National Wonders

The Arch provides an Engineer slot in the capital city.

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The Central Bank doubles its city's wealth output and increases its chances of generating a Great Merchant.

    The use of money as a unit of account predates history. Government control of money is documented in the ancient Egyptian economy (2750-2150 BC). The Egyptians measured the value of goods with a central unit called shat. As many other currencies, the shat was linked to gold. The value of a shat in terms of goods was defined by government administrations. Other cultures in Asia Minor later materialised their currencies in the form of gold and silver coins.

    In the medieval and the early modern period a network of professional banks was established in Southern and Central Europe. The institutes built a new tier in the financial economy. The monetary system was still controlled by government institutions, mainly through the coinage prerogative. Banks, however, could use book money to create deposits for their customers. Thus, they had the possibility to issue, lend and transfer money autonomously without direct governmental control.

    In order to consolidate the monetary system, a network of public exchange banks was established at the beginning of the 17th century in main European trade centres. The Amsterdam Wisselbank was founded as a first institute in 1609. Further exchange banks were located in Hamburg, Venice and Nuremberg. The institutes offered a public infrastructure for cashless international payments. They aimed to increase the efficiency of international trade and to safeguard monetary stability. The exchange banks thus fulfilled comparable functions to modern central banks. The institutes even issued their own (book) currency, called Mark Banco.

The Council provides a Statesman slot in the capital city.

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The Court provides an Artist slot in the capital city.

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The Ironworks increases a city's production if that city has access to coal and/or iron, but also adds unhealthiness. It increases its city's chances of generating a Great Engineer.

    As mankind's dependence on metals increased through the ages, it became very important to cheaply and effectively separate the base metal from impurities. The process of smelting, through the use of a structure called a blast furnace, achieved just that. Using carbon dioxide created from oxidized coke to absorb the oxygen from the molten iron, it leaves the metal slag to sink to the bottom of the furnace. This separation allows for a pure iron to be derived, which is then used for numerous purposes, including the creation of steel.

The Military Academy increases a city's military unit production, grants the Leadership promotion to all units and increases its city's chance of generating a Great Statesman.

A "military academy" is an educational institution created to prepare young men and women for positions of leadership within the military. Such academies have existed throughout history. At these institutions students are taught how to command troops, how to communicate effectively, how to read maps, how to give and receive orders. They learn of the history of warfare. They are taught to understand strategy and tactics, as well as engineering, logistics and intelligence, and they often study classic treatises such as Sun Tzu's "The Art of War." They learn how to operate the weapons of the day - whether muzzle-loading rifle or satellite-guided artillery.

    In most such institutions the young officers are taught a "code of honor" which emphasizes following orders and selfless dedication to their fellow soldiers and to their country. Students usually must follow an extremely rigorous course of physical training to ensure that their bodies are as finely-tuned as their minds. Military academies are undoubtedly effective, and most of the best generals of modern history have emerged from such institutions.

    President Thomas Jefferson created the United State's Military Academy at West Point in 1802. Its mission is: "To educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the Nation as an officer in the United States Army."

    

The Mint provides a Merchant slot in the capital city.

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The National College greatly increases the scientific output of its city. It also allows you to change three citizens into scientists and increases its city's chance of generating a Great Scientist.

A national college is a state-run institute of higher learning. The modern college can be traced back to medieval Islamic madrasah, institutes of law and theology usually associated with mosques. Most countries in the world now have public college and university systems. The University of Tokyo in Japan is one such public institution. According to the Russian Global Universities Ranking, the University of Tokyo is the most prestigious university in Asia and third in the world.

The National Gallery doubles its city's cultural output and increases its chances of generating a Great Artist.

    A national gallery is a country's major public art gallery. With different names, they are widespread in almost every nation capital. They are a space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art, and usually primarily paintings, illustrations, and sculpture. The art museum is considered a fairly modern invention, the first being the Louvre in Paris, which was established in 1793, soon after the French Revolution when the royal treasures were declared for the people.

The National Monument greatly increases the rate at which its city produces Great People, particularly Great Artists.

    A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure.

    National monument status is usually granted to colossal symbols of national identity. Structures or areas deemed to be of national importance and afforded protection by the state are part of a country's cultural heritage.

The National Park greatly increases the health in your city. It also provides a free specialist for each Forest Preserve in its city radius and increases the chance of generating a Great Scientist.

    While areas of great natural beauty had often been protected or revered in the past, the modern conception of a National Park did not appear until 1872. Yellowstone National Park, located in the western United States, departed from previous nature preserves - which tended to be set aside for nobility - by opening up the land for the enjoyment of the public. After the creation of Yellowstone, National Parks began popping up throughout the world.

The National Theatre increases the cultural output of the city as well as increasing the city's happiness. It increases its city's chance of generating a Great Artist.

    An opera house is a building where operas are performed. The venues are usually constructed specifically with opera in mind, although other performing arts may be performed there. Notable opera houses include London's Globe Theater, where most of the plays of William Shakespeare were first performed on the stage, the Sydney Opera House, one of the most distinctive and famous 20th century buildings and La Scala in Milan.

The city containing the Palace is the capital of your civilization and city maintenance is decreased in cities near it. The Palace generates culture and a small amount of commerce.

    When populations began to organize their communities into cities, their governments became more structured and formalized. At an early stage, the ruler of the city established headquarters from which the business of running the city was conducted. In many cases, these buildings also served as the living quarters of the ruler. In wealthy cities, these facilities often expanded into immense, sprawling palaces. These richly adorned, imposing buildings were a source of civic pride, and helped to reinforce the aura of power surrounding the ruler.

The Red Cross gives all units built in its city the Medic I promotion, and it increases its city's chances of generating a Great Scientist.

    The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering.
    The movement consists of several distinct organizations that are legally independent from each other, but are united within the movement through common basic principles, objectives, symbols, statutes and governing organisations. The movement's parts are:
    The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a private humanitarian institution founded in 1863 in Geneva, Switzerland, by Henry Dunant and Gustave Moynier. Its 25-member committee has a unique authority under international humanitarian law to protect the life and dignity of the victims of international and internal armed conflicts. The ICRC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on three occasions (in 1917, 1944 and 1963).
    The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) was founded in 1919 and today it coordinates activities between the 188 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies within the Movement. On an international level, the Federation leads and organizes, in close cooperation with the National Societies, relief assistance missions responding to large-scale emergencies. The International Federation Secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1963, the Federation (then known as the League of Red Cross Societies) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the ICRC.
    National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies exist in nearly every country in the world. Currently 188 National Societies are recognized by the ICRC and admitted as full members of the Federation. Each entity works in its home country according to the principles of international humanitarian law and the statutes of the international Movement. Depending on their specific circumstances and capacities, National Societies can take on additional humanitarian tasks that are not directly defined by international humanitarian law or the mandates of the international Movement. In many countries, they are tightly linked to the respective national health care system by providing emergency medical services.

The Sanctuary requires Paganism and provides additional gold output from Pagan Temples as well as an additional Priest slot.

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The School provides a Scientist slot in the capital city.

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The Spaceport increases spaceship production in all cities and increases its chances of generating a Great Engineer.

    A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching (or receiving) spacecraft, by analogy to seaport for ships or airport for aircraft. The word spaceport, and even more so cosmodrome, has traditionally been used for sites capable of launching spacecraft into orbit around Earth or on interplanetary trajectories. However, rocket launch sites for purely sub-orbital flights are sometimes called spaceports, as in recent years new and proposed sites for suborbital human flights have been frequently referred to or named 'spaceports'. Space stations and proposed future bases on the moon are sometimes called spaceports, in particular if intended as a base for further journeys.

    The term rocket launch site is used for any facility from which rockets are launched. It may contain one or more launch pads or suitable sites to mount a transportable launch pad. It is typically surrounded by a large safety area, often called a rocket range or missile range. The range includes the area over which launched rockets are expected to fly, and within which some components of the rockets may land. Tracking stations are sometimes located in the range to assess the progress of the launches.

    Major spaceports often include more than one launch complex, which can be rocket launch sites adapted for different types of launch vehicles. (These sites can be well-separated for safety reasons.) For launch vehicles with liquid propellant, suitable storage facilities and, in some cases, production facilities are necessary. On-site processing facilities for solid propellants are also common.

The Tomb provides a Priest slot in the capital city.

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The Trading Company generates income for each city that Trading Company has spread to and provides two trade routes. It generates health for its city with access to Spices and happiness for its city with access to Coffee, Sugar, Tea or Tobacco. It increases its city's odds of generating a Great Merchant.

    A trading company is an association formed by investors or shareholders for the purpose of trade, exploration and colonisation. Typically, these companies were formed from the sixteenth century onwards by groups of European investors to underwrite and profit from the exploration of Africa, India, the Caribbean and North America, usually under the patronage of one state, which issued the company's charter. Notable companies include British East India Company and Dutch Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie.