| Minneapolis | |
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 Minneapolis, viewed from the east, across Hennepin Bay. | |
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Foundation |
Antiquity |
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Location |
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State |
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Population |
5.6 million |
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Notable structures |
Sears Tower, Buckingham Fountain, Grace Cathedral, St. Wenceslaus Church |
Minneapolis is a city in Aloia and the capital of the State of Minnesota. With 3.8 million residents it is also the country's largest. The metropolitan area of Minneapolis has a population of 10.4 million residents. The city is located in the southeastern portion of the Aloian peninsula, very near the place where the Minnesota River joins Hennepin Bay in the Bay of Biscay.
Minneapolis has the status of a global city. Minneapolis ranked in 2014 as the 14th-most-visited city in the world and the most popular tourist attraction in Aloia. The city is home to Grace Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Minneapolis, the third oldest and most populous diocese of the Church of Aloia.
History
Minnesota's history is largely the history of Minneapolis. The city was founded thousands of years ago by Germanic immigrants and the native Dakota. The city originally was itself named Minnesota, after the great river. The city was built further downstream, in the Biscay Valley, but as global sea levels rose, the city had to be moved to higher locations multiple times. The original townsite is underwater now, and a joint Aloian-Arveyran archaeological expedition explored and documented the seafloor ruins in 1994.
The settlement became a major trading point between the peoples of ancient Arveyres and the Germanic tribes moving further west. The city grew and eventually became an anchor of the Baltic League, a commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and their market cities. Its location on the mouth of the Minnesota River, close to the western end of the Grand Arveyran Canal and on the Baltic Sea made the city a central crossroads in the ancient world. The city's region of direct influence grew quickly, with most of the territory along the Minnesota River and Mankato River. In the 1300s, the city's monarch also captured the thrones of the Grand Duchy of Svealand and Duchies of Saxony and Victoria. The city's sphere of influence took its name from the city. In 1406, Queen Victoria IV renamed the city Minneapolis, primarily following the Hellenizing trends following the Christianization of Aloia, but also making it easier to distinguish between the two distinct political entities -- the city on the coast and its quickly developing hinterland. Minneapolis takes its name from Minnesota's first element, Minne-, meaning water, and the Greek suffix -polis, meaning city.
Following Martin Luther's posting of the Ninety-Five Theses in 1517, the Archbishop of Minneapolis became one of his largest supporters. Minneapolis soon became a center for the growing Protestant movement. By this point, Minneapolis had established itself as Aloia's largest and most important city. Minneapolis hosted the capital of Aloia from 1752 to 1849.
Today, Minneapolis is one of the largest cities in the world and a leader in technology, banking, and industry. The rest of Minnesota is renowned for its thousands of lakes and natural beauty, as well as dominant agricultural economy. Minneapolis and greater Minnesota is widely considered the leader of the Kingdom of Aloia, contributing most of its Chancellors and political leaders. Media out of Minneapolis shapes most of Aloian culture.