The Neo Byzantinian Empire of Stropon

[Strechnitz]

bat Thank you my friend. It took me quite a while to get it the way I wanted.

sebes I don't know where I find the time. I've had a flew, which gave me some extra time. 
Thank you for the compliment. I like it too. The walls are my first stab at creating custom textures. I am not happy with them yet though. They are too pink and bland. I will adjust the bricktexture for future use.

about the custom hotels and casino. I didn't find them anywhere I made them myself using the lot editor. neat huh? well. I would have loved to BAT some custom hotels. but I could not bat an out house to save my life if needed. so it is the lot editor for me!   why, do you want them?

Those triangles bug me too. they are downright ugly. But I haven't been able to get rid of them. If I knew what caused it I would have dealt with it.


so, next stop will be Kayserbürgen. I have done a lot of work on the palace garden. And perhaps it is time to introduce a new Stroponian character to you all

Strech

[kwakelaar]

Good morning Fatfi... , yes after this trip I will have to join up, if not already.

This was a big update and a lot of new material from the LE. Those big hotels are well put together, just the kind you could expect to find in this kind of resort. I especially like the Grand Metropole and the Empire Hotels. The textures for the slopes are nice, though looking a bit flat at the moment, maybe try to add some kind of depth with shadows.
The story you are telling about the place, its history and its building I find quite fascinating.

[nova vesfalo]

realy nice background story ! Love background story ! The LE custon buildings fit well in the city !! Maybe the rose-texture is a bit bright. But whatelse could we say after a so huge and pleasant update ! Sometimes flue is great

[6underground]

On behalf of the SCJU, we welcome you and officially award you OFFICIAL OBSERVER STATUS in the union. Welcome aboard!

A grande journal you have too! 

[Yoder7652]

wow...soo many great hotels that you've put together in LE, Strech! I think the royal family of Osturland is going to have to stop by and play some poker or black jack at one of the great casinos in this city. I also like the custom texture you've put together for the retaining walls. They look very regal. One question though, did you request a range from Geoffhaw? If you didn't you should so that your texture allocation doesn't over-write someone elses should you want to ever share your walls  Great job Strech, I look forward to your next installment!

[Russell]

We admire this. And state that the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bliss and Stropon to be a more and more tempting possibility.

[Strechnitz]

kwakelaar Thank you for your nice comments my friend, and I'm still working on the textures of those.

nova vesfalo Glad you love the stories. I like making them. flue may be great, but I'm happy to be better now. tomorow my exams start. 

6underground Thank you very much. We will send a delegation shortly. they have after all a lot of observing to do

Yoder7652 And rest assured Yoder, the royal family is more than welcome. privately and officially. after the jubilee we must discuss a royal visit to Stropon. we would be delighted to receive them.

Russell Thank you. we apreciate the view of the regime.. and congratulations with the ressurection of Bliss. hopefully noone will stray from the flock this time.


Good evening dear viewers. The day comes to an end. So put the troubles of today away in a drawer and make yourself comfortable before the television. Pour yourself  a drink and enjoy the new season of...Sights and Seeings. With your trusted host...Alexandra von Hofenburg!!!


Good evening my dear viewers. Last season we ended our series at castle Mellingerfels in the Ostro-Appenine Mountains in the Principality of Mellingheim. This season we start in the Imperial District of Strechnitz. And with a real Imperial treat no less. Yes my dear viewers we are going to Kaiserbürgen to wander through the palace and the gardens which are normally closed to the public. Our beloved Emperor has graciously allowed us to enter and show you some of the beautiful rooms. So follow me and let's have a sneak-peek  into the realm of this wonderful Imperial residence.


The old regimental town of Kayserbürgen. A historic  jewel encased in the grass covered earthen citywalls. This baroque town was the only settlement apart from farms and woodland  around when The first palace was built. Only a small chateau then, used as a hunting retreat, it soon grew into an important Imperial residence only  half a day away per carriage or horseback of the capital.


Here on the market square one has little difficulties imagining how everyday life in the 18th century must have been. Dominant of course is the medieval Saint Simeon Cathedral with it's peculiar belltower made out of red Helotropian Limestone. On the far side we see the old Hospital and latin school built in the 13th century. Left to it on the corner is the baroque city hall...for some reason it reminds me of another city hall very similar to this one....hmmm. Oh well never mind. And right here on the market square is the beautiful Sandstone Market Hall built in 1734 where the delicate and valuable commodities were traded. And of course the Market master and the tax magistrate held their offices.


Naturally, the fields and woods in between the old regimental town and the palacegrounds filled up with developments. the road from the palace to Strechnitz became the axis of the 19th century develoments. the Strechnitzer Allee as it is called looks out on the Triumphal arch dedicated to the victories of the allied armies at Waterloo, where the Stroponian regiments under Prince Maximillian Killwilski shared in the triumph over Napoleon when he escaped to found Chaumont on the American coast.


And the Strechnitzer Allee ends atr the marble Löwenbrucke connecting he town with the Palace. The marble bridge is adorned with two ancient egyptian lions. carved out of a single granite block. They are said to have adorned an Alexandrian palace before they were acquired by Napoleon in the Egyptian Campaign. They were then send to Strechnitz as a present The two states where still on friendly terms then.


Over the centuries Kayserbürgen and Strechnitz grew together and they now border each other. Outside the old town lies the Victorian neighbourhoods and the villa's built in the woods surrounding the palace. For éverybody who is sómebody wants to be near the crown whenever possible. But we are not going to admire the architecture of these pleasant retreats along calm green lanes my dear viewers.



No Indeed, we are about to enter the secret garden.
1(red) The Grand Square. This is the only place publicly accessible.
2(red) The Square of Honour, between the two pavilions of state. Used to house high courtiers and personal guests of the Emperor.
3(red) the inner courtyard known as Royal Square only accessible by those who are allowed passage by the Imperial Guard on the Square of Honour.


And here we are my dear viewers. Aren't you exited? I am. And I know what beauty lies ahead of us. But! First we go out for the commercials. We'll be right back!


And the rest of this show will have to wait to my next update. My exams start tomorrow that is why you heard so little of me these last days. But this weekend at the latest Kaiserbürgen palace(and garden) will reveal all....oh my, I think this is my first could be cliff hanger.

Take care,

STRECH.

[thundercrack83]

Wow, that complex that you've made a map for is absolutely amazing! I love all the canals go through it! And the rest of the town looks great, too. It's been fun seeing the sights with Alexandra, too! Great update, my friend! I'll be looking forward to more!

[Vario80]

Really great work, i like the secret garden it's really huge and green, i think it would be a great place for every emperor. I will keep my eyes on this MD from now on.  And good luck for your exams btw.

[Yoder7652]

Holy cow! Strech...what an amazing update! Where do I begin? Well I love the way you've raised the ground level of the town so that there are embankments around its perimeter. I'm quite fond of the re-lotting of the triumphal arch...love the reference to Chaumont as well  The intersection in front of the marble bridge is very nicely done, I love how you have diagonal buildings on either side of the avenue. The layout of the palace and gardens looks wonderful as well...I look forward to some close-up shots of them  I'm really liking the new host 

Good luck on your exams! I'll be in touch about the upcoming Jubilee Celebration....

[CabraBuitre]

Can't wait to see closeups of the "secret garden!"

[kwakelaar]

What? where?...... no more Christine??

I am impressed by the baroque gardens you have made, must have taken quite some time with the LE, I also see some more park lots around that are very nice.
Like Yoder said the intersection in front of the bridge is looking fantastic also the next shot from the villa area between Kayserburgen and Strechnitz is just stunning. I really like that one with all the trees and greenery.

Best of luck with your exams.

[Strechnitz]

thundercrack83 Thank you my friend, it won't be the last you see of her. as a matter of fact now you can

Vario80 nice to have you dropping in now and then. and thanks. the 2 I had today went like a dream.

Yoder7652 Thank you. I hope Jarno likes it as well. And the close up shots? well, here they are

CabraBuitre idem dito. B.T.W. the secret garden was used as a metafor because it is not open to public. it is not really secret for everybody can see it from the air

kwakelaar Don't worry my friend, Christine will be back. I just wanted to broaden the scope of "public" Stroponians. variety is the key word. The gardens are build up out of several lots.(around 15 pieces)




Welcome back dear viewers. For those who just tuned in, we are standing outside Kayserbürgen Palace. And we are just about to enter the Imperial residence.


The first palace was built in 1501 as a hunting retreat. It consisted of the 3 pavilions with the copper cupolas. When in 1598 the Imperial Citadel burns down Emperor Victor Augustus I 'the pompous' takes his court to the summer residence Dampotzen and orders his architects to quickly expand the palace so that it can house the Imperial court when they return to Strechnitz with the fall of winter. And so they did. During the winter months the court resided in Kayserbürgen while the Imperial Citadel was rebuilt. (citadel updates on page 2 of this thread)


We enter the palace through the Imperial entrance. We'll first start with official staterooms before we will venture to the more private parts of the palace.


Here we see the Room of ambassadors. Here the envoys would have to wait before they were admitted into the staterooms leading to the throne room. Not bad for a mere vestibule now is it?


Above this room we find the Kaysersaal. Often used as a ballroom because of it's size and décor. Now let's go through that door.


From here we follow the entire enfilade of state rooms right up to the most important room of all. Here we see the luscious crystal room. Everywhere you look you see mirrors and gold. It is said that the net worth of all valuables in these state rooms could solve the debt of a small country. Wonderful is it not?


And what does it reveal? Indeed dear viewers. Feast your eyes on the Imperial Throne Room The room with it's present décor was ordered by Emperor Hector Heraclius in 1785 when he moved the court from the Imperial Citadel to Kayserbürgen. Look at the beautiful Imperial crest behind the thrones.


Now, we enter the private wing. This wing is entirely reserved for the private apartments of our beloved emperor. Let's see if we find any ikea furniture here.


Here we have the long gallery. You see that the décor and ornaments are less voluminous and less decadent than the official parts of the palace. The gallery Is used, apart from housing our Emperors private book collection, for long walks on rainy days.


This lovely room is the private drawing room of the emperor. Note the intricate cameo ceiling. It is said to be unique. Unfortunately we are not permitted to pry further into the private rooms so we'll have to be content with this. However. We have no reason to complain so farr now do we dear viewers?


The east wing opposite the private wing of the emperor was used as the private wing for the empress. This wing is nowadays the party wing of the palace. Most of the banquets and functions take place here.


The last room I would like to show is the Kaiserinnensaal. Dedicated to the empresses that have graced this palace. And many of them are immortalized on canvas here in this room. Aren't they pretty? What's also pretty is the view on the splendid gardens. Let's go outside shall we?...

And now let's go to the gardens The gardens are younger than the Palace. When Emperor Victor Augustus I 'the pompous' installed his court here there were no gardens. Apart from a few lawns and bushes. When it grew from hunting retreat into a real residence the need for decent gardens became adamant. So Emperor Victor Otto III who had seen the plans of Versailles wanted to have something similar. His architects devised this garden where the separate gardens have their own use and are separated by canals


(8 ) We start here in the Empress her private garden. The flowerbeds are adorned with Italian statues depicting muses and goddesses from classic history. At the center stands the temple of Venus and Amor.


On the west side of the palace we find the Emperors private garden. The garden houses two fountains that were a gift of Tsar Alexander 1th to Stropon.


Here we see the palace chapel. Built in a classical style as opposite to the baroque palace. It is in this building where Empress Marie Claire, the late wife of Emperor Jerome Victor IV tripped over the stairs and met her unfortunate end. Out of piety and the Emperors request, we will not enter the chapel.


When we walk on we enter the next isle.(2) Here the large white marble orangerie rises up in the air. Hre the potted citrus and pomegranate trees and other delicate plants are sheltered from the harsch winterweather. And occasionally it is used for breakfast for the steps provide a splendid view on the gardens.


And now we enter the closed garden.(3) In the original plans these trees housed an elaborate labyrinth. But that was cleared away in the 19th century for a piquet lawn. Our emperor and his father before him despises piquet so the lawn was left to weeds. Until 1972. In that year Quitaniana celebrated the tercentennial anniversary. Overjoyed with 300 years of Stroponian rule the Quitanianian Indians donated one of their temples to the Emperor. The lawn was restored and the temple was assembled here on site.


Now we climb the stairs of the terraced or cascade garden(5) The top is adorned with the Apollo fountain where the god of art drives his celestial chariot through the heavens. Looking down on the gardens and the palace. He probably likes what he sees. For he is smiling my dear viewers.


just alongside this garden lies the enclosed Asian garden.(6) An 18th century addition. When the east was popular in art and garden architecture. Many buildings in an asian style were built here to create the illusion of an Asian paradise. Many a gardenpartie is held here. Can you imagine the elaborate costumes worn dear viewers? I can.


We continue our walk back to the palace we come across the fountain garden (7) The fountain garden named after the fountains here. The bases of the bronze fountains are adorned with lead statues of classic demigods symbolizing the rivers and lakes within the empire.


We end our walk, and this program unfortunately in the very center of the garden (4) with the fountain of  Neptune. And oh look! There comes the Imperial Helicopter with the Emperor on board! Wonderful!

Ah well. I'm afraid that's it for now. But be sure to watch the next episode. Same time same net. This was Sights and Seeings. With Alexandra von Hoffenburg....Take care!



STRECH.

[Emperor Stormont]

Stunning, simply stunning.

Again your work both impresses and inspires 

[kwakelaar]

Some wonderful baroque gardens you have made, nice twist with the Japanese and Quitanian styled parts that have been fitted into the original design.
I have also been looking at the pictures from the interior of the palace and trying to figure out where the pictures are taken from.

[bat]

Fantastic area around the palace! Great updates, also wonderful pictures!

[Snaper]

Wonderful Parks ... It's very big, very luxurous 

I love 

[Badsim]

Great MD ... I love your creativity , especially on all these plazas .
The mix with real pictures are making a amazing communion with the luxuriance of your work .

[thundercrack83]

Stunning, simply stunning.

Again your work both impresses and inspires 

I don't think I could put it any other way. Beautiful work, my friend. Absolutely beautiful.

[CabraBuitre]

Simply awesome!  Great creativity!  It looks so realistic!!