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Geography in Austria

1921; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 108; Issue: 2707 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/108100a0

1476-4687

Grenville A. J. Cole,

Historical Geography and Cartography

THE Geographical Society of Vienna continued its octavo Mitteilungen througnout the war-years, though the style kaiserliche königliche perforce disappeared from its title with the issue of No. 12 in November, 1918. Few contributions could be expected from Austrian travellers in unusual fields, but the reviews of current exploration in all parts of the globe have kept the members up to date. The editors in 1914 were Drs. Fritz Machatschek and Hermann Leiter. The former became sole editor for 1915, and the latter acted from 1916 onwards. One naturally looks at first for special studies arising out of war-conditions. As early as October, 1914, Oberstleutnant Josef Paldus (vol. 57, p. 395) reviewed the system on which maps are grouped in the Kriegsarchiv in Vienna. This collection is rich in materials for students of history, and is by no means restricted to maps that will-help modern armies in the field. It originated in an official military library formed! by Prince Eugene of Savoy, whose frequent crossings of the Alps, and campaigns from Douai to Belgrade, must have impressed him deeply with the value of cartography. The kindly autocrat Joseph II. organised a detailed survey of the Austrian lands, remarking that to rule well required an accurate knowledge of the country. So long as he lived the collection of geographical material was carried on in a most liberal spirit: The position of Austria soon caused its military cartography to extend over adjacent lands, and Viennese maps are still our best authorities for a large part of the Balkan States. The sheets of the beautiful map of central Europe, on tjie scale of 1: 200,000, which are frequently revised, are, moreover, among the best aids to travellers in southern Germany, northern Italy, Bosnia, and Poland. Oberstleutnant Paldus gives the date of inception of this series as 1907; but the Szombathely sheet was issued in 1897, and the present writer used many others in road-journeys between Vienna and Sarajevo in 1899. The previous 1: 300,000 map remarkable in its time, seems to have escaped mention.