Cartographic representation of eight voivodeships of the Crown created from combined main maps from five volumes of the Historical Atlas of Poland. Detailed maps of the 16th century series published in 1966-2008. The content and form reflect the original publication with the exception of contour lines, which were omitted. The colouring and symbols used in subsequent volumes and not consistent with other volumes were standardized. This mostly concerned border lines. This was possible, because the authors decided not to reprint original maps but to draw them again. Vector files were available for two last volumes of which some layers were transferred. In case of older maps, what the authors could do was to scan the maps and thus obtain them in raster format. Some content could be extracted automatically, the rest had to be drawn again. All inscriptions had to be placed anew. The authors tried to stick to the form of the original. Most importantly, the way the main content, i.e. the settlement network, was presented did not change. Given a different thematic scope, a new cartographic edition of some of the elements was necessary, e.g. the descriptions of voivodeships had to be added, and information about outside units supplemented.
Despite this large amount of work, this edition should not be treated as revised: the content was not updated so as to reflect current state of research. Fragments of the map, where versions shown on two joined sheets were inconsistent, were presented in accordance with the newer version that reflects the progress made in works on the atlas. Also, the authors adjusted the information from the indexes to each volume to symbols used on the map to denote settlement points. Inconsistencies were settled in favour of the current state of research. The authors are not planning to verify this map in the future. It is a publication prepared gradually in specific conditions that reflects the state of research from the time it was finished.
Naturally, this does not rule out the possibility of updating the publication in separate volumes based on the information published in this series. This is one of the purposes of he database version of the map, available on the same web page which encompasses other Polish lands of the Crown as well. In the future, the map may also cover other territories, like Ruthenian lands or Silesia.

The Historical Atlas of Poland

In 1880, prof. Stanisław Smolka formulated his program of the historical atlas that included a cartographic reconstruction of the settlement network in the 2nd half of the 16th century (showing royal property and property of the Church), as well as territorial divisions of the State and the Church. The atlas was to be based mostly on tax registers, i.e. registers of an extraordinary tax passed by the Seym for military purposes. The first stage of the project, the edition of the registers, was completed before the World War I. The maps of Ruthenian lands of the Crown were also published. Then the works on the atlas ceased because of the two World Wars. In the 1950s and 1960 the project was started anew, in a more complete and elaborated manner that included reconstruction of the road network, plans of selected cities, and other elements. The scale of the map (1:250 000) and the legend of the main map were determined. Between 1968 and 2008 five volumes of the “Historical Atlas of Poland. Detailed maps of the 16th century” series were published in accordance with those rules (the numbers of volumes had been pre-defined and did not correspond with the order in which the volumes appeared).

Stefan Wojciechowski, Województwo lubelskie w drugiej połowie XVI wieku (“Lublin Voivodeship in the 2nd half of the 16th century”), W. Pałucki [ed.], Warsaw 1966 (vol. 3);
Mazowsze w drugiej połowie XVI wieku (“Mazovia in the 2nd half of the 16th century”), W. Pałucki [ed.], A. Dunin-Wąsowiczowa, I. Gieysztorowa, J. Humnicki, W. Kalinowski, W. Lewandowska, K. Pacuski, W. Pałucki, H. Rutkowski, W. Szaniawska, Warsaw 1973 (vol. 7);
Województwo sandomierskie w drugiej połowie XVI wieku (“Sandomierz Voivodeship in the 2nd half of the 16th century”), W. Pałucki [ed.], A. Dunin-Wąsowiczowa, W. Lewandowska, K. Pacuski, W. Pałucki, H. Rutkowski, Warsaw 1993 (vol. 2);
Województwo sieradzkie i województwo łęczyckie w drugiej połowie XVI wieku Województwo sieradzkie i województwo łęczyckie w drugiej połowie XVI wieku (“Sieradz and Łęczyca Voivodeships in the 2nd half of the 16th century”), H. Rutkowski [ed.], K. Chłapowski, A. Dunin-Wąsowiczowa, S. K. Kuczyński, K. Pacuski, E. Rutkowska, S. Trawkowski, M. Wilska, Warsaw 1998 (vol. 5);
Województwo krakowskie w drugiej połowie XVI wieku (“Cracow Voivodeship in the 2nd half of the 16th century”), H. Rutkowski [ed.], K. Chłapowski, J. Duma, K. Follprecht, J. Laberscheck, E. Rutkowska, H. Rutkowski, R. Skowron, J. Suproniuk, M. Wilska, M. Zbieranowski, Warsaw 2008 (vol. 1).

Each of the volumes consisted of two parts: cartographic materials in a separate folder, and the commentary and indexes put in one volume, the only exception being the Lublin volume, which was published in one whole volume. The full contents of the Lublin volume are available in the digital library of the UMCS, All other volumes can be found in the Digital Repository of Scientific Institutes.
The main map at the scale of 1:250 000 shows mostly the reconstructed settlement network. Settlements identified in sources from the second half of the 16th century were depicted with regard to location, size, ownership affiliation, legal status, central functions, and current name. The map shows also borders of territorial units, and major roads. These were set on the depiction of hydrography and forests at the turn of the 18th and 19th century (no sources remain for the earlier period), and modern lay of the land. Each volume contains a different set of large-scale maps at the scale 1:500 000 showing Church structures at all levels of the hierarchy, distribution of ownership, or road network (major and other routes). Selected cities were presented on plans at a scale of 1:10 000. The commentary discusses written and cartographic sources, the method of preparing the atlas, and includes a commentary on the results achieved. Separate chapters were dedicated to geographic environment, State and Church administrative division, settlement network (localization of settlements, type, size and ownership affiliation of settlements), nomenclature, roads, plans of selected cities, and coats of arms. The indexes encompass all settlements found in source materials: including those not localized that could not be placed on the map, as well as a body of information resembling the one presented on the map. However, the indexes also include variants of names and modern names of settlements, but do not mention their size.
The index in form of a database connected with the map is available in the “Atlas of Sources and Materials for the History of Old Poland”: AtlasFontium.pl. The site contains also a preliminary version of the map of territories which are currently being prepared (Greater Poland, planned for 2017) or still only planned (Royal Prussia, Cuyavia, Podlasie). The completion of the whole project is planned for 2020. Large-scale maps and basic sources are also being gradually published on the page. It is possible that in the future the base will encompass also territories and chronological framework of other series of the Historical Atlas of Poland, like the map of Ruthenian lands in the 16th century, or the map of the voivodeship of Cracow and Silesia in the 18th century, or similar foreign publications, e.g. concerning Lubusz land or the Duchy of Prussia. Currently, the authors are not planning to either include or not include territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania – the project is open.

Marek Słoń, translated Agata Staszewska

Corona Regni Poloniae. Mapa w skali 1:250 000 autorzy, Instytut Historii im. Tadeusza Manteuffla Polskiej Akademii Nauk i Pracownia Geoinformacji Historycznej Katolickiego Uniwersytetu Lubelskiego jest dostępny na licencji Creative Commons Uznanie autorstwa – Bez utworów zależnych 4.0 Międzynarodowe.