Nice

Nice
The server-renowned Beach of Angels
Nation	France
Continent	Europe
Population	12 players

Nice

Nice is a town in France, located in the Côte d'Azur region on the Mediterranean Sea. It borders the towns of Nimes and Monaco. Across the server it has become renowned for its gorgeous Mediterranean architecture and stunning recreations of real structures in Nice. It is also the home of the French Naval Arsenal and French Admiralty which oversees all French naval operations. Because of its strategic location along the Mediterranean Alps which straddle the border between Italy and France, as well as the numerous ice-roads which link up at the Nice Gare-de-Ville iceroad station, it has become an important transit hub for much of Southern Europe.

History

A town named... Toulon?

Nice was originally founded by CaptianCaliber in May of 2019 as "Toulon" due to its founding location where the city of Toulon was situated in real life and because of its initial impetus for construction- to help establish a formidable French naval base on the Mediterranean modeled after the real-life Toulon arsenal. At the time, Perpignan still stretched from southern Catalonia to the Lyon delta, and only one other French town existed along the Mediterranean coast (Monaco), so creating a strong town with a military presence was seen as an opportunity to create a powerful and strategically important town. The first two structures built were the Mayor's Apartment, a three-story yellow terracotta building with a sandstone foundation, and the Tour Royale (Royal Tower), a large circular sandstone fort. Two long breakwaters were made which extended far into the Mediterranean and created a tranquil harbor. Much care was taken to build the town, with detail and beauty being imperative for every new building. The streets were also made to conform to the hilly topography of the Mediterranean coast, creating interesting and unique roads.

Nice is "officially" founded

After a while, CaptianCaliber became somewhat disenchanted with the name "Toulon". While the name respected the territorial space that the town occupied, he decided "Nice" was an overall cleaner name, and since Monaco occupied the area that the real Nice sat on, he would not ever be in fear of holding the name from someone else. So, on May 23rd, 2019, he made the decision to officially change the town's name to "Nice", although he would cheekily ask for his nations input after the change, which luckily turned out to be resounding support for the decision. Things continued as usual in Nice, with more forest cleared, new roads made, and new buildings created such as the Palace of Savoy and Fontaine du Soleil. During this time as before, CaptianCaliber's main focus was building, and little regard was paid to recruiting new members for the town or venturing out to find gold. Eventually, the decision was made to destroy the old harbor breakwaters and any buildings which sat directly along the coast. This meant that the original two buildings of the town, the Mayor's office and the Tour Royale, would have to be demolished. On June 18th, 2019, both structures were torn down; the Mayor's office escaped total destruction after being moved to a new location along the new Nice Harbor, but the remains of the Tour Royale, mostly sandstone, were unceremoniously scrapped to be used on other projects. The last remaining structure inspired by a building in Toulon was the unfinished Opera House, which was re-purposed to be used as a Bank and can still be visited today.

Trouble with Claims

While Nice was growing and new structures being built, its neighboring town of Monaco remained stagnant. In fact, since Caliber had joined, not a single member of Monaco had logged onto the server. The end of the 42 days until the town decayed was approaching quickly, and the word in France was not hopeful to say the least. Nice began preparations to claim what parts of Monaco it could afford in an effort to save it from total ruin. However, out of nowhere, on the 2nd of June, the Mayor of Monaco logged on and made a long arm of claims directly into areas being developed by Nice, including parts of the work-in-progress Place Massena. This action, which came seemingly out of nowhere for Caliber, forced him to use his saved gold to create an equally bizarre arm which surrounded Monaco's claim. The debacle between the two French towns seemed embarassing for France, and the mere existence of the small town of Nice now appeared to be threatened by the much larger Monaco. Fortunately, with the intervention of cactusinapumpkin, mayor of the nearby town of Nimes, a dialogue was reached between Nice and Monaco. The initial claimblock had been the result of a misunderstanding, as the mayor of Monaco, Camialstraw, feared that her plans for development in the area where Nice was would be squashed. Nice in turn explained their fears that Monaco would soon fall into ruin, and how they were only trying to save it. A new border between the two towns was drawn which would return the land claimed within developing parts of Nice while also giving Monaco land to build a stadium. Cactusinapumpkin as mediary generously reimbursed both parties for the land they would each unclaim. At last, peace had been reached.

Growth and Stability

After another long stretch of spectacular building, many members of France began to take notice of Nice's unparalleled beauty. Many French citizens saw the entire town as a work of art worthy of the highest praise. A friend of CaptianCaliber and fellow renowned French architect explodingmelons was duly impressed by Caliber's progress in Nice, and agreed to help him fund the town in exchange for the rights to construct naval warships along Nice's harbor. With his patronage, Nice was able to grow and expand much faster. Sights such as the Town Hall, Tower of St. Francois, and the spectacular jewel in Nice's crown- the Cathedral Sainte-Reparate- were built, and when neighboring Monaco gained nationhood, even more exposure came to the town.

Tourist Attractions 

Nice is a beautiful town, but what sets it apart from other cities in EarthMC is its tourism-oriented approach to building. Nice is filled with as many great monuments and sights as it is normal buildings, making it a popular place for visitors to come and gawk. Some of these sights are-

• The Palace of Savoy, a great sandstone-and-quartz palace which looms over the main square.
• The Beach of Angels, a peaceful beach along the Mediterranean with charming edifices lining the main promenade.
• The Place Massena, a vibrant plaza with the Fontaine du Soleil radiating from the center.
• The Tour of St. Francois, a soaring tower which dominates the skyline of Nice.
• The Bank of Nice, a large sandstone building based off of the real-life Opera de Toulon.
• The Sainte-Reparate Cathedral, a gorgeous church with plenty of stained-glass and pews.
• The Gare-de-Ville, a great train-station with lofty ceilings
• The Nice Town Hall, a bright yellow building decorated with quartz.

Cathedral Sainte-Reparate

Palace of Savoy

Notable Members 

Although Nice has usually stayed a very small town, some important members of the server have started here, including the current Emperor of Shimazu, Baron_Sigma.