forum Important man-made landmarks in your world

Started April 17, 2019 by @Becfromthedead group

tune

This board looks a little sparse, so let's get some conversation going!

A landmark would count as something like a statue or a fountain, correct? If so, then I've got nothing at the moment.

Yeah, of course!

I know this thread is a bit old but I've been hoping so much to talk about this because it's not my strong suit in the slightest! So far all I've got are some classic things (fantasy world, more or less like any other medieval fantasy world in terms of tech/society) like a ghost town that's a landmark on a trail through the forest, the ruins of an old castle (except they're in the middle of a city), a windmill known for its hospitality, a grand temple, some Navy docks from an old war, a fountain celebrating a town's achievements…
I dunno, I feel like they're kind of basic? Landmarks and locations in general aren't my thing, but I know landmarks are a good way to tell a lot about the history or aesthetic of a place in a single image, so I figure I ought to get better at them.

In terms of your actual locations, sure they've been done before, but what HASN'T been done before is your interpretation of them. You create the lore surrounding these landmarks and no one will care if they've seen castle ruins a thousand times before, they'll care about the tragic story of a greedy noble getting in the way of two lovers during a revolution or something like that.

what kinds of man made landmarks could I put in a hundred-years-in-the-future era world?

Skyscrapers, old military bases, power plants, statues commemorating our modern people like former presidents or CEOs, etc.

OK Cool thx!

Yamatsu thanks! I guess that's something I hadn't considered; I'm sort of the opposite (get bored when I see/hear about too many similar landmarks) so I hadn't realized most people probably come at it from the angle of the story/lore than the thing itself.

My story's dystopian, so I have lots of man-made landmarks that are relics of the pre-dystopian culture. For example, there's this one village that was built on the ruins of a town that got burned down. The only original building that survived was a Denny's restaurant. The sign got damaged and people forgot the original purpose of the building, so they made it their town hall and called the new village Den Ys. They're very proud of the legends surrounding the restaurant, and they even give guided tours to travelers who pass through. ^^

a big church in the capital of a major human kingdom from a "fallen order" that was never taken down. the order was made of priests who weren't evil at all, but people just didn't like them because they dealt with spirits, sometimes called their magic "blood magic", they were also mostly scary looking social outcasts. it's important because they were massacred by the people of the kingdom, leaving only one survivor. the building hasn't been torn down by decree of a new ruler who was against it but not in power at the time, as a reminder to everyone of the injustice.

I like to play with different approach for landmarks., i like to really define why a landmark is there, what its fonction is why would it have an importance.

• The first are the pathfinders. For me, some landmarks are less of a monument rather something for people to get directions or oriente themselves. One of my people have a lot of natural landmarks transformed either by carving, painting or even woven branches that are being use as markers for them to find their way. There is also some more conventionnal landmarks, bridges, buildings ( lighthouses for exemple) and milestones.
• There are the ruins or traces of the past (objects, props or even corpse) that marks the passing of time and the borders of the clan\countries. The landscape is riddle with cues and details of humanoid activity that indicates past conflict or desaster. It's a brillant way to deepen a story without having a huge exposition. I.E. In the riverbed, lays the remains of an old tank, laying sideways, oddly and half covered by the mud and some newly growing weeds were hanging on against the heavy wind.
• The biggest and most easy catergory being the cultural-historical-sacred landmarks. They serve the purpuse of connecting people to a certain belief, culture or history. The parliements, the castles, the churches, the statues, arches go in that category. It's a vast category, but it all serve the same purpuse of defying a culture ( or subculture or counterculture). I like to mix and match my natural and manmade landmark on that point, i feel that create a bit more of depth.
• The last one for me are the day-to-day landmarks, those we don't even realise we use everyday. A subway station with it's big crooked insigna on the corner of the street that a snowplowed hit one winter night. The silent campanile that no longer serves any purpuse but remained the tallest building of the little town, in front of which is the busiest coffeeshop of the town. The fontain that have some ducks in them that fills the park with quackings and splashings sounds. They all are landmarks that fill our lives, but we don't realise it.

I don't know if you guys have another way of establishing your landmarks… If you just wing it as you write or you like to elaborate more on them on the side.