no title – Elsaß

Title

no title – Elsaß

The map shows Alsace with the towns of Sélestat (German: Schlettstadt), Ribeauvillé, Colmar, Breisach on the Rhine, Rhinau, Kapelle, Dambach, Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, and many more. The map shows a highly detailed topographical representation with contour lines, river courses, forests and towns.

ca. 1780

Artist

Josephinischen Landesaufnahme (1763-1787)

A sheet from the Josephinian Land Survey (1763–1787). This is an individual map page from a historical military land survey conducted on behalf of Emperor Joseph II for the Habsburg Empire. These maps belong to the first systematic land survey of the Austrian Monarchy and are considered one of the most significant cartographic undertakings of the 18th century. The Josephinian Land Survey was carried out between 1763 and 1787, during a time when accurate maps were becoming increasingly important for administration, taxation, and above all, military purposes.The maps were created by military cartographers, including under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Maximilian von Grimm and Major Müller. This was the first systematic military land survey of the Habsburg Monarchy, commissioned by Emperor Joseph II and executed by the Imperial and Royal Military Geographical Institute in Vienna.

Historical Description

The history of Alsace, a region on the western edge of the German-speaking area, is shaped by the fruitful influence of two of Europe's great cultural areas: Germanic (German) and Romance (French). After the Great Migration, it was first Germanised and incorporated into the cultural currents of German history. Since modern times it has increasingly come under the political control of the French kingdom. Various forms emerged here, the Duchy of Alsace (7th – 8th centuries), the two landgravates of Alsace (12th – 17th centuries) and the early modern French province of Alsace (17th – 18th centuries). Today's Alsace was first settled by humans around 700,000 years ago and was one of the core regions of the Celts. After a period of unclear and changing power relations, Alsace became part of Alemannia until the 7th century, which was a more or less autonomous administrative district of the Franconian Empire. In 988 at the latest, Alsace became part of the Duchy of Swabia, with which it remained until the end of 1250. After 1250, a large number of different territories developed, most of which came under French rule between 1633 and 1697/1714. The French province of Alsace was established, its borders partially differing from those of the earlier landgravates. At the beginning of the French Revolution, all special political rights were abolished in 1789 and the two departments of Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin were created in 1790. Between 1871 and 1918, Alsace, as part of Alsace-Lorraine, belonged to the German Empire, which was led by Prussia. In 1918 the two Alsatian districts came back to France as departments.