City atlas

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A city atlas (plural city atlases ) is, in the broader sense, any collection of maps or other graphical representations in book form or loosely compiled that depict the structure of a city or several cities. This form of representation of urban structures began in the 16th century (e.g. "Civitates Orbis Terrarum" with the participation of Daniel Freese , Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg ).

Today, the European Urban Atlas has a special place, a constantly growing edition and research project of the International Commission for Urban History . Its aim is to provide topographically accurate historical and current maps for a large number of cities across Europe in uniform scales. These maps, which represent a key to the historical development of cities, are an important source of information for city planners, preservationists and archaeologists as well as a didactic aid in teaching at schools and universities. Above all, however, they form a secure source base for historical and geographical research into individual cities - in particular the shape of the city, its morphology ( city ​​morphology ) and genesis - as well as especially for comparative studies.

The masterminds behind the European City Atlas are Paul Jonas Meier, Erich Keyser , Hektor Ammann , Edith Ennen and especially Heinz Stoob , who was in charge of developing the concept. At the 1969 commission meeting in Oxford (reaffirmed in 1995 in Munster), a canon of maps was established which should be included in every city atlas. Finding a common guideline was particularly important, since a project of this size cannot be managed centrally, but only in national or regional sub-projects, while a certain uniformity of the material is a prerequisite for comparative studies.

The canon of maps of the city atlases initially includes a map of the city plan redrawn at a scale of 1: 2500. This is based on the first exact measurement, which was usually carried out as an aid to determining tax burdens in the first half of the 19th century, the so-called original cadastre . Also as a new drawing, which shows the individual parcels, but reduced to 1: 5000 in order to be able to fully depict the urban area that may have grown, a current city map appears as a comparative value. In addition, there is a topographic map (1: 25000) of the surroundings that is at the same time as the floor plan, the oldest available city view and an image of the city seal.

In addition to the material collection, the city atlases contain a scientifically founded text with an interpretation of the growth and history of the respective city based on the maps and other sources. Most of them also show this in map form (development phase map). Many of the atlas folders also offer thematic supplementary cards on individual topics as well as reproductions of historical cityscapes , old maps and aerial photographs ( aerial photography ) that show the old cityscape. Drawings and photos, for example of coats of arms and buildings, as well as extensive bibliographies are usually part of the equipment of the city atlases. So far (as of 2018) well over 520 cities in 17 countries have been processed by atlas projects. The work in the existing sub-projects continues, while in other countries, especially in the former Eastern Bloc, participation in the atlas work is sought.

In Germany, there are one national and several regional atlas projects that complement each other:

  • In the German City Atlas , published and processed at the Institute for Comparative Urban History in Münster, a total of 51 cities were processed between 1973 and 2000. Since 2006 it has been continued as the German Historical City Atlas , and by 2013 four cities had been processed.
  • The Hessian City Atlas has been published by the Hessian State Office for Historical Regional Studies in Marburg since 2005 , and a total of 11 cities were processed by 2008
  • The Rheinische Städteatlas has been published since 1972 and since 1978 by the Office of Rhineland Regional Studies of the Regional Association of the Rhineland published until 2013, a total of 98 processes (planned 187) cities.
  • In the Westphalian City Atlas , edited at the Institute for Comparative Urban History in Münster, published by the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe since 1975, over 70 cities were processed by 2010. The Historical Atlas of Westphalian Cities has been continuing research since 2014 ; four cities have been processed so far.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See for example: The Munich Atlas: the metropolis in the mirror of fascinating maps, ed. by Günter Heinritz, Cologne 2003; Historical Atlas of Jerusalem, ed. by Meir Ben-Dov, New York 2002.
  2. ↑ See for example: Schleswig-Holstein city center atlas, edit. by Johannes Habich , Neumünster 1976.
  3. ↑ Cf. FB Fahlbusch, Der Stadtgrundriss as a source in history lessons, in: Manipulus Florum. From the Middle Ages, regional history, literature and historiography. Festschrift for Peter Johanek on the occasion of his 60th birthday, ed. by Ellen Widder et al., Münster a. a. 2000, 251-270.
  4. ↑ The confirmation took place at the committee meeting in connection with the symposium "Städteatlanten - Theory and practical application" of the institute for comparative urban history in cooperation with the international commission for urban history in Münster / Westphalia, 26. – 27. May 1995 was held (so-called "Münster Protocol").
  5. ↑ See reports and appendix in: Cahiers Bruxellois XIV (1969).
  6. ^ Institute for Comparative Urban History

literature

  • Roman Czaja: The historical atlases of the European cities. , In: Jahrbuch für Europäische Geschichte 3 (2002), 205–216.
  • Wilfried Ehbrecht: 30 years of the Westphalian City Atlas. A regional historical city atlas in the context of European research, In: Westfälischer Städteatlas, Delivery IX / 2006, (o. P.).
  • Ferdinand Opll, A. Simms: Historical city atlases: City history in maps. In: Siedlungsforschung 15 (1997), 303-325.
  • Heinz Stoob: The historic town atlas: problems and working methods. In: The comparative history of urban origins in non-Roman Europe: Ireland, Wales, Denmark, Germany, Poland and Russia from the 9th to the 13th century, ed. v. HB Clarke et al. A. Simms, Vol. 2, Oxford 1985, 583-615.
  • Margret Wensky: The Rhenish City Atlas - A Research Review . In: Rheinische Vierteljahrsblätter . tape 69 , 2005, ISSN  0035-4473 ( PDF; 63 kB [accessed January 17, 2014]).
  • Ferdinand Opll, The European Historical City Atlas. Project - Objectives - Achievements , in: Pro civitate Austriae, New Volume 15 (2010) 9–20. = ISSN  1562-5346
  • Ferdinand Opll, See the city. City atlases and the view of the city , in: Wilfried Ehbrecht, Städteatlanten. Four decades of atlas work in Europe (urban research, series A, vol. 80, Cologne - Weimar - Vienna 2013), 3–29 and 107–108. = ISBN 978-3-412-20631-4
  • Anngret Simms, The European Historic Towns Atlas project: origin and potential , in: Simms, A. and Clarke, HB (eds.), Lords and Towns in Medieval Europe. The European Historic Towns Atlas Project (Ashgate, 2015), 13–32.

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