Inner Realm of Patria  Antarbhumi Ramrajya

The three stars on the flag of the Federal District of Castoropolis represent the three branches of government (executive, legislative, judicial), as well as the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

Orientation:
Castoropolis was established as Patria's permanent capital city by act of the First Congressus Patriaë in 1818, only a few months after Independence.  In the 1820s the new city was planned and built with obvious inspiration from the plan of Washington, DC designed by Pierre L'Enfant.  The Federal District of Castoropolis, whose boundaries are co-extensive with the city itself, is entirely surrounded by several cities, towns, and suburban sprawl in the Precinct of Caesarea.  The original area of the Federal District of Castoropolis consisted only of the Island of Castoropolis.  By the turn of the 20th century the city's built-up areas had expanded beyond the limits of the island and so in 1917 an act of the 25th Congress incorporated into the Federal District several towns and villages in the Precinct of Caesarea on the east side of the Naya Ganga.  One town, Crozier Heights, fought the annexation and remains part of Caesarea.  Crozier Heights is an upper-class enclave, like Toronto's Forest Hill or Montreal's Westmount, home to much of Patria's Jewish community.

The Capitol building, which houses the Congressus Patriaë, is the central focus of Castoropolis.  Located only a few metres west of the geographic centre of the Island of Castoropolis, its dome and rotunda are very similar in appearance to the United States Capitol.  Extending west from the Capitol is Castoropolis Common [Bhavani Bagh], a large central park.  In fact, Castoropolis Common is not unlike New York City's Central Park, offering a large open field for concerts, numerous recreational facilities, wooded areas, and secluded spots for doing yoga (as well as serving as a hangout for drug dealers, muggers, rapists, homeless bums, and other assorted sleaze).  Travellers are advised to visit Castoropolis Common during daylight hours only.  The main north-south, east-west, and radial/diagonal streets are shown on the map below.  A gridiron pattern of residential streets is superimposed on the radial/diagonal plan.  Streets running east and west are numbered (beginning with 1st Street, one block north and south of the Capitol and the baseline streets: Crozier St. East [Shankaracharya Marg] and Justice St [Dasharath Marg]), while streets running north and south - with the exception of 4 major arteries - have Greek letters (beginning with Alpha Street one block east and west of the Capitol and the baseline street: Schaefer St [Shakti Marg].).  The island is divided into four quadrants, relative to the Capitol: North West, North East, South West and South East, similar to Washington, DC.  Thus there may be as many as four intersections of , for example, 6th and Gamma Streets:  NW, NE, SW,  and SE.

Castoropolis is well connected to the rest of Patria via the National Freeway or Interprecinct Highway system.  The Sikora Freeway (I-101), named for Patria's first Surveyor-General and 19th century road builder, links the capital to Nova Columbia, Ambrosia, Centralia, Antioch, Canardière, and Aeolia.  The Hammond Highway (I-139) connects Castoropolis to Hammond [Hameshvara], the capital of the Precinct of Caesarea.  I-102 links the capital with the western Precincts of Mauretania and Haldimania; while I-154 provides a link to Lazuria and the north.  The Federal Beltway  - an often traffic-clogged commuter route - encircles the Island of Castoropolis and the inner city.  The phrase "inside the Beltway" is just as applicable to Castoropolis in both the geographic and political sense as it is to Washington.
 

View enlargement of Downtown area
View enlargement of Capitol area
View Subway map
Media outlets
Key to points of interest shown on above map:

1. Capitol
2. Barker Field (Senators baseball)
3. Schaefer Stadium (Capitals baseball)
4. Executive Mansion (former home of pre-revolutionary President; now a Hindu temple)
5. National Arts Centre (there's an NAC in Ottawa, so Castoropolis should have one too)
6. University of Castoropolis
7. Union Station
8. Columbia Street Arena (Centurions hockey)
9. Ramrajyavani Broadcast Centre
10. City Hall
11. National Stadium (100,000 seats for football and soccer)
12. National Zoo
13. Federal District of Castoropolis Prison
14. University of Caesarea at Berea
15. National Institute of Technology
16. City College of Castoropolis
17. Mahalakshmi Race Course
18. Library of Congress
19. Supreme Court
20. Tomb of the Unknown Sevak
21. Hindu University of Patria
22. National Military College of Patria
23. Ministry of National Defense
24. United States Embassy
25. National Asylum (psychiatric hospital)

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Downtown area
The map below details the central business district at the western end of the Common.  St. Joseph [Radha-Krishna] Station handles mainly local commuter trains; most inter-city rail traffic runs out of Union [Mahasabha] Station, a neo-Gothic rockpile (à la Bombay's Victoria Terminus) located at 4th and Vermont [Vaikuntha Marg] NW.  Hector [Hanuman] St. is the capital's truly slimy side, teemng with hookers, pimps and drug dealers.  The Hector Hotel, at Hector and 4th St. SW, is a notorious whore-house.  If you find a couple of churches but don't see any Hindu temples marked on this map, there's a reason for it: this map dates from 1976, long before the Dharmic Revolution.

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Capitol area
The map below details the eastern end of the Common and the many government buildings surrounding the Capitol at the centre of the Island of Castoropolis.  Many of the government buildings, such as the Treasury Dept., Post Office Dept., and Library of Congress, are massive monuments of Art Deco kitsch, built in the 1930s as make-work projects during the  Depression.  Both the U.S. and Russian Embassies are conveniently located a few blocks east of the Capitol.  The Canadian Embassy, not shown on either enlargement or the overview map, is at 200 Theta St. NW.  Crozier St. East [Poorva Shankaracharya Marg], a wide boulevard extending east from the Capitol to the former Executive Mansion (now Shanti Mandir, a Hindu temple) on the eastern end of the Island, is the main ceremonial parade route for Inaugural parades, Rathyatra (the annual Parade of Chariots) and other Hindu ceremonial processions.

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Castoropolis Metro (Subway) System
The capital's first subway (a.k.a. tube, U-Bahn, métro, etc.) line was opened in 1918 as a special project to mark Patria's centennial year. The system has grown over the past 80 years to 4 lines and over 150 stations.

Click to view Castoropolis Metro system map.

Castoropolis and Caesarea Railways
Castoropolis and Caesarea Railways (CCR) provide suburban commuter rail service throughout the greater Castorpolis region and even into the neighboring Precinct of Antioch, using EMU and DMU trainsets, as well as bi-level electric locomotive-hauled trains on the Hammond Line.

Click to view Castoropolis and Caesarea Railways system map.