Vom Schwizerland 217 / Helvetia

Title

Vom Schwizerland 217 / Helvetia

Description

Detailed map shows the whole of Switzerland with title cartouche and mileage indicator.

ca. 1608

Artist

Bussemacher (1580-1613)

Johann Bussemacher (fl. c.1580 – 1613) was a German engraver and publisher. He issued and printed mainly maps from Matthias Quad (1557 – 1613) . From about 1587 until 1604 Matthias Quad lived in Cologne, where he worked as a copper engraver and writer of historico-geographical texts. For atlases, published from 1592 by Johann Bussemacher (worked about 1580-1613) in Cologne, he created many copper engravings as well as the texts in German.

Historical Description

Since 1848, the Swiss Confederation has been a federal state of relatively autonomous cantons, some of which have a history of confederacy that goes back more than 700 years, putting them among the world's oldest surviving republics. The early history of the region is tied to that of Alpine culture. Switzerland was inhabited by Gauls and Raetians, and it came under Roman rule in the 1st century BC. Gallo-Roman culture was amalgamated with Germanic influence during Late Antiquity, with the eastern part of Switzerland becoming Alemannic territory. The area of Switzerland was incorporated into the Frankish Empire in the 6th century. In the high medieval period, the eastern part became part of the Duchy of Swabia within the Holy Roman Empire while the western part was part of Burgundy