Groningen – Carel Allard, 1697

“Dominii Groningae nec non maximae partis Drentae” [The territory of Groningen, together with the greater part of Drenthe]. With an inset map of the islands in the Wadden Sea: “Caerte van de Groeninger Eylanden ende Watte” [Chart of the Groningen Islands and the Wadden]. Copper engraving made by Carel Allard in 1697. With original hand colouring. Size: 47 x 56 cm.

The map is described as “novissima delineato” [newly drawn], but is in fact an accurate copy of a map that Nicolaes Visscher brought to market in 1664, which was itself based on a map by Frederik de Wit from 1663. Each edition of the map does, however, feature a different cartouche. Allard’s cartouche depicts an elaborate scene with the double-headed eagle from the coat of arms of Groningen alongside the products of the land (peat, cheese, honey, livestock), as well as a cornucopia being emptied by a putto.

Following the Siege of Groningen in 1594, by which the city joined the Dutch Republic , the city and the Ommelanden [surrounding lands] together formed the province of Stad en Lande. In the second half of the seventeenth century, this political union was still relatively young and not without tensions: the city of Groningen retained a dominant position over the Ommelanden, which regularly led to conflicts over governance, jurisdiction and taxation. These power relations are implicitly encoded in the cartographic image, in which the city is prominently depicted as the central hub.

At the same time, Groningen served a pronounced strategic function as the northern border province of the Republic. Its proximity to the Prince-Bishopric of Münster and East Frisia made the region vulnerable to invasion. This was demonstrated most dramatically during the notorious Disaster Year of 1672, when the Bishop of Münster, Christoph Bernhard von Galen (“Bommen Berend”), besieged Groningen. The city held out, after which its fortifications were further strengthened and the surrounding landscape organised along military lines. The numerous redoubts, lines and waterworks visible on the map form part of this defensive system.

In economic terms, the landscape was profoundly transformed during this period by the systematic extraction of peat. Large parts of the south-east of the province and adjacent Drenthe were exploited for peat extraction, an essential fuel for the urban economy of Holland. The straight canals and drainage channels cutting through the peat district — clearly recognisable on the map as a geometric network — served both for the transport of peat and for drainage and colonisation. New settlements arose along these canals, leading to a gradual transition from a medieval cultural landscape to a planned and rationally organised agrarian one.

Price: Euro 650,-