Friesland, Gaasterland – Wopke Eekhoff, 1854

“Gemeente Gaasterland (Voormalige Zevende Grietenij van Zevenwoude).” [Municipality of Gaasterland (Former Seventh Grietenij of Zevenwouden).] Large-format steel engraving made in 1854 by Daniel Veelwaard for Wopke Eekhoff’s Nieuwe Atlas van de Provincie Friesland. Coloured by a later hand. Size approx. 60 × 79 cm.

This map depicts the municipality of Gaasterland in the mid-19th century, an area distinguished by its glacial push-moraine landscape, high cliffs and gently undulating sandy ridges — a rarity in otherwise flat Friesland. The map provides an accurate representation of the scattered villages and hamlets, the broad arable fields (esgronden) and the wooded areas around Balk, Harich, Oudemirdum, Mirns and Rijs. Along the coast, the Oudemirdum Cliff and Mirns Cliff form striking points where the moraine ridge descends steeply to the Zuiderzee.

During this period the region was characterised by mixed agricultural use, with arable fields situated on the higher sandy ridges and pastures in the lower, wetter zones. The central village of Balk functioned as the regional commercial and administrative centre, connected via the river Luts to the Slotermeer. Along the southern edge lie the dikes and polders that protected Gaasterland from the waters of the Zuiderzee, while in the north the expansive water and peat landscapes of Wijmbritseradeel and Doniawerstal begin.

The grietenij was governed by a grietman, appointed by Leeuwarden, which exercised authority over the area. The grietman was responsible for maintaining law and order and also had powers in the fields of justice and taxation. After the introduction of the Municipalities Act in 1851, Gaasterland no longer had grietmannen, but mayors.

The Nieuwe Atlas van de Provincie Friesland was produced on behalf of the provincial government. On 2 March 1847 the Leeuwarder Courant published the “Notice of Subscription to the publication of a new Atlas of Friesland.” The price for the entire atlas of 32 maps was 48 guilders; individual maps cost 2 guilders each.

Each map was made available for inspection in the relevant municipality for two weeks. In a prior publication in the Leeuwarder Courant, Eekhoff announced that “everyone is given the opportunity to submit written comments on it to the authorities.” It was also noted that individual maps could still be ordered for two guilders, “since after publication they will no longer be obtainable.”

At the age of thirteen, Wopke Eekhoff (1809–1880) began working in his hometown of Leeuwarden for the bookseller and printer G.T.N. Suringar. He developed into a self-made historian of real distinction. In 1838 he was appointed city archivist of Leeuwarden—the first in the Netherlands. He combined that position with his own bookshop and publishing firm at the corner of the Wirdumerdijk and the Peperstraat.

In an edition of 286 copies, Eekhoff published the Nieuwe Atlas van Friesland in 1849, now better known as the Eekhoff Atlas. Ten years earlier, the Provincial Executive of Friesland had commissioned the province to be remapped. Using triangulation, the maps were compiled by J.W. Witteveen (a draftsman with the cadastre), under the supervision of verification engineer J.H. Jappé. The maps were engraved by D. and H. Veelwaard and lettered by L. Schweickhardt.

Prijs: Euro 475,-