Wirtenberg Ducatus.

Title

Wirtenberg Ducatus.

Description

Map shows the whole of Württemberg with a title cartouche and the coat of arms of the Duchy of Württemberg. From "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, sive Atlas Novus in quo Tabulæ et Descriptiones Omnium Regionum, Editæ a Guiljel et Ioanne Blaeu".

ca. 1645

Artist

Blaeu (1571-1638)

Joan Guilliemus Blaeu was the eldest son of Willem Janszoon Blaeu (1571-1638), and was probably born in Alkmaar in the province of Noord-Holland in the final years of the 16th century. He was brought up in Amsterdam, and studied law at the University of Leiden before going into partnership with his father in the 1630s. Although his father Willem had cartographic interests, having studied under the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe and having manufactured globes and instruments, his primary business was as a printer. It was under the control of Joan that the Blaeu printing press achieved lasting fame by moving towards the printing of maps and expanding to become the largest printing press in Europe in the 17th century. By the 1660s the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (or Atlas Maior as it had became known by this time) had expanded to between 9 and 12 volumes, depending on the language. With over 3,000 text pages and approximately 600 maps, it was the most expensive book money could buy in the later 17th century. The translation of the text from Latin into Dutch, English, German, French, and Spanish for several volumes created enormous work for those involved in typography and letterpress activities. It is estimated that over 80 men must have been employed full-time in the Blaeu printing house in Bloemgracht, not including engravers who worked elsewhere, with over 15 printing presses running simultaneously, and in 1667 a second press was acquired at Gravenstraat. At the same time as producing the Atlas Maior, Blaeu was also publishing town plans of Italy, maps for globes, and other volumes. At its peak the Blaeu press managed to produce over 1 million impressions from 1,000 copper plates within four years.

Historical Description

Baden-Wuertemberg is a state in southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the border with France. It is is formed from the historical territories of Baden, Prussian Hohenzollern, and Württemberg, and also parts of Swabia. Baden Würtemberg was only founded in 1952 by the merger of the states of Württemberg-Baden, Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern. Today the most populous city of Baden-Württemberg is the state capital Stuttgart, followed by Karlsruhe and Mannheim. Other major cities are Freiburg im Breisgau, Heidelberg, Ulm, Heilbronn, Pforzheim and Reutlingen. The early modern period was marked by the Reformation and the expansion efforts of the emerging states of Austria, Prussia, France and Sweden. Conflicts such as the Peasant War, the Thirty Years' War and the Palatinate War of Succession resulted from these. One of the focal points of the fighting, with corresponding consequences for the population and the economy, was in what is today Baden-Württemberg, which remained extremely fragmented territorially. At the beginning of the 19th century, around 300 states still had territorial rights in what is now Baden-Württemberg, but their number was reduced to four after the dissolution of the Old Empire. The Kingdom of Württemberg and the Grand Duchy of Baden were among the winners of the coalition wars. The two principalities of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and Hohenzollern-Hechingen survived mediatization due to their special relationship with Napoléon. In 1849, the Baden Revolution was put down by Prussian intervention forces, the Baden army was dissolved and rebuilt under Prussian leadership. In 1850 the two Hohenzollern states became the Prussian province of Hohenzollernsche Lande. With the new formation of the tribal duchies, the southern areas of what is now the state of Baden-Württemberg belonged to the Duchy of Swabia until the end of the High Middle Ages, the northern areas were located with the Duchy of Franconia.