On the Danish national atlas

Summary

This review examines the first volume of the Atlas of Denmark, The Landscapes (1949), highlighting its institutional origins, scholarly design, and exemplary significance. Directed by Niels Nielsen, the project emerged during the Second World War, when restrictions on research abroad encouraged Danish geographers to undertake a comprehensive study of their own country. It was financed initially by private donors and later by the Danish state and the Carlsberg Foundation; the state also temporarily released teachers from their duties to contribute. Prepared by geomorphologist Axel Schou, the first volume interprets Denmark’s surface forms and morphological units through coordinated maps, photographs, diagrams, and explanatory text. Its principal achievement lies in maintaining a strictly scientific orientation, free from commercial “multipurpose” compromises, while allowing specialists to contextualize the cartographic material in a companion text. The bilingual Danish-English atlas is further distinguished by consistent graphic design, concise definitions, extensive bibliographic and cartographic references, and excellent printing. The reviewer concludes that its organization, scholarly rigor, and technical execution provide a valuable model for national atlas projects elsewhere.