Hurbanova

Hurbanova, in the Oceana language also but less frequently referred to as Hurbanoft, is a large Lovian town located on Peace Island, and the capital of the State of Oceana. The town was founded in 1881 and has a very rich history, including migration waves from Eastern Europe. The region has been strongly influenced by several European cultures. Possible language problems can and have arisen already as a result of the usage of the language of Oceana (Narasha 'Oshenna).

Hurbanova is surrounded by an environmentally significant natural area and is known for its quietness and its wood-dominated traditional architecture. The town, and perhaps the state in its totality, has significantly higher rates of religiosity and tends to be more conservative.

Etymology and name
Many theories exist about the name origin of 'Hurbanova'. Some suggest its name comes from Pope Urban I, others think it has Latin origins, still others argue Hurbanova is of Slovak origin. Other linguists link the name to either the Oceana dialect or the Slovak Zamokkian dialects.

Pronunciation
The name is pronounced by native speakers of English as [ɦʏbɑːˈnɔ̃ːʋɑ] or [hɝːbɑːˈnouʋə] (IPA). Speakers of Oceana are more likely to pronounce it like this: [hyʁbaˈnovɑ]. Hurbanoft is pronounced like this: [ˈhyʁbano(f)c]. The latter name is very unlikely to be used by speakers of English.

Town map
Below is a map showing the direct environment of Hurbanova. Only Millstreet, Newport, Downtown and Drake Town are considered neighborhoods.

The hamlet East Hills also belongs to Hurbanova. Slowane was a Hurbanovan hamlet that is now deserted.

Downtown

 * 1) Old Wharf
 * 2) Mayores Road
 * 3) Prachstreet

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 it. 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. One possible reason is that the village was not protected from the floods of a nearby river. Scotland had 14 houses, 36 stables, an unfinished castle of someone called 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 in Hurbanova. 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 was done on purpose. The population didn't reach the 200s again 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 sufficate again if there was a new fire in Hurbanova. Fortunately, there would never come a fire on this scale in Hurbanova again.

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 and 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
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 is destressing the too crowded old part of the town. The new neighborhood was named Drake Town. The ruins of the Slinkni Branan, which lay there, weren't demolished but the Slinkni Branan were rebuilt.

Later on another neighborhood would follow, namely Millstreet.

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. The anthem is called Kem that lew is espavat (While that lion is asleep)

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 London and 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 has a rich history, so it has got some places of interest worth visiting:
 * Hurbanova Town Hall or Oceana Town Hall: This building houses the local authorities of the Oceana State and the town of Hurbanova. It's a wooden building which had been a church until 1963. It's been renovated in 1974.
 * The Old Oceans' Farm is a very old farm on the border of the town. The Old Oceans' Farm was one of the first buildings in Oceana. The exact date is unknown; probably in the 1890s. Nowadays, it is the town's community center. Many youngsters come here on a daily base. Another function of the building is housing the town's primary school.
 * The Hurbanova Central Park lies in the middle of town and has a yard and a couple of trees surrounding it.
 * The mysterious Oceana Wall is probably older than 500 years and could have been built before any people from "the known world" came to Lovia.
 * The Oceana Court House is 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 with lumber.
 * Old Oceana Hotel is the town's oldest hotel. 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 except for the windows. Even the floors and the cellar are made of wood.
 * Post Office Hurbanova or Hurbanova Post Office is the local post office, 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 out of wood.
 * The 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 because the mail used to arrive here. Nowadays many mail goes by car.

Education
The King Arthur II School offer primary education to the Hurbanovan pupils. It also provides secondary education. Drake Secondary School is another well-known high school in Drake Town.

After high school, most students go to Blackburn University, Noble City. The Shkola Hurbanovni wants to expand this year in order to provide higher education in Hurbanova.

Media
The local Hurbanovan newspaper is the Hurbanova Novine, written in English and the local language.

Transportation
There is a railway station in town and the Emerald Railway to East Hills used to stop at Hurbanova.

These bus lines run through Hurbanova:
 * 002: Artista - Hurbanova
 * 401: Hurbanova - Ben's Beaver River Camping

There is also an airport service, Overbanken Regional Airport.

Famous Hurbanovans
Many famous people from Lovia are born or have lived in Hurbanova. The following eight people have lived or live in Hurbanova. Mayors
 * 1812-1909: Rashkolit' Shadenki, English origin mayor from 1883 to 1886
 * 1839-1909: Anton Hlinka, discovered the Isle of Bratislava
 * 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
 * 1924-2007: Eva Zimmermann, dancer
 * 1946-2010: A.M. Donia, LCP-politician living in Donia Castle in the Emeralds, head of the Donia Clan - greatly disliked by most Hurbanovans
 * 1947-present: Pažkolit Úskalie, fisherman, discovered the Oceana Reef in 1974.* 1972-present: Oos Wes Ilava, mayor and Minister
 * 1972-present: Alexandru Latin, politician and businessman
 * 1975-present Philip Bradly-Lashawn, sportsman and royal bastard
 * 1981-present: Pahor Podgorie, rapper and member of the hip hop band Naselni Jazzeek
 * 1982-present: Marki Jólkavský, rapper and member of the hip hop band Naselni Jazzeek
 * 1982-present: Alesh or Ladislav Alexej Stefanik, poet
 * 1983-present: Mihály Szentes, disc jockey of the hip hop band Naselni Jazzeek

Sister cities

 * Flag of Cettatia.png Cettatie, Cettatie
 * Vlagmäöres.png Gäörne, Mäöres
 * Mofert, Netherlands