Äldre Geometriska Historical Maps of Sweden

Sweden Äldre Geometriska Historical Maps of Sweden

As Sweden was in a period of great territorial expansion and ambitions, the government needed to pay for the “costs of war.” This would come from the production and taxation of farms and natural resources. To accomplish this, it was decided to map out all the farms and villages into detailed maps. The maps show places of residence, locations of mills, and other economic interests. It was also hoped that abandoned farms, or lands could be revitalized, and other farms could be expanded. Either way the goal was to increase tax revenue. At this time the kingdom of Sweden spanned from the Tornedalen in the North, to Öland in the South. The maps were bound into books, which became visual jordeböcker. It should be noted, that not all villages and farm were mapped, but between 1630 and 1690 about 12,000 maps were created. All of these maps have been scanned and are available through Riksarkivets website at: www.riksarkivet.se. The database is called: Sveriges äldsta storskaliga kartor – database More information about these maps can be found in the book: 1600 –talets jordbruklandskap, en introduktion till de äldre geometriska kartorna, by Riksarkivet, edited by Mats Höglund.