Baltics – Justus Perthes, 1854

„Die Ostsee-Laender Polen und Litthauen im Anfange des XIIIten Jahrhunderts. | Die Ordens-Gebiete Preussen und Livland bis 1525 und 1562. | Die Kirchliche Eintheilung der Ostseelaender bis zur Reformation. | Die Ostseelaender bis 1773.“Steel engraving published in 1854 by Justus Perthes as part of Karl von Spruner’s “Historisch-geographischer Hand-Atlas.” With original hand colouring. Size: 30.9 × 38.4 cm.

This composite historical map originates from the influential atlas of Karl Spruner von Merz (1803–1882), in which the historical development of Europe is visualised cartographically. The sheet is devoted to the Baltic lands and presents, within a single composition, multiple chronological layers and thematic perspectives, characteristic of nineteenth-century historical cartography.

The main map on the left depicts Poland and Lithuania at the beginning of the thirteenth century, a period in which the Polish-Lithuanian region was still politically fragmented and situated on the margins of both German and Scandinavian expansion. Boundaries are highlighted in colour, while a dense network of rivers, settlements, and regional designations conveys the geographical knowledge and historical interpretation of the nineteenth century.

On the right, attention shifts to the territories of the Teutonic Order in Prussia and Livonia, with a chronological framework extending to 1525 and 1562 respectively. Here, the military and religious expansion of the knightly orders takes centre stage, reflecting their decisive role in the Christianisation and political structuring of the Baltic region.

The smaller inset maps in the lower right focus on specific aspects: the area around Riga as a major centre of trade and power, the ecclesiastical division of the Baltic lands up to the Reformation, and an overview map of the region up to 1773, the year of the First Partition of Poland. Taken together, these maps illustrate the transition from a medieval, religiously and feudal structured landscape to a more modern, state-dominated political system.

Price: Euro 125,-