1590luvulla

1590luvulla is a fictional town and collaborative creative project used in speculative historical storytelling. It exists as a setting for narratives, art, and role-playing that imagine life in a northern European port in the late 16th century.

It originated as an online prompt in the early 2020s among writers and artists seeking a shared, loosely defined setting.

Etymology: The name combines the digits 1590 with luvulla, a stylized form echoing the Finnish word luvulla meaning "in the decade," signaling a historical frame.

Geography and society: Situated on a fictional Baltic Sea coast, the town features timber-framed houses, a central market, a harbor, a guildhouse, and a church.

Population and culture: Merchants, shipwrights, glassmakers, scholars; languages include a pidgin of Scandinavian and Germanic tongues plus local dialects; there is an annual market festival.

History and notable features: Founded as a fishing village that grew into a trading hub; stories include a storm that altered trade routes, a plague year, and a scholarly printing press. The project emphasizes ambiguity and world-building rather than a single canonical timeline.

Usage and reception: The concept appears across fan-fiction, illustrated maps, and RPG prompts; participants contribute artifacts, songs, and lore, expanding the imagined world.

See also: World-building, Alternate history, Collaborative fiction.