Mirgrad

Mirgrad is the largest and de facto capital city of the Democratic People's Republic of Minecraftia. It was founded at the dawn of the Second Age as a collaborative effort between the inhabitants of all the districts in an attempt to move past the troubles ending the First Age and a symbol of the unification of all the server inhabitants, who had become disparate and isolated within the server's vast wilderness after moving out from First Spawn. As such, the streets of Mirgrad are a free-build zone for all members of the server, as long as they do not infringe upon the works of others.

Locational Distinction
The locations of certain features within Mirgrad are based upon their position relative to the road network, which is predominantly defined by two ring roads in the very heart of the city, with four main avenues radiating from their core. The circle at the center is referred to as the Central Ring, the strip of land between this and the next ring out is known as the Middle Ring and anything beyond the second ring is termed as being in the Outer Ring, as long as it is within the city. Needless to say, what constitutes being "in the city" for the Outer Ring is still up for debate, and will doubtlessly cause many jurisdictional troubles in the days to come.

For the purpose of this article, we will assume that any construction in the Outer Ring is in fact in the Suburbs, so only Central and Middle Ring buildings actually belong to the district. Another method for classifying locations that server inhabitants should be aware of is the use of the quadrant system, in which the quadrants formed by the radial roads are labelled in accordance with their orientation (north-west, north-east, soth-east and south-west). This system is not used when a building project crosses a major avenue or is indeed constructed on top of one (see Smiley's Village). The avenues themselves are named for the four directions on a compass (North Avenue, West Avenue etc.)

Business District
The Business District is situated within the Middle Ring of Mirgrad and is the site of the most impressive architectural projects on the server (see official list of buildings below). Despite its grandeur, which was initially conceived as a PR stunt intended to awe nooby first-time visitors who were, in the local parlance, "straight off the minecart", the Business District is not currently the center of commerce, making it a misnomer. Most trade and economic transactions take place within the Suburbs. [citation needed][citation provided by Chuck Norris]

Petronas Towers
The twin Petronas Towers, standing over the eastern road out of Mirgrad, are a replica of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Minecraftia State Building
The Minecraftia State Building is a large building opposite the St Hannahsburg tower in western Mirgrad. It is very tall, reaching up to the build height limit, and was the first building to do so.

St Hannahsburg tower
The St Hannahsburg tower is the business HQ of the commercial enterprises in St Hannahsburg. It reaches up to the build height limit.

The Needle
The Needle is located in southern Mirgrad, near Russian Town. It is believed to be housing a mysterious order known only as The Embassy, which, according to its mission statement, campaigns for the inalienable rights of certain groups on the server in their interest, although what rights and groups these may be is as yet unknown.

St Hannahsburg
St Hannahsburg is a peaceful and quiet hamlet situated in the nort-west quadrant of the Outer Ring and constructed by hannahchelsea. The neighborhood has a mainly agrarian economy and is seen as one of the most desirable suburbs in the city, alongside Smiley's Village. Besides a moderate farm, the complex hosts a butcher's, bakery, wool vendor and restaurant, making it the current commercial and trading hub of the city, considering that the majority of economic exchanges still take place between individual leaders of Districts, outside of Mirgrad's jurisdiction.

Smiley's Village
A prosperous community situated around the North Avenue of Mirgrad, close to the point where this road exits the Middle Ring. Besides several subsistence farms, not much industry is conducted here, making it a serene location for housing.

Russian Town
A ragged shanty town in the south-western quadrant of the Outer Ring, Russian Town is seen as a vibrant and cheerful, if somewhat dangerous and crime-ridden, community. The architecture of this locale is very distinct and famed for making the best of the very rugged terrain just south of central Mirgrad, with houses built directly over roads, each other and occasionally clinging to sheer cliffs and rock faces. Russia Town is also infamous for its main brewery, the Cactus Juice Emporium, which has become the catalyst of many pub brawls over the years, and its paving problem, with the majority of the streets, besides the main square, paved with gravel.

The suburb accommodates a few small, home grown industries, such as the Cactus Juice Emporium (see above), Proximity's Maps and Bargains, rumoured to be Voxproximity's family business, and the communal farms, which are run as a social enterprise for the benefit of the town. Russian Town is also famed for being one of the two locations on the server that contains a place of worship, namely the Holy Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (the other principality being Smiley's Village).

Notch International
The main airport of the server, Notch International is located in the north-west quadrant of the Outer Ring, although whether it is too far out from the center of Mirgrad to count as a suburb is still up for debate. It also happens to be incompatible with the only other airport on the server, Bridge's End Airdocks, since Notch International is built for heavier-than-air aircraft, whereas Bridge's End mainly handles lighter-than-air traffic.

Grave's End
Grave's End, also known as Schroedinger's Cemetery, is located in the northern part of the south-west quadrant and is the site of the graves of many players that they have reserved for themselves in the extreme case that they do no respawn or that kieranvs gets drunk and switches the server to hardcore.

Spleef Arena
The Spleef Arena can be found in the south-eastern quadrant and is currently the only competitive pastime center within the city, if not on the entire server. It was constructed by SmileyJames.

Weather and Environment
Mirgrad is built within a plains biome colloquially known as The Plain of Azula. By definition, this area is semi-arid and fairly flat (ideal for building), with (initially) plentiful wildlife and occasional rain and thunderstorms. Trees do not naturaly grow in this area, but have been introduced by splendid_mr_tom for the purposes of farming wood (see above).

Steve Factors
Resources depletion is a major Steve factor affecting the quality of life within Mirgrad today. Originally, the area was rich in ores, but as construction picked up pace, local ores were brutally extracted en masse, mostly because this was a less labour and finance intensive alternative compared to players donating excessive amounts of ores from their own homes, which were often further afield, especially if they had reset their home. Currently, this means that if any players were to settle in Mirgrad on a permanent basis, they would have to maintain mines in less exploited parts of the server, making such settlements impractical. The administration of Mirgrad is looking into enforcing a ban on all permanent settlement for this very reason, although the prospect of ore depletion itself may be enough to keep players at bay.