At the beginning of the 16th century a map was printed that for the first time depicted the Nordic countries relatively accurately. This was the start of Swedish cartography.
The creator of the map was the Swede, Olaus Magnus (1490-1557), a man of the church. He worked on the map for twelve years before it was printed in Venice in 1539 with the title Carta Marina. Olaus Magnus added commentaries in Latin to the map (in the bottom left-hand corner of the map) and also in Italian and German (printed separately).
The map consists of 3 x 3 separate sheets of paper each measuring 55 x 40 cm. The sheets were woodcuts and they were printed separately. Together the nine sheets form a map which is 125 cm high and 170 cm wide.
A B C
D E F
G H I
The map close up
Carta Marina was probably printed in a rather small edition, which accounts for the rarity of the map. Nobody seems to have seen it for centuries until a copy was discovered in the Hof- und Staatsbibliothek in Munich, where it is still preserved. It was not until 75 years later that a second copy came to light and this was purchased in Switzerland in 1962 for Uppsala University Library.
Antonio Lafreri, an engraver working in Italy, made a smaller, copperplate version of the map as early as 1572. The reduced size meant that many of Olaus Magnus' illustrations and other information were left out of Lafreri's copperplate (a copy of Lafreri's map is in the National Library of Sweden).
A number of later reproductions have been made based on the copies in Munich and in Uppsala. Even reproductions in colour have been published although neither of the extant maps are themselves coloured.
In 1524 Olaus Magnus travelled to Rome on the orders of King Gustav Vasa to negotiate with the papal Curia. The Reformation in Sweden was partially responsible for his never returning. During his life in exile he devoted himself to historical research and writing.
Carta Marina can be regarded as a predecessor of Olaus Magnus' great work, Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus (A History of the Nordic people), printed in Rome in 1555. This is the first general description of the Nordic countries and their peoples. Its connection with Carta Marina is clear – in fact it is possible to see his History as a particularly comprehensive commentary to the map.
The map is on display in the exhibition hall in Expo Rediviva.
A reproduction (62 x 90 cm) and a printed facsimile (scale 1:1) of the map are available in the Museum Shop at Carolina Rediviva. If you can't visit us, you can order one by ringing tel: +46 (0)18-471 39 00 or sending an e-mail to reception@ub.uu.se.
Further reading
Herman Richter, Olaus Magnus Carta marina 1539, Lund 1967 (Lychnos-bibliotek, 11:2)
Ulla Ehrensvärd, The history of the Nordic map. From myths to reality, Helsinki 2006
Olaus Magnus, Carta marina 1539, édité et raconté par Elena Balzamo, Paris 2005
Olaus Magnus, Die Wunder des Nordens, erschlossen von Elena Balzamo und Reinhard Kaiser, Frankfurt am Main 2006
