Steerswick

Grand Duchy of Steerswick Grossherzogtum Stierschweig
Flag Coat of Arms
Capital	Steerswick
Largest city	Steerswick
Official language(s)	Istvanistani Cibolan Saxon
Official religion(s)	Nidarosian Nazarene
Demonym	Steerswicker
- Adjective	Steerish
Government	Monarchy
- Regent	Mondo Etzeterra
- Legislature	-
Establishment	9.I.1598 AN (Duchy) 18.XV.1617 AN (Kingdom) 20.XII.1702 AN (Grand Duchy)
Area	194,112 sq.km
Population	650,000 (estimate)
Active population	1
Currency	Mondomark
Time zone(s)	CMT-10
Driving side	right
National website	-
National forum	-
National animal	Siebenbergen Goat
National food	-
National drink	-
National tree	-
Abbreviation	STW

Steerswick (Cibolan Saxon: Stierschweig), officially the Grand Duchy of Steerswick (Cibolan Saxon: Grossherzogtum Stierschweig), is a monarchy in south western Cibola.

Etymology

The name Steerswick is derived from Swak Steer, the original name for the capital and largest city. Historically, the area was also known as Steeria or Stiermark.

Geography

Steerswick occupies a large river valley in southern Cibola, extending south west from Helderberg to the ocean. The terrain is mountainous in the extreme north, with rolling hills further south lowering to a coastal plain.

With the exception of the mountain peaks in the extreme north, the country has a predominantly warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb). Elevated areas are dominated by deciduous and coniferous forests, with extensive grasslands in the river and coastal lowlands.

History

Early history

The region was home to several early states, about which comparatively little is known. The city of Swak Steer was founded c.1539 AN by tribes from the south, although the state they established had collapsed by 1550 AN.

Rossheim era

In 1593 AN, the Duke of Rossheim annexed the area as the Bailiwick of Steeria (Cibolan Saxon: Vogtei Stiermark). Swak Steer was resettled by Cibolan Saxon colonists, who originally named it Stierburg. The city received its present name, Steerswick (Cibolan Saxon:Stierschweig) in 1604 AN.

On 9.I.1598 AN, Steeria was erected into a duchy for the King of Leichenberg’s children, Igor Viktor and Viktoria Adelheid. Although the duchy was reincorporated into Leichenberg only ten months later, it continued to be administered separately from the remainder of the kingdom, reinforcing a nascent local identity that was confirmed when Igor Viktor and Viktoria Adelheid’s son, Max II, was proclaimed ruler of an independent Kingdom of Steeria in XV.1617 AN.

Helderbourgh rule

After the collapse of Rossheim rule, Steeria was incorporated within the Grand Duchy of Helderbourgh in 1667 AN. The Grand Duchy, by then part of the Kingdom of Batavia, disintegrated in 1685 AN.

Restoration

The emergence of Mondo Etzeterra into the politics of southern Cibola in 1702 AN, inspired a resurgence of Steerish nationalism. The years of independence between 1617 and 1667 AN had caused a distinct Steerish identity to emerge, increasingly seen as separate from the Cibolan Saxons to the north. Helderbourgish rule had only served to strengthen this trend, and although nostalgia for the defunct Rossheim dynasty remained strong, local support for Mondo was tempered by the determination of many locals to avoid domination by a revived central authority north of the mountains.

After lengthy negotiations, representatives of the local estates offered Mondo the regency of a revived Steerish state, the Grand Duchy of Steerswick, on the understanding that the throne would pass to one of his future offspring when they came of age. It was also stipulated that the Grand Duchy would not be united with Etzeland or another Cibolan Saxon state.

On 20.XII.1702 AN, Mondo formally accepted the offer and announced that a suitable candidate for the grand ducal throne was “being assembled”.