Topographic maps and landscape studies 

by Morten Stenak.

The production of topographic atlases has undergone continuous technological development from the triangulation of the country by Videnskabernes Selskab (Association of the Sciences) at the end of the 1700s to the modern digital maps of the Danish National Survey and Cadastre Agency based on aerial photos.

In spite of differences in measurement and printing techniques as well as legend content, these maps provide ample opportunity to study the landscape development in detail. One substantial advantage is that the scale of 1:20,000 was used as late as 1953. After that, the Geodætisk Insitut (now the Danish National Survey and Cadastre Agency) changed the scale to 1:25,000 when they embarked on an international standardisation process.

The map sheets on display all stem from the survey and reconnaissance of an area of Northern Funen centring Nærå Beach and the dyke at Krogsbølle Fiord near Kiørup Manor. 

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Military Maps 

by Bjørn Westerbeek Dahl

Gottfried Hoffmann 1648-1687

In his more than 40-year long career in Denmark, the German-born engineer Gottfried Hoffmann (1631-1687) was involved in all aspects of Danish mapping.

Some of his maps are copies based on the measurements of others. However, from the early 1650s, we have knowledge of a number of fortress maps which illustrate his ability to make his own measurements.

Particularly noteworthy is his map of the Scania War (1676-79), which illustrates the progress of the war in a number of very beautiful and precise maps drawn for publication.

After 1679 and until his death, he was a royal engineer in Copenhagen. His maps show us the variety of tasks an engineer in the 1600s dealt with.

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The mapping of  Northern Greenland and the Peary Canal 

by Christopher Jacob Ries                                     

In 1865, the German geographer August Petermann proposed his theory about a gigantic isthmus spanning from Greenland across the North Pole to the East Siberian Sea. Two years later, the USA purchased Alaska from Russia as part of a plan to secure the nation against attacks from hostile powers. In the decades that followed, the USA negotiated frequently with Denmark regarding the purchase of the West Indies and Northern Greenland.  

From 1886 to 1909, the American Robert E. Peary embarked on a large number of expeditions to Northern Greenland. In 1892, he reached the northern border of the inland ice at Academy Glacier and, from there, observed geographic formations which suggested the existence of a channel between Greenland and present-day Peary Land. It was not until 1900, when Peary reached Greenland’s most northern point at Cape Bridgeman, that Petermann’s theory was finally abandoned. In 1902, Peary concluded his studies in Northern Greenland to turn his full attention to reaching the North Pole.  

In the decades that followed, a number of Danish expeditions left for Northern and North-east Greenland.The question of the existence of the Peary Channel – and thereby the establishment of Greenland’s northern boundary – was central to the efforts to manifest Danish sovereignty over the region. But it also gave rise to bitter internal disputes in the circle of Danish polar researchers.

Petermann and Peary  The Denmark Expedition  

The 1st and 2nd Thule Expeditions   Jubilee Expedition

The Three-Year Expedition   The Perssuak Expedition

Land-economical maps 

by Peter Korsgaard

The term land-use map is used in contrast to topographic maps. These maps deal with the economic landscape, such as property, tax, etc. 

The two large land-economical map collections are enclosure and cadastral maps, both of which stem from the end of the 1700s. Those were the days of rationalism, where everything was measured and weighed. They ware also the days where people gained and wielded power over nature and history. 

Nature was adjusted, creating sharp boundaries between wooded areas and fields. History was adjusted, abolishing the old open-field system. Property agreements were traded for middle-aged plots so they could become part of other contexts. And centuries-old boundaries between villages were moved. 

These maps reflect the new attitude and the new application of power. And they represent a unique source of the history of cultural landscape. However, the form of cadastral maps has changed through the years to reflect new needs as they arise in society. In this way they also have a story to tell.

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