Welcome To Mattijana!Mattijana is a huge safe nation with a significant, but proportionate population. It spans a fairly large range of climates with the far north a colder area, the central region temperate, the south Mediteranean and the South-East semi-desert. Petrovijanka, the capital city, is located almost exactly in the centre of the country at 214-232 metres above sea level. It has summer highs of around 28°C and lows of -5°C in the winter. There is a high level of sunshine for most of the year with precipitation mostly snowfall in the winter months.
The ZentraleAlpa, or central alps, are located in the centre-west of Mattijana, around two hours by high-speed train from Petrovijanka. They cover a fairly fast area, which is designated by the province with the same name. The capital of this province is the city of Matbirjke, located on the banks of the Sava Petrov river, (which also flows through Petrovijanka itself) at an altitude of almost 1000m above sea level. It is a relatively small city, but boasts a large variety of historical and cultural attractions, as well as being the nearest city to many of Mattijana's ski resorts.
Culturally, Mattijana can also be divided into six regions. The West of the country is largely Germanic whilst the centre North is a mix of Slavic and Germanic cultures, centred around Mattijana's second city, Burges. The North and East are mainly Eastern European (closest to Polish irl) whilst the Centre (where Petrovijanka is situated) and the South are Slavic (similar to the Slovenian and Croatian cultures). There is an Arabic community in the South-East.
All Mattijanans speak the official language, Mattijanan. However, due to this not being spoken anywhere else in the World, English and German are well-spoken throughout the country whilst Arabic is taken on by the most intelligent students (in addition to English and German) as well as by those in the South-East.
There is no official religion in Mattijana due to this mix of cultures. Islam is popular in the South-East and parts of the South whilst some in the East follow the Mattijanan Orthodox church. Most people hold no religious belief, but believe in the universal philosophy of being kind, welcoming and helpful to others. Even in religious communities, it is these principals that are most talked of with religious figures used to preach them.
Due to the mix/match nature of Mattijanan cultures, religions are also a little mixed up. This is the reason that most muslim women do not wear headscarves.
Attitudes to drink and sex are fairly liberal whilst there is good gender, sexual and racial equality. Social mobility is also good and the rich earn only twice as much as the poorest.
The government follows mildly socialist policies meaning the tax rate is fairly high, but schools, hospitals and other public services are all well-funded and reasonably-priced. Taxes on large businesses are higher than on small ones. The government building is the MattiStaja, which is situated on Staja square in the centre of Petrovijanka. All six regions have their own smaller congresses however. Politicians are generally appreciated and although public decisions are limited to elections and important political decisions where the main population is the most affected, most citizens feel well represented due to the numerous meeting and discussion opportunities with their local politician.
All parties follow a similar philosophy, but mainly disagree on where to fund the most. The MattijanaLeušaBuro is the current elected party, but other popular parties are the ViroBuro (who generally promote the needs of the environment) and the NašinalBuro (who promote funding for employment opportunities). Despite this attitude, unemployment benefits are actually quite low in order to encourage people to be hard-working.
Winter Sport In MattijanaMattijanans are big fans of domestic winter sport, although due to the general Mattijanan climate, summer sports are the most widely performed on the international stage. Having said that, almost the entire population of the Central Alps participate in some form of winter sport, be it skiing, snowboarding, skating, curling or sliding. Matbirjke is also home to a professional Hockey club and due to the modern artificial pitches used for hockey, the national sport of Mattijana remains accessible all year round.
The principal sports resort is situated in Ježarnico, however this is mainly a tourist base with fewer difficult areas for athletes. Therefore, the Tournament will take place at the Hollesbirjke, the most testing winter sports resort and occasional training base for many international athletes. It has two principal tracks, one suited for bobsleigh and one for skeleton with extensions for luge on both tracks.
About the FacilitiesName: Slonske-Lidenburg sliding centre.
Turns: 15
Distance: 1.3 km
The Slonske-Lidenburg or SLSC was the first sliding centre built at the Hollesbirjke running from around a third of the main ski slope down to the village of Skopjana. It features some more generic near-180 degree turns before a kink leads into the most demanding section of the track. Starting with a kink left, the ice leads into a steeply banked double pressured right hander. There is then little time for respite with a sharp left leading steeply downhill, through the smooth, but tricky Leisna chicane and then through the final few sweeping curves and back uphill 90° towards the finish line. The Slonske-Lidenburg plays host to the skeleton for men and women and to the runs 1 and 3 of the luge. To conserve the tradition of the centre, stands are smaller and old-fashioned, but still numerous and a recent refurbishment has seen a screen added at the bottom of the hill which can be watched be spectators on the hill outside.
Name:The Mattijana sliding centre
Turns: 13
Distance: 1.1km
The Mattijana sliding centre is a modern facility situated on the opposite side of the valley to the SLSC, but also winds down to the village of Skopjana. The facility is more suited to bobsleigh and luge with more sweeping corners placed in over shorter and sharper turns. The first obstacle faced by sliders is a kink which must be taken well to set up for the second turn- a long 90° left. This leads into a few sweeping turns which test both the balance of bobsleigh and crew. A shorter and steeper downhill section is then converted into speed through another long 90° section. A slightly sharper turn goes back down, through the Petrov chicane and into the finish area.
There are modern stands on the inside of the track where possible and also at the start and finish areas. There is also a large square where onlookers can watch on a screen.
Around PetrovijankaVirtually in the dead centre of Mattijana, Petrovijanka was founded in 1450 and is centred around a large island (now called the PetroviOtok) in the middle of the Sava Petrov river. Staja square, the geographical and spiritual centre of the city, is in the middle of that island with the East river and West river (OstSava and VestaSava) surrounding the island. The city has since spread out on the mainland, but retains much of its impression and beauty a long way from the centre.
Petrovijanka is an architecturally stunning city with many buildings dating back to the 1700s and a good 2km radius before the buildings become more modern.
The city centre is based around Staja Square and then spreads out in circular streets from there. The main sights are the MattiStaja itself, the NašinalMusej (the national Mattijanan museum) the KatarinaTurn (a large nineteenth centry tower made of sandstone and steel which offers outstanding views of the city and its surrounding area) and the PetrovKera, an ornamental triple layered footbridge over the West River with an art exhibition on the top floor, a market on the middle floor and restaurants and cafes on the bottom floor.
Puljanka is the main music and theatre city in Mattijana. It is easily accessible by train and is roughly 1.5 hours by this means, however, concerts and plays are regularly put on in the NašinalTheatre in Petrovijanka and are incredibly high quality.