Administrative Divisions of Vittmark

OUTDATED BY A CENTURY, PROBABLY NEED TO BE RE-WRITTEN AS HISTORICAL ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS

The administrative divisions of Vittmark consist of three levels of government under that of the federation, being state level (land), regional level (hundred) and local level. Since 7666 all the states have regularly similar sized hundreds managing the intermediate level of worldly government, but up to this day, the local level can have different compositions, taskas and responsibilities in separate states.

Before the synchronization of Vittmark as a federal state in 7611 the nation had a complex system of asymmetric subdivisions, each with different levels of authority and terminology. Many of the traditional and historical subdivisions still live on as more informal regional names without any level of government attached to it.

Beside worldly government, the states of Vittmark are divided into stifts and sockens connected to the traditional Mellanhand Orkanan style of government. Certain tasks that usually are delegated to the local level of government still are carried out by the stims, although the level of responsibility can be different between the member states withing the federation.

Administrative History: state level

Vittmark is a federation composed of formerly independent states and autonomous or dependent territories, a process that started in 7564 and was completed in 7611. The previously independent nations were known as "landskap," which roughly translates as "land-state." All dependencies were transformed into six "län" (provinces) which had less autonomy and were governed more directly from the federal level. Three of these formed a new single "landskap" in 7570, the state of Sörmark.

The capital district became a unique subdivision in 7566, as were the merchant city-state of Skara, the company town of Kopparbruk, and the island nation of Mivö. In addition to these territorial administrative divisions, there were two entities with similar rights: the Bengtist Stift (7568) and the Fjällsta Stift (7569). These groups operate as non-territorial entities with significant influence.

In 7570-71, the outer territories off the Altaian east coast, managed by the Fisks stim, joined the federation as an "overseas company territory," possessing similar autonomy to the city-state of Kopparbruk. In 7572, Ådalen, Hagen, and Köttshagen were promoted to principalities ("furstendom") following a new law that banned armed military units from lands ("landskap") after an attempted coup in March 7572. Principalities retained the right to maintain their own military, unlike other lands that lost this right.

Ådalen signed a free association treaty with Vittmark in 7573, resulting in Ådalen being considered a voluntary member of the federation, similar to the Bengtist and Fjällsta Stifts, as well as Fisks. The second to last addition on a state level became the Kakuri stift in 7878, the third non-territorial unit in this constellation, but also the first and only entity of non-Anarian ethnicity. The last member state to join the federation was West Hagen or Austland as it is called by the Aldsay. The territory was occupied by Vittmarker forces in 7584 as invited by Aldsay rebels opposing the Häverist rule over Aedeland at that time. After a referendum in 7690 the region became a member state of Vittmark, since the majority of the Aldsay population supported the inclusion in a more multi-ethnic set-up of Vittmark compared to independence or Aedelish-Häverist rule.

In 7606...

TBA

Historical Member States of Vittmark

Vittmark as a federation had 18 primary subdivisions, or member states, at its peak between 7591 and 7611. Each state has one seat in the Förbundsting (House of State, previously House of Lords) and a set number of allocated seats in the federal parliament.

Principality

In 7572, three of the lands received the status of principality ("furstendom"), granting them slightly more authority than the remaining lands, including the right to maintain their own military. Hagen has been divided into Hagen and Köttshagen, which are non-continuous territories. Ådalen accepted this status over a year later through a free association treaty. In 7579 Kötthagen changed its name to Mellersta Haga while Hagen became Östra Haga or East Hagen.

Flag	Old Flag	Name	Capital	Type	Head of State	Political	Inhabitants	Area
		Östra Haga	Hinnårum	Furstendom	Gustav Gustavsson av Hagen
		Mellersta Haga	Vinborg	Furstendom	Gustav Gustavsson av Hagen
		Ådalen	Ås	Furstendom	Ulla Ådahl			60,702

Landskap

The six former independent nations officially swore allegiance to the federation of Vittmark in 7564, transferring some of their governmental responsibilities to the federal government. This process was influenced by Central Anarian nations aiming to resolve the "three-way conflicts," fearing they might lead to a new pan-Anarian war. These former nations were known as "landskap" ("land-state") from 7564 to 7573.

Flag	Old Flag	Name	Capital	Type	Head of State	Political	Inhabitants	Area
		Dunsvik	Ormserum	Landskap	Peter Petersson av Dunsvik
		Kletudde	Kletudde	Landskap	Teres av Ståhlvik
		Kram	Sandsala	Landskap	TBA
		Kulla Kronområde	Kronsta	Landskap	Anna av Kulla (Konung av Vittmark)
		Laxholm	Kobbe	Landskap	Markvard Turesson av Kobbe
		Liden	Månsta	Landskap	Östen Karlsson av Månsta Lundén
		Sörmark	Kronsta	Landskap	Anna av Kulla (Konung av Vittmark)

Other Territorial Units

Vittmark includes several unique subdivisions such as the capital district of Östervallen (a city-state), the merchant city-state of Skara, the company town of Kopparbruk, and the island nation of Mivö. These areas possess unique local government systems. Additionally, the recently added Altaian company territory of Fisks is classified as an "overseas company territory" with more autonomy due to its distant location, and has entered the federation by free association.

Flag	Old Flag	Name	Capital	Type	Head of State	Political	Inhabitants	Area
		Kopparbruk	Kopparbruk	Company Town	Petra Brunhildsdotter Pulsmyr			78
		Mivö	Källbyholm	Island Nation	TBA
		Skara	Staden Skara	City State	TBA			21
		Östervallen	Stad Östervallen	Capital District	Gert Hialmarsson av Almedalen			61

Non-Territorial Units

Two non-territorial subdivisions are the Bengtist Stift and Fjällsta Stift, which represent freestanding congregations spread across other territories, mainly in the south (Sörmark) and to a lesser extent in Kulla. These stifts have unique rights and duties, separate from the territorial units to which they belong.

Flag	Old Flag	Name	Capital	Type	Head of State	Political	Inhabitants	Area
		Bengtist Stift	Bengts Gästgiveri Östvallen	Stift	TBA		5,096	0
		Fjällsta Stift	Fjällsta	Stift	Palne Kristersson (Herr till Fjällsta)		205,882	0
		Kakuri Stift	Toshi-bu	Stift	Moa Palnesdotter av Blåkulla		4,800	0

Current member states of Vittmark

TBA

Enclaves and Exclaves

Due to the bottom-up nature of government in traditional Orkanan societies, enclaves and exclaves within administrative divisions are common. Examples include city-states like Skara and Östervallen and various territories that do not fall under the jurisdiction of the state they are geographically located in. Other examples are "Statshotellen," national exclaves located within Östervallen, and "Förbundsfaciliteterna," federal installations governed directly by the federal government.

Secondary Levels: Stifts and Härads

Each "landskap" is divided into "stifts" (territorial religious subdivisions) and/or "härads" (hundreds or secular subdivisions). Härads function as the governmental subdivisions, while stifts manage religious affairs. In some regions, stifts perform governmental duties in the absence of a functioning härad.

Storstift

Some stifts are grouped into larger "storstifts" or archstifts, which span state borders and sometimes cover more than one member state, creating a higher level of administrative division.

Local Level

At the local level, governance is organized around the "socken," a unit formed by stims (extended families) voluntarily affiliating and bringing their land as territory. This structure results in a pattern of enclaves and exclaves.