The city only had a population of a couple thousand until the 1300s when its significance grew as a divine city of King Rupert I the Divine as Rupertism began to grow exponentially across the new Rupertland Empire. Today the Rupertland city proper has a population of 2.479 million (composed of the main boroughs: City of Rupert, City of Lincoln, City of Pompeii, Hill St. Paul, City of Lacksbury, Jacques, Wye, and Ruberta-on-Wye), and the extended city (composed of the 29 boroughs) has a population of 9 million, and is one of the most dense cities that is from the Renaissance. However, the surrounding cities sprawl extremely far and are typical suburbs, mostly rebuilt in the 1970s from old farm land turned into detached homes. In 2015 Rupertland City surpassed its previous peak population of 6.10 million from 1902. It is now a City of Delongonian Heritage, a title it shares with Mindon, Oilman, and West New London.

The difference between the city proper and the extended city is a small one, but basically the boroughs of the city proper have much less power than those of the extended city. The city proper is governed by the Body of the Divine City (BDC), which is a subunit of the City of Rupertland. They have oversight over the eight component boroughs, which the other boroughs of the extended city do not. However, the boroughs of Soho, New Soho, St. Paul, Holyrood, and to a lesser extent, Dartford and Goulding, are subject to severe oversight by the BDC due to their proximity to the divine city. It is the official position of the BDC that these boroughs should be under their purview. The entire extended city is subject to the governance of the Rupertland City Hall, headed in the City of Rupert.

Today, Rupertland holds the status of a Global City. It is also one of the most visited cities in Delongo, surpassed only by the UBA, UMA, and UNLA, with over 20 million visitors every year. It continues to compared to Rome, as head of one of the world's most powerful Empires from 1303-1817, when it collapsed to the Blix Empire. It continues to grow as a major city even after multiple attempts of Blixian Oppression from 1814-1990. UNESCO declared the boroughs of Rupert, Pompeii, and Lincoln as some of the World's most important Heritage sites. The city remains the head of the Church of Rupert (Rupertism), which is the third largest Christian Church in Delongo with over 15 million adherents. The entire Rupertland City is owned by the Queen's Trust. In theory, at any time, the monarch of Rupertland may claim any building (or all buildings) as her own, and therefore forcibly remove anyone from the city. All citizens of the city are, legally speaking, renters of the Queen's property. For this reason, the monarch of Rupertland was able to survive the downturn of Monarchism in Rupertland and in Delongo. In terms of GDP, the monarchy contributes billions to the national economy.

Pre-Rupertism (460-1303)
Grand Wye was established with the intentions of being the capital city of Weseopia. Most of the city population lived in the rural areas (outskirts), and farming was the dominant source of food. The population of the city was stabilized in the 700s at around 10,000, and this did not change to any great degree until Rupert's Reforms in 1303. Of course, before King Rupert I, the city now known as Rupertland--then called Grand Wye, was only the area of the present day City of Rupert (then the City of Alfred), City of Lincoln, and City of Pompeii (then the City of Wyedon) boroughs. The rest of the present day city was mostly farmland of roughly 1,000 people, to 5,000 in the 1200s. Hill St. Paul housed a large Royal cottage overlooking the entire valley since the 800s, but a fire destroyed it in 1114. The city then mostly consisted of embassies of Bishops to the Cathedral of Christ in the present-day City of Rupert. The City of Pompeii also held many hundreds of residences of the rural nobility. A model of the original Cathedral of Christ from the 900s-- the largest church ever built; was constructed in the City of Pompeii in the 1840s.

Rupert's Reforms (1303-1305)
Upon the arrival of the boat of King Rupert in 1303, there was a great revival of English-style governance and society began to develop on the island. The four cities which made up Grand Wye: City of Lincoln, City of Pompeii, City of Rupert, and Hill St. Paul had their borough powers mostly amalgamated to the Rupertland City Council.

Monarch, Knotts, and Empire (1305-1499)
As the Newland Empire grew into the world's greatest empires the city grew into the world's greatest city at an exponential rate. The city was the hub of the Newland Empirical Army during the Greatest War of Blood between the Newland settlements (the Euylize (of Delongo), the Murdochs, etc.).

Late Modern (1830-1990)
Queen Victoria is credited with easing the transition for Rupertlanders. She made many historical visit to Rupertland in 1839, 1844, 1845, 1850, 1853,1857, and 1860. She also made quieter visits in 1862, 1867, 1880, and in 1883. She was the most popular British monarch in Rupertland until Queen Elizabeth II. She famously said at a speech in 1850 that if she could, she would make Rupertland her home. Queen Victoria lead the effort to build British palaces in Rupertland, with over two dozen being opened before her death in 1901.

Tourism
Tourism to Rupertland is mostly concentrated in the Four Cities (Hill St. Paul, City of Lincoln, City of Rupert, and the City of Pompeii). The population of the Four Cities is roughly 1.4 million while the commuter population adds 3.5 million and tourists add anywhere from .5 to 2.5 million people per day. This makes the number of people in the Four Cities on any given day at least 4 million; regularly exceeding 6 million in the summer months. This is the highest per capita daytime population growth of any region in the PDRD-- including Marci Square.

Hill St. Paul
Hill St. Paul has been home to "a great cathedral" since at least the early 800s C.E.. This original church, believed to be named St. Paul's Cathedral, was the burial site of the Monarchs of Rupertland since King Peter I with the establishment of the House of Æthel in 1032. With the rise of Rupertism during and after the reign of King Rupert I the Divine, a new cathedral was built with uniquely Rupertist inspirations. The cathedral kept the name of St. Paul to assure the citizenry of the Christian nature of this new church.

Graves of Monarchs
The Grave of King Rupert I is one of the most visited Graves in the World. It is a necessary pilgrimage for all adherents of Rupertism (~15 million people). The Grave of James II was only recently opened (2002) when the Forgiveness Act was passed by Rupertland, after almost 200 years of shame, which was remembered on James II Day of Shame and Anger (January 10).

St. Paul's Grand Cathedral-Basilica
As the head of the Church of Rupert, the St. Paul's Grand Cathedral-Basilica is a major tourism site in the city. The new Cathedral opened after Kind Rupert I's death, and is the world's largest religious site and is one of the most visited religious sites on earth.

Statue of King Rupert
In 1773, King Rupert IV commissioned a massive 132 metre statue of King Rupert I, the Divine, to be built in south east of the city near the Islands of Jacques. The statue required the construction of several small islands for the statue's feet and the materials for the project. The statue was completed in 1795 under King Isaac after several pauses on its construction. In 1797, King Isaac commissioned a statue of himself, to stand 80 meters tall behind King Rupert I. The project was cancelled by King James II to build one of himself. The statue of James II was finished in 1806, but was destroyed and removed in 1820 by Rupertlanders. King Rupert V never commented on the removal of the statue of James II.

The statue does not closely resemble the reigning Rupert, however, it is a close approximation to what Rupert looked like when he took the throne from William the Humble. The decision to have King Rupert in military wear rather than royal wear was done to symbolically defend the city from eastern invaders.

The statue of King Rupert has become iconic, and remains a strong symbol of the city and of the Rupertland Nation.

City of Rupert
The City of Rupert, which is a borough of Rupertland, is a major heritage site, and is one of the major commercial boroughs of Rupertland. In the 15th century, the borough developed dozens of canals throughout the city to allow for boat transport in the borough. Most of the canals in Pompeii and Lincoln were covered over, but the Rupert canals remain and are one of the most popular tourist attractions in Rupertland.

The southern portion of the City of Rupert remains a government-focused area, especially south of the Bekk and Mortimer Canal. The northern portion of the borough, along with a significant portion of Pompeii has devolved into both a red-light district and a major commercial centre for Rupertland.

Rupert's Castle
Rupert's Castle is one of the world's largest and tallest Castles, and is a part of the mammoth Rupert Palace, the most visited single attraction in all of Delongo. It has been the home of all ruling Monarchs of the Rupertland Empire, after being opened in 1362. It wasn't fully completed until 1491. The current Lave Residence was the residence of all monarchs of the Weseopia Era, as it was then called the Weseopia Central Palace.

City of Lincoln
The borough of the City of Lincoln receives the second most tourism in the entire Rupertland metropolis. It is the largest commercial district of the metropolis. It is the epicentre of nightlife in Rupertland, and has been known as such since the 1430s. The borough is competes with Marci Square (Blix) and Le Mur (Ritz) for being the capital of culture in the PDRD.

The borough is often called one of the best shopping experiences in the world, and is also quite cheap; considering average prices in the far north of the PDRD.

Metropolitan Area
The Rupertland metropolis is a vast megalopolis, stretching from Tonne in the north, to Landsmouth in the west, to the Lower County Townships in the south. It includes Wrexham-on-New Trent, the townships of Chester County (including Chester and North Chester), the Ahthelplace amalgamated townships, and many other cities. At one time, Landsmouth, Tonne, Wrexham-on-New Trent, Chester, and other cities were not a part of the Rupertland metropolis, but the metropolis has since grown to include them. The Rupertland metropolis encapsulates the entire Rupert's County, and parts of Chester County, Upper Wye County, and Wallace County.

Recently, there have been debates as to whether the Fanshawe Townships of the northeastern corner of Jamesland are part of the metropolis. If yes, this could one day lead to the merger of the Ips metropolis. Already Stats.del measure statistics for the Combined Rupertland-Ips-Tonne statistical area, with a population exceeding 35 million.

The cities closer to Rupertland are usually very dense, often ancient cities. However, the townships and cities such as Greater Alfredon, Luchnerham, New Apollo, and even older cities such as Landsmouth, Léon, Tonne, and Edgetown are now increasingly suburban, especially beyond their ancient cores.

Boroughs
The City of Rupertland is divided into many different boroughs. The original three cities, all of which are now boroughs: City of Rupert, City of Lincoln, and City of Pompeii are all major centres of the current metropolis. Rupert and Lincoln are now major commercial centres. Lincoln was created as a commercial centre that could hold all things "new", while Rupert remained as a mix of Governmental and old commercial. Pompeii was the first suburban borough recognized as a part of Rupertland. Previously, all suburbs were fringe cities. Eventually Rupertland would take in fringe cities as boroughs, except for those West of the St. Paul Brooke, which was seen as Un-holy land, so they could not be a part of the Holy City. Below are the populations of the boroughs in 2017.

Rupertland has many more boroughs than would be considered usual for a city. This is because Rupertland was settled very slowly, and settlements were small. So many dozens of different settlements existed in what is now called Rupertland. Between Grand Wye (City of Rupert) and present-day Wye in the 800s, there would have been at least 13 different townships and cities. Overtime these cities grew into each other, and when they merged into Rupertland, they would be amalgamated into the city as a borough. Sometimes boroughs have been merged (e.g. the megaborough Surrey used to be five different boroughs (Surrey, Alfregaïa, Port Mariliselle, Lower Surrey, and Capliosis; and Greater Aberdeen was so named to acknowledge its former composition of three boroughs; Wye was named because four small boroughs couldn't agree on a name that would work for them all besides this).

Because most of Rupertland has been settled for time immemorial, instead we which to refer to when the area became urbanized, and generally referred to as a part of the urban area of Rupertland, rather than simply an adjacent settlement.

The Cities (or South Bank)
The Cities (which are often known to older Rupertlanders as the South Bank), is the commercial and governmental core of the Rupertland Empire. It has been continuously settled for time immemorial. The heart of the city is at Hill St. Paul, where four boroughs converge (including CoR, CoL, CoP, and HSP).

Rarely, some Rupertlanders will dispute if the City of Lacksbury should be included as part of this collective group of boroughs. This was more ambiguous when it was called the South Bank, but in the late 1800s, the switch to calling them "The Cities" began, and the City of Lacksbury was almost always included in this grouping.

All of the Cities are part of the city proper, and hence are governed by the BDC (Body of the Divine City), which is a subunit of the City of Rupertland. The BDC is appointed in a meeting after each election between the City Mayor, and the mayors of the eight boroughs (including the Didicit Dux, who acts as the mayor of Hill St. Paul).

Southbank Extension (SoBax)
The Southbank Extension, or as it is more commonly known, Sobax (or SoBaEx, SoBax), is known as the dense inner city of Rupertland. This area is mostly mixed-use, with residential, industrial, and commercial developments across the boroughs. Sometimes Goulding is not included in the SoBax, but it is more common lately to include it in SoBax, especially since the 1960s when the borough became much more dense and urban. All of the boroughs of SoBax except Goulding are overseen by the BDC (Body of the Divine City). Goulding is also the only borough of SoBax not technically a part of the city proper.

Northbank
Soho was the first borough to become part of the city of Rupertland. Soho has been settled for almost as long as Rupertland has been. In the 1100s bridges were becoming more reliably built, and the two banks were connected.

The Trinity
The Trinity contains the most expensive and elite boroughs and neighbourhoods in Delongo. It is where the non-Royal rich and powerful of Rupertland go to sleep. It is the least densely populated part of Rupertland.

The Trinity is so named after the Trinity Coast, which is named after the Christian trinity (God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit).

Esred
Esred is believed to have been derived from "West of Holyrood."

Surbury
Surrey and Surbury come from being sur of the river. They are often referred to as Sur. The expression "they're out in sur" means that person is far away from here. Surrey is sometimes not recognized as part of Surbury because it is so large, but official definitions usually include it in the region. Surrey is a megaborough on the north bank. It is an amalgamation of four boroughs. The amalgamation has long been regretted by Port Mariliselle, which was one of the few remaining aspects of the city named after Queen Mariliselle.



River Wye
The River Wye is one of the defining natural characteristics of Rupertland. "It gives the city it's shape." Until the late 1800s, it was Rupertland's primary drinking water sources. In 1670, it was declared that no people may live upon the Wye unless they are located in Rupertland City, which essentially blocked all development on the River Wye. Furthermore, the River Rupert has almost no developments within 50m of the river body.In 1690, major parks were opened alongside the River Rupert, most notably the Rupert Valley Parklands, the Kensington Island & Parks, the Wye/Rupert Conservation Park, and The Rupertist's Gardens, all of which are known as some of the best parks in the world, especially the first two which have received thousands of awards. In 1978, a major parkway was built for non-commercial traffic throughout all of these parks, running alongside the River Rupert. The parkway is known as the Kingsway. It is one of the most famous highways in the world due to its beautiful route, which is featured in thousands of movies and many more famous portraits and photos.

City of Lincoln
The Borough of the City of Lincoln has a very unique cityscape, as one of the oldest and densest regions of the city. It is incredibly dense, especially in comparison to the City of Rupert. It is the modern commercial centre of the city. Many argue that it is the new city centre for residents of Rupertland. While Rupert remains the city centre for tourists.

City of Pompeii
The City of Pompeii is one of the oldest parts of the city besides the City of Lincoln, Hill St. Paul, and of course the City of Rupert. The City of Pompeii is primarily residential, and had originally been home to many of the great nobles and members of the peerage of Rupertland. Today, the wealthiest of Rupertland live in these beautiful, old homes in a very dense part of the city.

Heritage Act (1860)
Worrying that Blix would continue to modernize the city, Rupertland passed the highly-influencial Hertiage Act in 1860, which would propose that no new roads may be created, nor may any roads be destroyed or closed unless it is for reasons of safety. Also, new buildings must be minimized, and may only be built upon what the municipality considers to be "eyesores". The Act also solidified the height restrictions which had been de facto in years before.

Major Streets
City Street - one of the oldest streets in the city, believed to originate from before the Grand Wye settlement (i.e. pre-460 A.D.). It is a major throughway connecting the city from Greater Aberdeen to Lucklingham to Holyrood to Wye to CoL and CoR. The street continues from Greater Aberdeen under other municipal managements, running in Alstone, Kensington Village, Carlisle, Uiknor, Glosso, Fort Glasgow, Luchnerham, to Landsmouth. It continues as Highway 44 beyond Landsmouth into Chester County. In Rupertland, Highway 44 is a major highway and runs underneath City Street for its entire length.

Westwark Avenue - a major street in the City of Rupert, it is metonymically known as the centre of the Rupertland media.

Embankment - running from the City of Lincoln to Wye, it is the main waterfront street of these boroughs. Traditionally a home to Rupertland industry, it is a rapidly gentrifying artery.

The Median - divides the City of Lincoln from the City of Rupert. It is managed by City Hall.

Triangle - connecting City Street to King's Hospital, it is an essential city artery for emergency traffic and has evolved to have a popular club scene. It is the namesake of the Blixian street of the same name.

St. Pancras Street - a major street in the City of Lincoln, continuing into Wye and ending in Holyrood. It is a commercial street, with many famous residents.

High Street (CoL)- the main commercial street of the City of Lincoln, continuing into the City of Pompeii, Goulding and Jacques via a bridge). It also runs north into Soho via a bridge.

Air
The airports the city are most close to are the Rupertland King Rupert I the Divine International Airport and Rupertland Mariliselle International Airport, the former being the busiest. KRITDIA serves most of the city south of the Wye for domestic flights (it is located in Ville, immediately south of the city), while those north of the Wye tend to use Mariliselle International for domestic flights and sun-bound flights (located in Florence, just north of the city). Over 95% of international flights in the metropolis fly from KRITDIA. These are the only two airports in Wyeland, making them both tremendously busy. However, KRITDIA is by far the busiest airport and is the main international hub for the archipelago. Emileville International is the only other airport on the archipelago with a number of regularly-scheduled, non-sun-bound, international destinations. Although airports have been proposed in Tonne and Wrexham-on-New Trent, they have never gotten off the ground. A Landsmouth airport has been proposed, but was even less likely to come to fruition.

Rail
The Rupertland Underground is one of the busiest rapid-transit systems in the world, and is one of the busiest per-capita. Essentially, the entire metropolis is connected to the RU. The RU has become a major character in the story of the modern Rupertland.

The following cities are connected to the Rupertland Underground to some extent, besides the core of Rupertland: Léon, Caps, Landsmouth, New Paris, New Rome, Florence, Edgetown, New Edinburgh, Lochon, Atwater, Kensington Village, Glosso, Noiampton, Intro, Ville, New Oxford, St. Peter's, Carlisle, Uiknor, Englo, Delorey, Wrexham-Upon-Rupert, Neglington, Altson, Farmdon, New Ips-on-Wye, Devon, Sage, Fort Glasgow, Alstone, Verona, Oalville

The train system of Rupertland is iconic and equally massive. Major train stations connecting the region include the Queen Lisbeth I Station in CoR, Warrington Station in Tonne, Olympic Station in Holyrood, Grand Wye Station in CoL, Soho Station, Queen Lave Station in Surrey at Port Mariliselle, Landsmouth Regional Station, Upper Wye Regional Station in Wrexham-on-New Trent, and others.

The Express rail system was introduced to Rupertland in 2009 (#4, 104), with major expansions in 2011-13 with the addition of the Empire services (#9, 109). In the Rupertland metropolis the following stations are connected to Express services: Rupertland King Rupert I (City of Lincoln), Rupertland King Luchner (City of Rupert), and Rupertland - Mariliselle (Hollyrood). Outside of the city proper, Caps, Landsmouth, and Tonne are connected to the major 4/104 service, along with the Empire services, and Wrexham-on-New Trent, Florence at Rupertland-Mariliselle International Airport, and Delorey are connected only to the Empire services. There are plans for local services in the Rupertland Metropolis to ease the Rupertland Underground, with stations proposed in Soho, Surrey, Intro, New Paris, New Rome, New Edinburgh, Ville (to connect to the King Rupert I the Divine International Airport, the only major Delongonian airport unconnected to Express rail). There are community proposals for connections to Kensington Village, Edgetown, Noiampton, St. Peter's, Léon, Glosso, and Uiknor, but these proposals have gone unheard by the People's Ministry.

Road
The Highway system has suffered as a result of the Heritage Act of 1860. Rupertland has one of the worst highway systems in the world. The only highways in Rupertland are Highway A11 (in Surrey), Highway A19 (Partially in City of Pompeii for 0.3 km), and the Orbital QVW 22 which wraps around the entire city boundary. The act cannot possibly be repealed. However, recently the Rupertland City Council decided that City St., would be expanded (primarily be taking away it's very large sidewalks, and multiple intersections, being replaced with overpasses, and only a few intersections and new interchanges at "eyesores"), and would be turned into a major inner-city expressway. Goulding Ave. will also become a new highway. The City St. Tunnerl was also recently built to enable fast transport to the Four Cities.

Warrington Bridge and Tunnel
The Warrington Bridge opened in 2006, after five years of construction, as one of the world's longest bridges (189km) and over 97km of tunnel. It connects the Base Region of the Independence Toll to Rupertland Island, or more specifically to Tonne City, which is a mere 50km away. Since its opening, tourism in Rupertland has grown significantly.

The Bridge runs from the Independence Toll (Kingview) to Else Island, where it converts to plain-level road, and then to tunnel from Else Island to Tonne City (Rupertland).

Education
Rupertland is home to several major universities, including the ancient King Rupert I the Divine University (est. 1320, 486,000 students), the City University Rupertland (est. 1425, 752,000 students), and the Royal University Lincoln (est. 1580, 102,000 students). Both the City University Rupertland and the King Rupert I the Divine University are part of the prestigious Emerald Universities group. It is also home to the Rupertland Architectural Academy (RAA) and the Rupertland College of Art and Design (RCAD).

The King Rupert I the Divine University was established in 1320 by faculty of the Royal University Hampton, replacing several of the RUH's Rupertland facilities, including the St. Mary's Hospital (King's Hospital).

The City University Rupertland was established by former Apollites who wanted a secular university in the capital.

Health
The largest healthcare unit in the city, and in the province is the King Rupert I the Divine University Health Network (KRITDUHN), operated by the King Rupert I the Divine University. The city's largest and most advanced university is part of the KRITDUHN, the King's Hospital with two campuses in the City of Pompeii and the City of Rupert. The King's Hospital is the oldest existing hospital in Rupertland, originally established by the Royal University Hampton as St. Mary's Hospital. Other hospitals in the health network include the Queen Ella Hospital (City of Lincoln), Upper Goulding Hospital, King Elijah II Hospital (Jacques), Dux. Oalfred VII Hospital (Wye), Dux. Luchner XVI Hospital (Wye), and the Lacksbury Health Centre. The Lincoln Mental Health Centre is also part of the network.

The city's other major healthcare network is the City University Health Network (CUHN), affiliated with the City University Rupertland. It includes hospitals outside of the city-proper, including the City Hospital in Holyrood and the Dux Joseph Ofwrexham Hospital in Surrey. Other major hospitals include the Enlington Health Centre (Enlington Cross), St. Paul Hospital, New Soho Hospital, South Borderhill Hospital, Kindlite Central Hospital, Trinity Hospital (Wraysbury), Alfrebury Hospital, and Aberdeen Hospital-on-Wye.

There are also a number of unaffiliated hospitals and health centres across the city.

Demographics
Rupertland City is a diverse city. While in 1810, the city was 81.5% White; in 2015 the city is 59.2% White, 13.4% Chinese, 9.4% Middle-Eastern, 7.3% Black, 4.2% Indigenous, 3.7% Southeast Asian, 1.2% East Asian (non-Chinese), and 0.6% other.

The language spoken in Rupertland City is predominantly English at 84.8%, French is spoken by 21.5% of people, Chinese dialect(s) are spoken by 6.3% of people, Arabic is spoken by 3.5% of people, and 14.3% of people can speak another language besides those listed.

Rupertland City, for the first time since the 1300s, has been not-predominantly Rupertist since the GBD began. Today 35.8% are non-religious, 23.9% are Rupertist, 15.4% are Christian, 6.1% are Muslim, 6.0% are Buddhist, and 12.8% are other or not-stated.