Äldre Geometriska Historical Maps of Sweden

Sweden Äldre Geometriska Historical Maps of Sweden

During the 1600's the kingdom of Sweden was in a period of territorial expansion. The government needed to pay for the “costs of war.” The government decided to assess the farms and natural resources for taxation. To accomplish this, all the farms and villages would be surveyed to create detailed maps. These 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 active farms could be expanded.

Either way the goal was to increase tax revenue. Before 1645 the kingdom of Sweden included Tornedalen in the North, Finland to the East, and Småland in the South. By 1660 the kingdom expanded to include Bohuslän, Skåne, and Blekinge. The maps were bound into books, which became a tax record known as 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.