Ancestral hall

The dwarves life in giant fortress cities known as Ancestral halls or paterna praetorium in dwarvish. These halls are build inside of large rock formations such as mountains and cliffs. It is rare for new ancestral halls to be founded, but it is not unheard of. When a dwarf with enough prestige and a large enough following begins a fortified colony inside of a mountain it can grow into a ancestral hall if it manages to survive for four generations and gets acknowledged by other halls as one.

Description
An ancestral hall is made out one enormous central chamber which are decorated with grandiose wall carvings and at least four enormous statues depicting the most venerable ancestors of the hall. It is from these statues that the ancestral halls get their names. From this central chamber a myriad of tunnel flow out which connect the highways, houses, and service buildings to the rest of the complex.

Government
Ancestral halls are usually ruled by an praetor, who lays claim to all nearby ore veins in the area. The praetor rules for life, and upon his death a new praetor is chosen from among the soldiers protecting the hall. Free cities elect their next praetor in an election attended by the most influential people of the hall while cities belonging to the Dwarven Imperium have their praetors hand picket by the Kaiser himself.