MAPS OF MINING DISTRICTS IN THE KINGDOM OF POLAND (Mapy Okregów górniczych Królestwa Polskiego)

• Authors: Wojcik Andrzej J.
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

The establishment of the Kingdom of Poland (in 1815, within the framework of Tsarist Russia) and the development of government-run mining and metallurgy gave a chance of employment to many well-educated specialists in the fields of geology and mining. This also meant that they were involved, for the first time, in a number of novel tasks, such as the drafting of the first economic maps of the mining districts: the Eastern District, covering the region of the Swiętokrzyskie Mountains, and the Western District, located on the south-western peripheries of the Kingdom and bordering on the lands held by Prussia and Austria. One of the specialist must have been Maksymilian Strasz (1804-1885), the author of two maps which appeared in print in 1846: 'Karta polozenia Zakladów Górniczych Rzadowych w Królestwie Polskiem. Okreg Wschodni' (Map of the location of governmental mining plants in the Kingdom of Poland. Eastern District) (scale 1:126000, engraved by J. Dietrich at the Lithography of the Bank of Poland in Warsaw) and 'Karta ogólna polozenia Zakladów Górniczych Rzadowych w Królestwie Polskiem, Okregu Zachodnim, z oznaczeniem utworów powierzchni ziemi w przyblizeniu (General map of the location of governmental mining plants in the Kingdom of Poland, Western District, with an approximate indication of the formations of the earth's surface) (scale 1:126000, engraved by P. Kresse at the Lithography of the Bank of Poland in Warsaw). Unfortunately, no descriptions or other information on how the maps were drafted have been preserved, nor is there any information on how many maps were printed. The map of the Eastern District was drafted in much detail, both with regard to topography, and the mining and metallurgical content. The location of industrial plants was indicated, as was the range of forests. By contrast, in the map of the Western District the content was largely simplified, and the whole map seems not to have been a completed work. In spite of the many technical shortcomings, it must be said that the maps of the mining districts of the Kingdom of Poland by Maksymilian Strasz were the first comprehensive cartographical representation of the industrial regions, which showed both mineral deposits, as well as the location of and interrelations between particular industrial plants.

Keywords

EN

HISTORY OF GEOLOGY; HISTORY OF MINING; MAPS OF MINING DISTRICTS (KINGDOM OF POLAND); STRASZ MAKSYMILIAN

Discipline

• HISTORY: HISTORY

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Historii Nauki im. Ludwika i Aleksandra Birkenmajerów
• Journal: Analecta. Studia i Materiały z Dziejów Nauki
• Year: 2009
• Volume: 18
• Issue: 1-2(35-36)
• Pages: 331-348
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Wojcik Andrzej J.

• Andrzej J. Wojcik, Instytut Historii Nauki PAN, ul. Nowy Swiat 72, 00-330 Warszawa, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

09PLAAAA06778