Heinrich Schweickher: Atlas Of Wuerttemberg 1575

Heinrich Schweickher: Atlas Of Wuerttemberg 1575 – Müller & Schindler – Cod. Hist. 4° 102 – Württembergische Landesbibliothek (Stuttgart, Germany)

Southern Germany — 1575

The oldest atlas of the Duchy of Württemberg: 52 colorful maps as an invaluable snapshot of the urban and natural landscape shortly before the devastating destruction of the Thirty Years' War

  1. This compendium of 52 wonderful maps constitutes the oldest atlas of the Duchy of Württemberg

  2. Heinrich Schweickher (1526–1579) came to know the land on his many official travels and recorded his insights in maps

  3. It is still an important source for history, showing the land before the devastation of the Thirty Years’ War

Heinrich Schweickher: Atlas Of Wuerttemberg 1575

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Description
Heinrich Schweickher: Atlas Of Wuerttemberg 1575

This compendium of 52 highly detailed and wonderfully colored maps constitute the oldest atlas of the former Duchy of Wuerttemberg. It was published in 1575 by Heinrich Schweickher, a cartographer from Southern Wuerttemberg, who came to know the land on his many official travels as a notary, stenographer, and finally director of an orphanage and recorded his insights on maps. Both the historical significance as well as the artistic design make this compendium of maps about the Duchy of Wuerttemberg a unique artifact for collectors and interested parties.

Heinrich Schweickher: Atlas of Wuerttemberg 1575

This compendium of 52 highly detailed and wonderfully colored maps constitute the oldest atlas of the former Duchy of Wuerttemberg. It was published in 1575 by Heinrich Schweickher, a cartographer from Southern Wuerttemberg, who came to know the land on his many official travels as a notary, stenographer, and finally director of an orphanage and recorded his insights on maps. Both the historical significance as well as the artistic design make this compendium of maps about the Duchy of Wuerttemberg a unique artifact for collectors and interested parties.

The Entire Duchy of Wuerttemberg

The government of Wuerttemberg commissioned a detailed survey of the land and its topography in the second half of the 16th century. Heinrich Schweickher, the first cartographer, was involved and completed the task. He was predestined to create a topographical survey of Wuerttemberg because of his many travels through the land in the course of his various offices. In 1575 he finally published a collection of 52 maps of the different offices and administrative districts of the duchy, which he dedicated to Duke Louis of Wuerttemberg. In addition to maps of the individual clerical and temporal districts of Wuerttemberg, ordered in offices of Northern and Southern Wuerttemberg, the atlas contained a dedication page with a portrait of the duke, a register of streams and rivers, and a large scale general map.

An Artfully Pioneering Work of Cartography

Schweickher’s maps – unlike what is customary today – are not north-oriented, instead they are south-oriented. As a consequence, West is aligned on the right side and East on the left side of the maps. The cartographic depiction of the various districts of the Duchy followed detailed perspectives, mostly at a scale of 1:125,000. Localities big and small, cities, hamlets, rivers, and forests were diligently recorded and furnished with additional information. Yet the maps are not only interesting topographically, but also offer a visual treat for the eyes in their colorfulness and artistic design. Furnished with architectural and ornamental decorative frames adorned with the corresponding heraldry, the maps are more than mere guidelines. The charts themselves were drawn in powerful colors with a skilled hand, with artistic depictions of forests and villages, for example. Schweickher primarily concerned himself with the main localities under the rule of Wuerttemberg and completely left out the others, like some of the imperial cities. However, in its otherwise indisputable comprehensiveness, today the atlas is still an important source for the history of the former duchy, showing the land before the 30 Years’ War and its devastation, which changed the image of Wuerttemburg for a long time.

Codicology

Alternative Titles
Heinrich Schweickher: Atlas von Württemberg 1575
Size / Format
96 pages / 39.0 × 26.5 cm
Origin
Germany
Date
1575
Language
Illustrations
55 colored tables and maps
Artist / School

Available facsimile editions:
Heinrich Schweickher: Atlas Of Wuerttemberg 1575 – Müller & Schindler – Cod. Hist. 4° 102 – Württembergische Landesbibliothek (Stuttgart, Germany)
Müller & Schindler – Simbach am Inn, 1979
Detail Picture

Heinrich Schweickher: Atlas Of Wuerttemberg 1575

Author Portrait

Dressed in the Spanish style with ruffled cuffs and collar, a black coat trimmed in cloth of gold, a feathered hat, and an elegant shirt, Heinrich Schweickher is shown here holding a pair of gloves in one hand while the other grips the hilt of a sword, a necessary tool for defending himself in his occupation as a travelling royal official. As a result of his extensive travel through the territory, Schweickher acquired the geographical knowledge to create this detailed collection of maps.

Heinrich Schweickher: Atlas Of Wuerttemberg 1575 – Müller & Schindler – Cod. Hist. 4° 102 – Württembergische Landesbibliothek (Stuttgart, Germany)
Single Page

Heinrich Schweickher: Atlas Of Wuerttemberg 1575

Stuttgart and its Surroundings

Stuttgart has enjoyed a long history as the largest and most important city in the region of modern Baden-Württemberg, which is attested to by this over 400-year-old map. With its characteristic bucking stallion coat of arms at the top, the map shows the red-tile roofs of the city amid the hilly and heavily forested landscape of the region, which has changed remarkably little over the centuries.
The Neckar River is shown flowing to the west of the city, which is a major tributary of the Rhine. It was Stuttgart’s location on this important trading route, in combination with the rich agriculture of the region, that traditionally accounted for its prosperity. The map is framed by two classical columns artfully painted in watercolors.

Heinrich Schweickher: Atlas Of Wuerttemberg 1575 – Müller & Schindler – Cod. Hist. 4° 102 – Württembergische Landesbibliothek (Stuttgart, Germany)
Facsimile Editions

#1 Atlas von Württemberg 1575

Müller & Schindler – Simbach am Inn, 1979

Publisher: Müller & Schindler – Simbach am Inn, 1979
Binding: Embossed black leather
Commentary: 1 volume by Wolfgang Irtenkauf
Language: German
1 volume: Exact reproduction of the original document (extent, color and size) Reproduction of the entire original document as detailed as possible (scope, format, colors). The binding may not correspond to the original or current document binding.
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