Utriusquae Alsatiae superioris ac Inferioris nova Tabula

Title

Utriusquae Alsatiae superioris ac Inferioris nova Tabula

Description

Map shows the Alsace from Strassbourg to Basel

ca. 1664

Artist

Janssonius/Mercator-Hondius, H. (1588-1664)

Johannes Janssonius (Jansson),( 1588- 1664) Amsterdam was born in Arnhem, the son of Jan Janszoon the Elder,a publisher and bookseller. In 1612 he married Elisabeth de Hondt, the daughter of Jodocus Hondius. He produced his first maps in 1616 of France and Italy. In 1623 Janssonius owned a bookstore in Frankfurt am Main, later also in Danzig, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin, Königsberg, Geneva and Lyon. In the 1630s he formed a partnership with his brother in law Henricus Hondius, and together they published atlases as Mercator/Hondius/Janssonius. Under the leadership of Janssonius the Hondius Atlas was steadily enlarged. Renamed Atlas Novus, it had three volumes in 1638, one fully dedicated to Italy. 1646 a fourth volume came out with English County Maps, a year after a similar issue by Willem Blaeu. Janssonius' maps are similar to those of Blaeu, and he is often accused of copying from his rival, but many of his maps predate those of Blaeu and/or covered different regions. By 1660, at which point the atlas bore the appropriate name Atlas Major, there were 11 volumes, containing the work of about a hundred credited authors and engravers. It included a description of most of the cities of the world (Townatlas), of the waterworld (Atlas Maritimus in 33 maps), and of the Ancient World (60 maps). The eleventh volume was the Atlas of the Heavens by Andreas Cellarius. Editions were printed in Dutch, Latin, French, and a few times in German.

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.