Ferdinand Denis

Excerpt from the topographic map of Mannheim and the surrounding area

Ferdinand Denis (born May 8, 1736 in Mannheim , † September 11, 1805 in Mannheim) was a German cartographer and engineer officer who worked in his home in the Electorate of the Palatinate . His most important cartographic work is a topographic map of Mannheim and the surrounding area, which is regarded as the immediate forerunner of the modern topographic land survey and, in its rich representation, is a valuable source for historical research in that region.

Fields of activity

Ferdinand Denis received his training as a cartographer from the Palatinate astronomer and geodesist Christian Mayer (1719–1783), who had an international reputation as a versatile scientist.

A map of Mannheim published in 1766 was probably Ferdinand Denis' first own cartographic work, which was then followed over the years by a wide variety of works, often created side by side. From 1766 to 1783 he drew maps of Lobdengau , Kraichgau , Nahegau , Rheingaus , Speyergaus and Wormsgaus , all in the historical department of the, for some historical treatises by the Electoral Palatinate librarian and historian Andreas Lamey (1726–1802) about the old districts of the northern Upper Rhine area Acta Academiae Theodoro-Palatinae have been published. For trade purposes, a large map was created in 1775 with depictions of the streets that are important for long-distance trade in Heidelberg . After a detailed survey of the land around 1777, Ferdinand Denis began to draw the topographical map of Mannheim and the surrounding area (78 × 70 cm), which was then engraved in copper by Johann Michael Söckler (1744–1781) in Munich and Gustav Frommel in Mannheim and appeared in 1782. There are two versions of it, as changes (probably by Frommel) were made after the first expression at the request of the elector. This masterpiece, with which Ferdinand Denis surpassed his teacher Christian Mayer by a lot in cartographic terms, was followed by two other works that are in the Heidelberg University Library: a handwritten map of Schwetzingen and the surrounding area (37.5 × 48.5 cm) and another from the landscape between Heidelberg and Mannheim (80 × 40.5 cm).

Record of traces of Roman settlement in Schriesheim in 1766. The “Römerkeller” can be seen at the bottom left

In addition to cartographic work, Ferdinand Denis was also active as an engineer and master builder over the years, taking on many tasks such as those he faced in his role in the Palatinate. For example, when old Roman masonry was discovered in the ground during road construction work in Schriesheim in 1766 , he led the excavations at this interesting site. Foundations and a completely preserved cellar were uncovered that had belonged to a house of a larger Roman estate. Ferdinand Denis took a close look at this system and also sketched a (possibly possible) reconstruction of the house on several sheets. (The "Römerkeller" is located since 1972 in the City Hall of Schriesheim, in the new building it has been integrated at that time and since then is open to the public.) Another task for Ferdinand Denis, the project was a new main building for the sulfur in Zaisenhausen that but has never been built.

literature

• Fritz Hellwig, Wolfgang Reiniger, Klaus Stopp: Maps of the Palatinate on the Rhine 1513–1803: Catalog of the printed maps with an introduction to map history , Druck Förner GmbH, Bad Kreuznach 1984, ISBN 3-923714-01-7
• Ruthardt Oehme: The history of the cartography of the German southwest: With 16 color plates and 42 black and white maps , Jan Thorbecke Verlag, Konstanz and Stuttgart 1961

Web links

• Landesbibliographie Baden-Württemberg Information about Ferdinand Denis
• Reissmuseum Mannheim Topographic map of Mannheim and the surrounding area