Mainz
Mainz is a tiny city state on the western border of Bavaria. At the post-napoleonic Congress of Vienna it was decided that the city was to be ruled jointly by three of the victorious powers. At first this was the Austrian Empire, Prussia and the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt. Prussia gave up its part in 1832 as a deal over territory to the east of the Inner Sea (an action which is probably regretted somewhat by Herr Bismarck today). Since 1816, Hesse-Darmstadt has formally merged with Bavaria and the Austro- Hungarian Empire has been created so it is these latter two nations who now rule Mainz.
Extracts from reports to the Imperial and Royal Foreign Office
from Consul-Extraordinary to the Rhenish Principalities
Ruprecht, Freiherr von Schleissen - October & November 1872.
I am now suitably esconced in my new offices in the Osteiner Hof, the headquarters of the Austro-Hungarian administration in the city. Two of the other buildings on the Schiller-Platz are the Bassenheimer Hof, the Bavarian administration's building and the Schonborner Hof, which is a well appointed club used by the military officers and officials of both nations.
This bustling city is rapidly in danger of growing beyond her current boundaries. The local Industrialists are expanding their manufactories at a somewhat alarming rate. They have recently petitioned the Ruling Powers for the demolition of the outer defences of the city (these are further out than the Inner (or Old) Wall shown on the enclosed plan of the city. This, they say, will allow further building to take place and so increase the prosperity of Mainz.
Sadly, all this unplanned development has its dark face. The workers' housing outside the city is swollen with the rural poor of many of the Rhineland nations. Crime is growing in the area beyond the Inner Wall and I fear a breeding ground for Anarchists and Dynamiters is the next sorry step....
...The new manufactory owners and some other leading business men of the city have set up the 'Mainzer Bund', an association which is pressing for more say from the city's elite in its own affairs. Currently, the chief demand of their leader, Herr Rudolf Meyer, is that an elected Mayor (himself, he assumes) and council should be allowed as a 'Third Power' in the rule of the city. His declared eventual aim is total self-rule.
Given the worrying lack of control over development even under our joint-rule, I would strongly recommend that complete independence for the city be resisted at all costs. The only feasible route, I can see at present, is still as we discussed at our last meeting in Vienna. We must be prepared to negotiate a phased withdrawal from the city and its permanent union with the Kingdom of Bavaria (with some form of reciprocation on the behalf of Bavaria). No time frame has yet been set publicly (or privately) for such a move to begin....
.....Please pass my regards to Prince Hohendorf, I have found an archive which may be of some use in his researches on the history of the Teutonic Knights. Last night I had the great pleasure of dining with the Master of the Commandery of the Knights-Templar, here in Mainz. The order occupies a fine building, known as the Deutsches-Ordernhaus on the river front of the Rhine. This well-appointed establishment was originally constructed as a commandery of the aforesaid Teutonic Knights. The Master, Baron von Leidden, informed that during some work on extending their wine cellar they had found two chests containing manuscripts concerning the history of the Teutonic order and judging by some hints which he dropped, some writings of a less than savoury nature. It would appear that the latter documents provided working details of the bloody magical rites of the baltic pagan priests in the late thirteenth century....
....The last incident which involved my friends included an attack from the Wild Hunr! It would appear that one of the young officers of our army, stationed here in Mainz, had taken part in a duel which started with an insult in (to quote the man directly) "a cafe which I had never noticed before, although I had passed down that street a hundred times or more". The other party in this duel on being shot "dead " proved to be the son of one of the local Faerie. His Father, in his grief and anger. raised the Wild Hunt against the officer who escaped by a most narrow margin by the assistance of my friends who were travelling on the same train. I have investigated this matter further and have come to the conclusion that this "Mysterious Cafe" has appeared many times in many locations, all of them in the Germanies (including Austria). Ir is a dangerous place being frequented by many varieties of Faerie Folk and it would seem by some mortals who travel endlessly with the place. It has certainly appeared in Mainz on several occasions and each time been involved with some misadventure or tragedy. I have asked the garrison commanders of both nations here to pass on a suitable warning to their men......
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