Altdorf

It is said that all roads and rivers lead to Altdorf, the largest, richest city of the Empire. It stands proudly at the confluence of the mighty Reik and Talabec rivers, as well as at the end of many major trade routes, and is easily the wealthiest city in the Empire. This ensures it is always expanding and renewing, with fresh, wide-eyed hopefuls arriving daily, and more commissions for new bridges, buildings, and engineering marvels presented weekly to the city’s burgomeisters than most cities consider in a year. 

Today, Altdorf is a city of majestic bridges, countless docks, mismatched islands, enormous tenements, and seemingly endless hordes of people: one cannot traverse its crooked streets without becoming intimately familiar with complete strangers. Because it draws merchants and diplomats from across the Old World (and beyond), it is also surprisingly cosmopolitan; not only do folk of all ranks, species, creeds, and backgrounds rub shoulders freely, but even wizards are a common sight, rarely receiving more hostility than a wary glance or muttered blessing. 

Always surprising outsiders, a populous Elf quarter thrives near the Reiksport—Altdorf’s deep-water harbor and shipyard—founded by High Elf merchant princes trading up the Reik from Marienburg over a century ago. The old alliance between the Empire and Dwarfs has stood since Sigmar’s time and ensures many Dwarf clans also reside there in tight-knit communities, some having toiled on the city’s stonework for untold generations, though their stubborn natures preclude them from ever calling Altdorf home. There is even a healthy Halfling population, with most earning their crusts serving fine food and better ales in Altdorf’s hostelries, many of which are guarded by the city’s sizeable Ogre population. 

No one knows exactly how many people live inside Altdorf's towering white walls: the last headcount was twenty years ago and said two hundred thousand. There is no reason to believe this number hasn't swelled. Nuln, the Empire's second-largest city, has no more than half of Altdorf's population (a century ago, the cities were more equal in size and prestige). Of all the cities of the Old World, only Marienburg has more citizens.

The Altdorf citizenry is known for being uniquely vocal and prone to rioting at any imagined slight, especially if it involves new taxes. Even seemingly trivial actions of the local burgomeisters and nobles can earn their ire, but the fact that many of their protests are entirely fair does not lessen the crown’s fervor in quashing any rebellious rabbles that may take to the streets.

Emperor Lutipold I holds court in Altdorf, the capital of the Reikland and the Empire as a whole. He is little involved in the daily affairs of the city, spending most of his time secluded in the Imperial Palace with his wife and two children, Crown Prince Karl-Franz and Princess Isadora.

Altdorf is a renowned center for learning. The sons and daughters of wealthy households matriculate at the University of Altdorf, often with little regard to academic ability; those with scholarly potential but without the financial clout to match it often find their way to the High Temple of Verena, for the Goddess of Wisdom, always has space for those blessed with intellect. The famed Imperial Engineers’ School—founded by Tilean genius Leonardo da Miragliano—also lies within Altdorf’s walls.

Part of the University but an entity unto itself: The Colleges of Magic. Founded over two centuries ago at the behest of Emperor Magnus the Pious, the colleges are guided by the principles and precepts of the elven Loremaster Teclis. The colleges are charged with training magically gifted citizens to channel their dangerous talents in the defense of the Empire.

Altdorf is also the beating heart of the Cult of Sigmar. Over two thousand five hundred years ago, Sigmar was born, raised, and eventually crowned as the first emperor within the boundaries of modern Altdorf, and fittingly the city now boasts more Sigmarite temples and holy sites than all the other cities of the Empire combined. Indeed, it is often said that one cannot throw a heretic without hitting a temple of Sigmar in the city.