Hurbanova

Hurbanova is a town on Peace Island. It's the capital of Oceana. The town has a very interesting history. You can stay at the Oceana Hotel if you want to see all the places of interest of this town and its region, Oceana. Hurbanova has been founded in 1881 and it's one of the oldest towns of Lovia. It's possible you sometimes don't understand some words if you talk to people of Hurbanova. They probably speak the dialect of Oceana then.

Name
The name Hurbanova might come from Pope Urban I. The name used in old documents is Urban One which probably changed to Hurban Ona and later on to Hurbanova. Pope Urban I is known as the protector of the drunken people. Probably the people of Hurbanova drank much, but that's just a theory. It's not completely known why the town should be called after Pope Urban I.

Some people think it's not named after the pope, but they think it's derived from the Latin words Urbs Nova, which means new city. This theory as well isn't supported by all specialists, because there should be no reason why one of the oldest town of Lovia should be called new city.

A third group of people think its origin is Slovak. In Slovakia there's a town called Hurbanovo. The name of Hurbanova in the Oceana dialect is Hurbanovo. Since many people in Hurbanova have Slovak blood in them, this could be a realistic theory. On the other hand, the Slovak town wasn't named Hurbanovo untill 1948. So this probably isn't the origin of the name Hurbanova.

History
Hurbanova is one of the oldest towns of Lovia. The town was founded in 1881. The reason why people started to live here was because they found something special, the Oceana Wall. This brick wall was already built before the first people arrived in Lovia. Even today this wall is a mystery. The village never grew much and is still as large as it was in 1930. Most buildings in the town are old and made of wood.

In 1884, when the town was three years old, there was an enormous fire in town which caused the destruction of almost 90% of all the buildings. Almost 39 people died of suffocation because they were trapped in the shecks and the smoke kept coming. The population descended from 201 to 162 and most people were homeless. The cause of the fire has never been found out and it's possible it has been done on purpose. The population didn't reach the 200 anymore untill the year 1938 and the town needed to be rebuilt.

In June 2005 the renovation of the town began. It has been estimated 30% of all the buildings are heavily affected by woodworm. It's expected that the renovation will take two years and ten months, so all the work should be done in April 2008. The reason for the renovation is because the damaged buildings repel the tourists from coming to Hurbanova.

Archeologists are currently searching for more things that indicate there was live in Lovia before we came.

Mining history
Hurbanova was a place were people found coles in the ground, but not only coles, also gold and silver (though very little) were found in Hurbanova. As soon as 1877 the first mines came here, that was before the town of Hurbanova existed. Most people lived in small houses near the mines or in Noble City. Most mines were closed in the '60 and '70 of the twentieth century, though some mines are still functioning. Oceana was one of the few areas of Lovia were mining became so important. Most wealth of Hurbanova nowadays has derived from the mines.

There are still two mines opened nowadays, those are the Zlate Mine and the Lovian State Mine. The economy of Hurbanova depends for a large part on these two mines. Almost 10% of all inhabitants of Hurbanova (84) work in one of those mines, most other miners live in Noble City.

The following mines lay near Hurbanova.

Places of interest
Hurbanova is a place with a history, so it has got some places of interest.
 * Oceana Town Hall or Hurbanova Town Hall: This building houses the local authorities of the Oceana State. It's a wooden building which actually was a church untill 1963. It has been renovated in 1974 and was totally rebuilt.
 * The Old Oceans' Farm: This is a very old farm on the edge of the town. The Old Oceans' Farm was one of the first buildings to be built in town. The exact date isn't known, but it should be somewhere in the '90 of the ninteenth century. Nowadays, it functions as community centre of the town. Most young people of town go to this building each day. Another function of the building is that it houses the town's primary school.
 * Hurbanova Central Park: This park, which lies in the middle of town, has good grass and a few trees surrounding it. Remarkable of this park is that there are no statues or fontains.
 * Oceana Wall: A mystery. This wall is at least 500 years old and was built before any people from "the known world" came to Lovia. This wall could indicated that there were people on Lovia a very long time ago.
 * Oceana Court House: The building where the lawsuits of the Oceana State Court take place. It's built in 1902 and is a real attraction. The building is almost entirely built of wood.
 * Oceana Hotel: The Oceana Hotel is the only hotel of Hurbanova. It has been built in 1898 as a farm and has been renovated in 2004. It became a hotel in 1975. Like most other buildings it's made of wood, but most other buildings also have some stone for the safety and strenght. Oceana Hotel is made of wood only and nothing else, except the windows. Even all te floors and the cellar are made of wood.
 * Post Office Hurbanova or Hurbanova Post Office is the only post office of Hurbanova. It lies at the railway. It was built in 1882, which makes it one of the oldest buildings of Hurbanova. It has been renovated in 1923. Like most Hurbanovan buildings it's made of wood.
 * Hurbanova Railway Station is an old railway station built in 1914. It has been renovated in 1957 and 2007. The building is often been called the Mail Station.

Surrounding area
In the area surrounding Hurbanova are many pine forrests were you can walk through. There are many colemines left which are dangerous, so if you walk in the forrests try to keep away from those mines. In the last twenty years 27 tourists, 4 locals and 42 people from other places of Lovia lost their lifes because they fell into a mineshaft. If you want to see a mine with your own eyes you can visit one of the still functioning working museums.

You can visit the Oceana Beach at any time of the year. You can go fishing, diving the Oceana Reef, swimming and so on. Many people have left jewelry in the past so if you look well you might find a golden bracelet or a watch. The beach is at its narrowst point one meter and 74 centimeters and at its widest point it's almost 12 meters.

Town map

 * 1) Old Wharf
 * 2) Mayores Road

Famous Hurbanovans
Many famous people from Lovia are born or have lived in Hurbanova. The following three people have lived in Hurbanova.
 * 1885-1933: James M. Jackson, writer
 * 1902-1969: Oscar O'Neill, poet
 * 1947-?: Pažkolit Úskalie, fisherman, discovered the Oceana Reef in 1974.