Hurbanova

Hurbanova is a Lovian town on Peace Island and the capital of Oceana. The town has a rich history and was founded in 1881, making it one of the oldest towns of Lovia. Possible language problems can arise as a result of the usage of the dialect of Oceana. It is always useful to know some standard vocabulary in that dialect to prevent miscommunication. Hurbanova is surrounded by a beautiful natural area. Hurbanova is known of the fact that it's a quiet place and because of the wooden buildings.

Name
The name Hurbanova might come from Pope Urban I. The name used in some ancient and hardly readable documents is Urban One which probably changed to Hurban Ona and later to Hurbanova. Pope Urban I is known as the protector of the drunken people. One theory suggests Hurbanovos drank a lot. The reason for naming it after the Roman Catholic Pope is unsure.

Some people 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 in Latin.

A third group of people think its origin is Slovak. In Slovakia there is a town called Hurbanovo. The Oceanan nickname is Hurbanovo. As a major group in Hurbanova has Slovak blood, this could be a realistic theory. On the other hand, the Slovak town wasn't named Hurbanovo untill 1948.

A forth group of specialists think its origin isn't Slovak nor Latin, but Oceana. Hurb (from Slovak hrb) means 'a lot (of)', banoft (from Slovak banoviť) means 'to feel sorry' and novo (from Slovak mnoho) means 'a lot (of)' as well. So, its name could be hurb banoft novo or hrb banoviť mnoho or a lot of sorry, strengthened by a tautology. This could be in connection with the 1884 fire. Many people disagree the fact that 'a lot (of)' is used twice in the name, they think this is a mistake and an indication it's not Oceana vocabulary. However, it is usual in the Oceana dialect to use a word twice if to reinforce its meaning.

A fifth group of people even think its origin isn't Slovak, Latin nor Oceana, but Zamokkian. Zamokkian is a local group of dialects spoken in Central Slovakia. A few names of Hurbanovans are from Zamokkian origin, like Úskalie, Hladovka etcetera. Herab' is Zamokkian for shining and ñavenke means 'building' or 'church', so it could derive from herab'ý ñavenkè which means 'bright landscape'.

Town map

 * 1) Old Wharf
 * 2) Mayores Road

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.

When the town was built in 1881 the shoreline was situated a few meters to the east, where nowadays lays the so-called Old Wharf. The Old Wharf served as a load wall. This wharf was really a wall with a street on top of the wall. The Old Wharf was used during one year when the harbor of Hurbanova was filled and people start to live on the place where once was the harbor.

Hurbanova has been built together with a village 2 kilometers away from the town, Scotland. Scotland was a less wealthy village with a population of about 40 people of which most where from Scots or Irish origin. The only thing left of the village of Scotland are the ruins of an unfinished castle. Scotland was left in 1904 for unknown reason. Probably because the village was not protected for floods of a nearby river. Scotland had 14 houses, 36 stables, an unfinished castle from McLeid, a well, a monastery and a chapel.

In 1884 there was an enormous fire which caused the destruction of almost 90% of all buildings. Almost 39 people died of suffocation because they were trapped in the shecks. The population decreased 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 200s no more until 1938. The town was renewed shortly after. Though the fire destroyed almost all buildings, all new buildings were made of wood too. This was done because the mayor of that time, Rashkolit' Shadenki didn't want to change the town's look. As he said: ''We shall not betray our city. Or the tourists will leave us and go to Noble City.'' All Hurbanovos agreed with him and started to rebuild the houses and monuments. New mines were built outside the town, so workers couldn't sufficated anymore when there would come a new fire in Hurbanova. Fortunately, there would never come a fire on this scale in Hurbanova anymore.

Until 1917 one of the four original town gates, the Slinkni Brana ('Gate of the Sun'), was still standing. Hurbanova has always been part of Lovia, but wasn't an official until 1887 when a nationwide referendum was held. 95% of the Lovians supported. There never was any trouble because the Lovians helped rebuilding the town after the 1884 fire. The gates were built by the third mayor, Kelový, to prevent that in times of war the town would be destroyed. The complete defence of Hurbanova of that time was a part of the Oceana Wall, a moat, a river and 4 gates. In 1917 the government of Oceana decided to blow up the remaining gate. This resulted in protests by the inhabitants oand the monastery. One picture remains of the gate, on a moment the gate was already damaged severely and only one of the two towers was still standing. Even though many people were against the destruction of the gate the state government decided to do it and on March 5, 1917, the remainings of the gate were blown up. The moat was later on filled and there is almost nothing left of the original fortification.

In June 2005 the renovation of the town began. It has been estimated 30% of all the buildings were heavily affected by woodworm. It's expected that the renovation will take two years and ten months, so all the work should be done by April 2008. The damaged buildings repel the tourists from coming to Hurbanova. This has been said by the ex-mayor Kčalit' Úskalie. He said: ''Those woodworms eat our houses! If this keeps going on like this forever I'd rather kill them one by one with my own bare hands!''

Archeologists are currently searching for more evidence that indicate there were people in Lovia before the Founding Fathers. The Oceana Wall is "the evidence" according to most Hurbanovans. Until now, nobody really had an answer to the question how the wall came there. Recently, an inhabitant of Hurbanova, Zabel Šlanovič said he had found some pottery near the wall. Experts from universities all over came to Hurbanova to investigate this pottery. Research made clear the pottery was over 1000 years old, almost 750 years before western people went to Lovia for the first time. Inhabitants claimed it was Lovian, while archeologists thought it was from European origin, brought here by the first migrants.

Mining history
Coles, as well as gold and silver (though very little) were found in Hurbanova. As soon as 1877 the first mines were dug, even before the foundation of the town. Most people lived in small houses near the mines or in Noble City. Most mines were closed in the 60s and 70s of the twentieth century, though some mines are still in use. Oceana was one of the few areas of Lovia where mining became that important. Most wealth in Hurbanova nowadays comes from the mining industry.

Nowadays, there are still two mines opened, the Zlate Mine and the Lovian State Mine. The Hurbanovan economy depends for a large part on these mines. Almost 5% of all inhabitants of Hurbanova work in them, most other miners live in Noble City. Once nearly 100% of the population of Hurbanova worked in the mines, but this changed when the first women arrived.

The following mines are situated near Hurbanova:

Crisis

 * [[Image:Keys.png|20px]] It is forbidden by the Federal Police to edit this section without permission.

Recently, the town has been renovated often. Workers are still working on the wooden constructions.

Under Mayor Oos Wes Ilava, who ruled Hurbanova from 2007 until April 2008, the town grew a lot. Not in size, but in inhabitant figures and historic value. With the renewal of the monuments, the town upgraded to a popular tourist location. In March 2008, a crisis arose in Hurbanova. Mayor Ilava and the Adlibitan Alexandru Latin declared the independence of Hurbanova, resulting in an interwikiwide crisis. They were both banned shortly and all diplomatic relations were heavily damaged. The Mayor had to step down and Ben Opať took over the office. The Federal Police locked off the town for a while because of the possible threats.

After the crisis
Hurbanova made progress after the crisis and plans for a new neighborhood came. The main function of this neighborhood will be to release the pressure of the too crowded old part of the town. The ruins of the Slinkni Branan, which lay there, will not be demolished but the Slinkni Branan will be rebuild maybe.

Anthem
Hurbanova has had its own anthem since 1894. The text was written by P.L.Q.C. Úskalie and translated to English by C.L. Easterfields, the music is by H. Sauren, who also wrote many famous country songs of Hurbanova.

Geography
Hurbanova lies within the green and humid state of Oceana, on Peace Island. The town is surrounded by many terrestrial biomes. In the north a quite flat agricultural area is situated and in the south the town is isolated by the Oceana Wall. The only roads connecting the town with the other Lovian locations are situated in the east. Those roads pass through the temperate coniferous forests. In the west the Oceana Beach and the Pacific Ocean are situated.

Surrounding area
The area surrounding Hurbanova is marked by the coniferous forests, very enjoyable for a walk. There are many ancient cole mines which might be dangerous. 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 mine shaft. If you want to see a mine with your own eyes you can visit one of the still functioning labor museums.

You can visit the Oceana Beach at any time of the year. You can go fishing, diving the Oceana Reef, swimming and much more. The beach is at its narrowst point only one meter and 74 centimeters wide and at its widest point it's about 12 meters. The most visited area of the beach is the Hurbanovan Beach which lies adjacent to the Oceana Hotel and the Supermarket Doshmat.

Other places near Hurbanova that you might want to see, are the Isle of Londonand the Isle of Frisco, off the coast. These islands form the City Archipelago. Once there were three islands. The third island, which sank after an earthquake in 1903, was the only populated island. Its name was the Isle of Bratislava. All people survived the earthquake, but were once was the island now is a muddy ground. The Oceana people call this That Wodate Oster, the wet island. Nowadays, none of the isles is inhabited.

Tourism
Hurbanova is one of the best developed tourist locations of Lovia. It's popular during summer holidays, because of the beautiful and extremely clean beaches. Next to these beaches, there are a few small hotels and the possibility to shop.

Places of interest
Hurbanova is a place with a rich history, so it has got some places of interest, worth visiting:
 * Hurbanova Town Hall : This building houses the local authorities of the Oceana State and the town of Hurbanova. It's a wooden building which was a church until 1963. It has been renovated in 1974 and was totally rebuilt.
 * The Old Oceans' Farm: This is a very old farm on the border of the town. The Old Oceans' Farm was one of the first buildings to be built. The exact date is not known, but it should be somewhere in the 90s of the nineteenth century. Nowadays, it is the town's community center. Most youth go to this building on a daily base. Another function of the building is housing the town's primary school.
 * Hurbanova Central Park: This park, which lies in the middle of town, has yard and a couple of trees surrounding it. There are no statues or fontaines in the park.
 * Oceana Wall: This wall is probably older than 500 years and should be built before any people from "the known world" came to Lovia, making it a mystery. This wall could indicated that there were people in Lovia a 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, while this hotel is made of wood and nothing else, except for the windows. Even the floors and the cellar are made of wood.
 * Post Office Hurbanova or Hurbanova Post Office is the only post office of Hurbanova, situated near the railway. It was built in 1882, which makes it one of the oldest buildings of Hurbanova. It has been renovated in 1923 and is 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. That's because the mail used to arrive here. Nowadays, many mail goes by car.

Education
In the The Old Oceans' Farm is a primary school. Hurbanova's only secundary school is the Shkola Hurbanovni, or less frequently the Škola Hurbanovný. This school lies outside the town in a quiet area so the students have more peace when learning. Afterwards, most students go to the Nobel University in Noble City. The Shkola Hurbanovni wants to expand this year.

Media
The local Hurbanovan newspaper is the Hurbanova Novine. This paper is written in English and the local dialect. Many famous people, for example King Dimitri I, have said they occasionally read the newspaper.

Famous Hurbanovans
Many famous people from Lovia are born or have lived in Hurbanova. The following three people have lived in Hurbanova.
 * 1812-1909: Rashkolit' Shadenki, English origin mayor from 1883 to 1886
 * 1885-1933: James M. Jackson, writer
 * 1898-1972: George Likewise, mayor from 1944 to 1945, singer-songwriter of country music.
 * 1902-1969: Oscar O'Neill, poet
 * 1947-now: Pažkolit Úskalie, fisherman, discovered the Oceana Reef in 1974.

Sister cities

 * Cettatie, Cettatie
 * [[image:Vlagmäöres.png|20px]] Gäörne, Mäöres
 * [[image:Flag of Limburg.png|20px]] Mofert, Limburg