Nationalatlanten: Entwicklung, Konzeption, Gestaltung und Funktion

Summary

This study presents a systematic comparative history of national atlases, examining their development, conception, cartographic design, and social and political functions from the emergence of the genre in 1899 to the mid-1990s. Motivated partly by renewed interest in a unified German national atlas after German reunification, it addresses the absence of a comprehensive comparison of these complex thematic cartographic works. The author defines the national atlas as a nationally oriented synthesis of spatial knowledge and analyzes 56 representative atlases from five continents, selected from publications issued by more than 80 countries. The investigation combines chronological comparison, conceptual and cartographic typology, and interpretation within the relevant historical and political contexts. Six principal phases are distinguished: the formative period from 1899 to 1918; development between the world wars; the postwar phase from 1946 to 1960; expansion during the 1960s; consolidation and diversification in the 1970s; and new approaches since the early 1980s. For each phase, the study considers thematic organization, intended readership, information content, modes of publication, map design, visual hierarchy, and the relationship between analytical, complex, and synthetic representations. It also assesses the influence of recommendations issued by the International Geographical Union and gives particular attention to Finland’s national atlases as a recurring benchmark within the general development of the genre. The comparison demonstrates that national atlases have never been merely neutral collections of maps. Their purposes have shifted in accordance with political conditions, scientific paradigms, planning requirements, educational objectives, and changing conceptions of national identity. Earlier works primarily inventoried territory and resources and contributed to national representation, whereas later atlases increasingly supported research, administration, regional planning, education, and public communication. Cartographic development likewise moved from relatively isolated analytical maps toward more integrated, typological, complex, and synthetic presentations. Examples from Finland, France, Canada, Cuba, the German Democratic Republic, and Sweden illustrate changing levels of thematic integration, graphic sophistication, explanatory text, and accessibility. On the basis of these historical findings, the study proposes a framework for future national atlases, with special reference to the planned Atlas of the Federal Republic of Germany. It emphasizes coherent conception, systematic thematic coverage, consistent cartographic standards, interdisciplinary collaboration, and adaptation to diverse user groups. The final sections document the German project’s planning between 1990 and 1994 and its reconceptualization after responsibility was transferred to the Institute for Regional Geography in Leipzig in 1995. The study concludes by identifying electronic media, digital databases, and networked forms of publication as major forces in the future transformation of national atlases, enabling more current, flexible, interactive, and widely accessible representations of national space.