Description

ANONYMOUS.

[S.l., S.d., but Trieste, probably between circa 1848 and 1851].

 

Expansion of Trieste around 1850

Trieste, which served as Austria’s main trading port and marked the end of the maritime Silk Road, gained significant importance in the mid-19th century due to its economic and geopolitical relevance. From 1849, Trieste was a part of the German Confederation and the Austrian Littoral. In 1850, it was designated as an autonomous city (unmittelbare Stadt) within Austria.

A significant turning point in the development of modern Trieste was the establishment of Austrian Lloyd (Österreichischer Lloyd), which began as an insurance company in 1833 and transitioned to a shipping enterprise by 1836. Additionally, the planned Vienna–Trieste railway aimed to connect Austria with international destinations. The initial railway line was completed in 1842, and with the inauguration of the direct Vienna-Ljubljana route in 1854, construction commenced over the challenging Karst plateau towards Trieste. The Trieste train station was ultimately opened in 1857.

The elevation of Trieste’s status and advancements in technology began to transform the city’s urban structure. In the 18th century, Empress Maria Theresa (1717–1780) ordered the demolition of the walls separating the medieval town from the harbor. This was followed by a decree on November 27, 1849, to dismantle the ancient city walls. Beginning in 1835, the canals that had been formed by streams flowing into Trieste from the hills and surrounding the old city walls were gradually placed underground. In their place, large and prominent streets were constructed, many of which are still present today. At the time, the decision to redirect these streams underground was not fully understood, but it ultimately contributed to the city’s hygiene and helped reduce the spread of diseases like cholera, which was widespread in Trieste in 1849.

This manuscript map presents Trieste circa 1850, highlighting its transformation into one of the era’s most advanced ports.

 

The Map in Focus

This large map depicts the coastline from Punta Grignano (the present-day location of Miramare Castle) on the left, to the village of Prosecco above, and extending to Punta Grossa, which is now known as Debeli Rtič in Slovenia, at the lower right side. Within the city of Trieste, important public buildings and constructions are highlighted and numbered. These include churches, hospitals, piers, military structures, and more. While the focus of the map is on Trieste, it also meticulously presents the surrounding villages, roads, streams, and even individual houses and farms in the area.

Marked are the following buildings:

1. 2. Fortificazioni – Remains of old fortifications along the coastline on the left-hand side.

3. Bacino e Lazzaretto St Teresa – A bay designed for smaller ships, featuring warehouses on one side and Lazaretto Saint Teresa on the other. Shortly before 1857, when the first railway to Trieste was established, a low viaduct was constructed between the lazaret and the coast. Around 1869, the port as shown on the current map was demolished. For reference, see the map of the port from 1836/1849 with later annotations here: Lazzaretto di S. Teresa in Trieste – Archivio di Stato di Trieste.

4. Casa di pubblica Beneficenza – A public charity house. It was not shown on the 1852 map by Gustavo Eckardt and was demolished by 1857, during the construction of the main train station.

5. Macello – A slaughterhouse, which was same as the previous building demolished by 1857 and does not show up anymore on the 1852 map by Gustavo Eckardt.

6. Mollo Klutsch – Built in 1841, or by other information between 1836 and 1838.

7. Cantiere Panfilli – A shipyard owned by a prominent Panfili (Panfilli) family.

8. Dogana nuova – New customs office, demolished in 1890 to be replaced with a new post office.

9. Caserma militare – Military barracks. From 1854 the barracks were stationed in Forte Kressich on the outskirts of the city.

10. Magazzeni militare – Military warehouse.

11. Ospitale militare – Military hospital.

12. Anfiteatro Mauroner – Also known as “El Teatro Giazzera“ from “Il Teatro Ghiacciaia”, “The Ice-House Theater”, a popular Triestino theater, opened in 1827 and destroyed in a fire in 1876.

14. Caserma Dobbler – Barracks since 1811, named after the first proprietor of the building, the Dobler family (Dobbler, Dopler).

15. Nuovo Ospitale Civile – New hospital, opened in 1841.

16. Chiesa St Antonio Nuovo – Church of Sant’Antonio Taumaturgo, also known as the Church of Sant’Antonio Nuovo, constructed between 1825 and 1842, and consecrated in 1849.

17. Casa della Posta – Post office.

18. Magazzeno dei Sali – Salt warehouse.

19. Molo del Sale – “Salt Pier” was built in 1841 but later demolished due to the port’s expansion. In 2024, its remains were discovered beneath today’s Pier IV.

20. Molo St. Carlo – The location is now known as Molo Audace. It was originally named after the ship San Carlo, which sank in Trieste harbor in 1740. The wreck was used as the foundation for the construction of a new pier, which was built between 1743 and 1751. The original pier was 95 meters long and was connected to the land by a small wooden bridge. In 1778, it was lengthened by 19 meters, and from 1860 to 1861, it was extended by an additional 132 meters, at which point the bridge was also removed.

21. Battaria civica – Municipal battery. A small medieval pier in a shape of a fortification to protect the entrance to the civic port and to the main square.

22. Battaria del Mandrachio – Mandracchio battery. Mandraccio is a small, sheltered port for local boats, typically located in front of the old city center, complete with a square. The depicted mandracchio in Trieste was filled between 1858 and 1863.

23. Locanda Grande – A famous hotel located between Mandracchio and the main square, now known as Piazza Unità d’Italia. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, the hotel hosted several renowned individuals, but it is most notably remembered for the murder of the prominent archaeologist and art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717–1768). Although we have traced information that the hotel was demolished in 1847 and replaced by the building known today as the Grand Hotel Duchi d’Aosta, we could not find any evidence of an interruption in its operations in that period of time. The hotel continued to be referred to as “Locanda Grande” throughout the 19th century in various guidebooks. The building is also depicted on Gustavo Eckardt’s 1852 map of Trieste, and it is on the present map.

24. Palazzo Magistrale – City hall. It was replaced by a newer building between 1871 and 1873.

25. Chiesa di St. Pietro – Church of St. Peter on the main square, demolished in 1871.

26. Palazzo Governale – Government Palace, also Palazzo della Luogotenenza Austriaca, Österreichische Statthalterei or Palazzo della Prefettura, originally built in 1764, it was demolished in 1899 to be replaced with a new structure.

27. Teatro Grande – now Teatro Verdi, was built in the late 18th century and gained prominence in the mid-19th century for Verdi operas. It was known as Teatro Grande from 1821 to 1861, before being renamed Teatro Comunale.

28. Edifizio della Borsa – Exchange Building. An early 19th century building. After 1844, most business took place in the new Palazzo del Tergesteo, shown on the map below the Exchange Building, with a cross-shaped inner court.

29. Chiesa Greca Orientale – The Greek Orthodox Church of San Nicolò dei Greci was constructed between 1784 and 1787, with its façade completed during 1819-1820.

30. Chiesa Greca Illirica – Serbian Orthodox church, prior to its reconstruction in 1861.

31. Edifizio della Sanita – Maritime Health Office Building.

32. Chiesa de Luterani – The Lutheran Church, now known as Beata Vergine del Rosario, was desecrated in 1784 and sold to the Lutherans of Trieste a year later, who maintained the building until 1869.
33. Sinagoga Israelitica – The former synagogue located in Piazzetta delle Scuole Israelitiche (now at the end of Via di Torre Bianca) is known as the Major Temple, founded in 1798. It housed two distinct synagogues: the ground floor and the first floor were designated for the Spanish Schola, following the Sephardic rite, while the second and third floors were reserved for Jews of German rite, or Ashkenazi, with Schola n. 2, also known as Schola Grande.

34. Casa d’ Arresto criminale – Prison. A former Jesuit college, which from the late 18th century also hosted a mathematical and nautical school, was converted into a secondary judicial prison known as “dei Gesuiti.”

35. Chiesa de Gesuiti – Jesuit Church, today Church of Santa Maria Maggiore.

36. Chiesa e Convento delle R. R. Monache – Monastery of San Cipriano, housing Benedictine nuns.

37. Cattedrale di S. Giusto – Trieste Cathedral.

38. Castello – Castle of San Giusto.

39. Sanza – Gunpowder stores in an old fortification, Forte San Vito, which served as a defense system until the construction of the San Rocco shipyard in 1858. After that, the defense systems were relocated to the hills around Muggia.

40. Carceri nuove – Military prison in Via Tigor, finished by 1852.

41. Chiesa St Antonio Vecchio – Church of St. Anthony.

42. I. R. Accademia Reale – Imperial Academy.

43. Cassa Camerale – Chamber of Commerce.

44. Molo – Pier.

45. Molo Sartorio – a highly important and modern gauging station in Austria, now of the Adriatic sea, and one of the most important gauging stations in mid-19th-century Europe, constructed shortly after 1841.

46. Braccio St Teresa, e Fanale – Arm [i. e. long curved pier] of St. Teresa and a lighthouse, which was constructed until 1833.

47. Lazzaretto St. Carlo ed Arsenale d’Artiglieria – Lazzaretto San Carlo and artillery arsenal.

48. 49. 50. 51. Fortificazioni – The remnants of ancient fortifications along the coast, south of Trieste.

The map features two planned constructions, denoted by yellow lines, alongside the existing buildings. One of these is proposed reclaimed land for a railway station that opened in 1857. On the other hand Gustavo Eckardt’s map from 1852 depicts a much larger area of reclaimed land, with more detailed rail tracks, suggesting that the current map was created shortly before 1852. Notably, our map does not show any planned railroad tracks.

The other structure indicated in yellow represents a proposed extension of the Molo San Carlo (currently known as Molo Audace). The plan included lengthening the pier and dividing it into two sections, likely intended to enhance port protection and increase docking capacity. However, this expansion was never executed.

Date

The map can be dated to a narrow period between the late 1840s and 1851. It closely resembles an 1846 map by Gustavo Eckardt titled “Piano Topografico della Città, Porto Franco e Circondario di Trieste, dedicato al Lloyd Austriaco,” (click here for the image: Piano Topografico della Cittá Porto – franco e Circondario T… [G I h 707] | Maps | Hungaricana) but it includes several updated details. Notably, it shows a smaller canal at “Mollo Klutsch” and does not depict the streams in the city, which were still visible in 1846. These canals were covered and transformed into streets, specifically in what are now Via Giosuè Carducci and Via Cesare Battisti.

Gustavo Eckardt produced a revised map of Trieste for the Austrian Lloyd in 1852, which reflects significant changes compared to our map, particularly in the area where the railroad station was under construction (click here for the image: Piano Topografico della Città Porto franco e Circondario di Trieste dedicato al Lloyd Austriaco dal disegnatore Gustavo Eckardt nell’anno 1852 – Archivio di Stato di Trieste).

The current map does not display Miramare Castle, which began construction in 1856 at Punta Grignano, located in the leftmost part of the map. Piazza dell’Unità (originally Piazza Grande) still retains its old form. The main renovations of the piazza commenced in 1857. The designated reclaimed land for the railway station, which lacks railway infrastructure, indicates again that the map predates 1852.

It is important to consider that the map was created over many months, during which numerous buildings and streets underwent changes due to ongoing reconstruction. It is unclear whether the map was intended for publication; however, it seems to have been made as a survey for one of the city’s development projects. This intriguing map holds significance for the history of Trieste and warrants further research.