Description

This rare separately issued, sophisticated map of the Region Hradec Králové embraces the area between Chrudim in Bohemia, Moravia, and Kłodzko and Lubawka in Poland. The legends mark cities with and without city walls, towns, markets, villages, prolonged villages, parish churches, churches, chapels, inhabited castles, abandoned castles on hills, mills, hunting lodges, ironworks, state offices, royal cities, post stations, trigonometrical signals etc.

The map was made by a clergy man and cartographer Franz Jacob Heinrich Kreibich, (František Jakub Jindřich Kreibich, 1759 – 1833). Among others he made a map of Leitmeritz, Bohemia, postal chart of the Kingdom of Bohemia and a new map of Franconia, all of them based on new surveys. He was also an honorary member of the Bohemian Museum and a keen weather observer, posting his observations in contemporary scientific newspapers.

This map of Hradec Králové was based on a survey by Franz Ignatz Cassian Hallaschka (František Ignác Kassián Halaška, 1780 – 1847), a Bohemian astronomer, mathematician, and from 1832 dean and later a rector of the Charles University in Prague, and Alois Martin David (1757 – 1836). David was an astronomer and later also a rector of the Charles University. In 1799 he became a director of the Prague observatory.

David began surveying Bohemia in 1801 as a part of his astronomical project, since the observatory did not have enough money to purchase new telescopes. Therefor he focused himself on the geodetic astronomy.

This extremely detailed survey of the region, showcased on this map, was extremely important for the Battle of Königgrätz almost 40 years later. In this decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire on 3 July 1866.