Maps of Czech Lands in the Period 1518–1720 from the Map Collection of Charles University in Prague

Abstract

Preliminary results of research on old maps of Czech Lands deposited at the Map Collection of Charles University in Prague are presented. The extensive cartographic collection belongs among the most important collections in the Czech Republic. The goal of the research was to document the development of cartography during the period 1518 (Claudianus’s map) to 1720 (Müller’s map). More than 50 originals or facsimiles of different maps were found during inventory phase of the work. The paper concentrates on a description of most interesting maps discovered from the point of view of their content, map symbols and cartometric characteristics.