Mapping Port Towns:
Evolution of Town Plans in two cities of the Early Modern Period:
Stockholm and Thessaloniki
Thesis Proposal Spring 2014
Author: Angelos Kastritis
Supervisor: Margaret Hunt
1
Contents
1.Background________________________________________________3
2.Purpose and Research Question ________________________________5
3.Methodology and Sources _____________________________________8
4.Relevance and Contribution___________________________________13
5.Bibliography_______________________________________________14
6.Appendix__________________________________________________15
2
Background
Cartography (from Greek χάρτης khartes, "map" and γράφειν graphein, "write"),
has been a crucial part parallel to the human history for many centuries. According to
Hodgkiss, a map is a form of graphic communication, designed in order to convey
information about the surrounding environment. An essential and basic function of
most maps is to help determine geographical relations and for this purpose maps are
often designed similarly to the territory they represent. In the first years of their history,
maps were plain, locating rivers, islands or coastlines and towns or settlements. But
after thousands of years up to this day, after much thought and endeavour, cartography
has a multi-faceted role.1 The evolution of the design and meaning of maps, is a
fascinating topic for everyone interested.
From ancient maps of Babylon, Egypt, Greece and Asia, through the Rennaisance
and into the 21st century, people have created and used maps as helpful tools in their
daily life. In Babylonia the first world maps were created even from the 9th century.2
Cartography owes much to Ptolemaeus (2nd century AD), who is still considered as one
1
A. G. Hodgkiss, Understanding Maps, A systematic history of their use and development, (Dawson 1981), p.11
Kurt A. Raaflaub & Richard J. A. Talbert ,Geography and Ethnography: Perceptions of the World in Pre-Modern
Societies, (John Wiley & Sons 2009) p. 147
2
3
of the greatest scientists and cartographers.3 He continued the work of his Greek
predecessors and made great contributions in astronomy and geography. He is
considered the father of cartography as he extended the geographical knowledge of the
past. The precepts formulated and the calculations he made, were so well thought that
they are still valid in modern cartography.4 His work Geographia translated from Greek
into Latin in 1409, gave Europeans a clearer idea of the world.5
But the period from the 4th to 12th century is regarded as an era of decline for
western cartography. The Christian cosmic theory prevails, effecting the evolution of
cartography.6 Major changes are happening during the Middle Ages affecting the
world view and cartography. The Italian city-states emerge before Rennaisance and
create a net of cities as equivalent as the ancient Greek and Roman states. These cities
changed the urban environment of Europe along with the arts and science. Different
political or economical events and wars, constantly shift the centre of Europe to
different regions. In 13th century the Hanseatic League creates a new urban
3
4
5
J. L. Berggren, Alexander Jones; Ptolemy's Geography By Ptolemy, (Princeton University Press 2001)
Lila Leontidou, Geographically illiterate land, (ellinika grammata 2005), pp. 49, 57.
Jonathan Lanman, Glimpses of History from Old Maps, A Collector’s View, (Map Collector Publications 1989), pp.
21,25.
P.D.A Harvey, The history of topographical maps, Symbols, Pictures and Surveys, (Thames and Hudson 1980),
p.12.
6
Ulla Ehrensvärd, The History of the Nordic Map -From Myths to Reality, (John Nurminen Foundation 2006), p.8.
4
environment in northern Europe setting off the power of almost 90 port-cities. The
urbanization of Europe from 11th to 14th century, is a crucial change creating a set of
multiple and diverse centers and the net of cities created at that time, is the one where
we live until nowadays.7 The heritage of Middle Ages regarding the city as an entity is
of major importance, much appreciated the next centuries when the absolute monarchs
promoted numerous city plans in order to improve the image of their royal cities: Paris,
Madrid, Torino, Stockholm, Göteborg and Copenhagen are among them.8 The history of
city planning, since the emerge of the European urban net, goes with cartography.
Purpose and Research Question
That is a brief background in order to get some initial information about the history
of cartography combined with some major historical changes that occured during the
Early Modern period. Early Modern maps would be the main part of my sources in
order to achieve the expected results from my research. The main subject of my study
will be a detailed analysis mainly of early modern maps, but also town plans and town
views focusing on port cities. For this purpose i choose to focus on two cities with long
history and presence during the centuries. One from the Nordic region, the capital of
7
8
Leonardo Benevolo, La citta nella storia d’Europa, (elliknika grammata 1997), p. 118.
Benevolo, pp. 214-215.
5
Leontidou, pp. 61-62.
Sweden, Stockholm and the other one from Greece, the capital of the Macedonia region
and big port, Thessaloniki.
Even from the beginning, Stockholm was the largest and most important city in
Sweden. During the Middle Ages, the town grew rapidly and soon became not only the
biggest but also the de facto political and royal center of the country.9 Throughout the
Early Modern era, German and Finns along with Swedes were the main inhabitants
forming the character of the capital. Stockholm’s natural port was one of the best of the
era and played a decisive role in northern european trade.10 (Appendix, images 1 & 2)
Thessaloniki in the same period, was a vivid port with a continuous history dating
back to ancient Greece. To the Byzantine period and later under the Ottoman rule, the
city continued to be a crossroads metropolis of different religions and ethnicities. For
five centuries up to the 20th c., one of the most extraordinary and diverse societies in
Europe lived here. Greek-orthodox, Muslims and Sephardic Jews, were the principal
ethnic-religious groups, while the city was often called “Mother of Israel” because in
this era Jews were almost half the population.11 (Appendix, images 3 & 4)
At first in order to have more specific results and help further my research, i intend
9
Thomas Hall, Huvudstad i omvandling – Stockholms planering och utbyggnad under 700 år-The changing capital.
700 years of planning and buildingStockholm, (Sveriges Radio 1999), p. 47.
10
Lars Nilsson, Staden på vattnet, (Stockholmia 2002), p. 24-25, 86-87.
11
Mark Mazower, Salonica City of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims and Jews 1430-1950, (London, HarperCollins 2004)
6
to choose maps-town plans or town views (panorama views) from different periods of
the Early modern era, focusing more on 17th to 19th centuries, since there is plenty of
information in the historiography and map production for these two cities. Which ones
i will choose depends of course on the progress of the research regarding many aspects
of the history of these two cities. The same applies for the period i will choose to focus.
But my idea is to focus on some town views or town plans from periods where the
biggest differences in the evolution of each city are clearly visible. After further research
i found that town views or panoramic views, are also a trustful primary source for my
work, since there are plenty for both cities in this era. Apart from the potential data on
the city planning, town views may also give information about the purpose of making
them or the artist’s point of view.
Given all the above, i will try to pose my main research question, which for sure
will produce further possible sub-questions: Are there any similarities and differences
of the two cities as seen on maps and town views, and if there are, how do these reflect
social or religious characteristics? Possible sub-questions can be: How are those specific
port cities depicted in those sources? Are there any changes during the centuries due to
political situation? Are there any similarities or differences in the spatial depiction of the
cities and how and why did these characteristics occur? Where are certain buildings
7
situated in a specific areas of the cities and why? Is the site of these buildings related to
social, ethnic or religious changes? How did climate shaped the character of each city
and how can this be seen?
Methodology and Sources
The original idea of my thesis, which was to compare Stockholm and Thessaloniki
in different aspects, is still the same, but in order to narrow the topic and have more
possible results, i decided to do further research and analyze more aspects concerning
the two cities. One aspect of my research will be the arrangement of public or religious
buildings and the shaping of the town plan according to them. Where was the royal
palace of Stockholm built? Was it near the main square or other main buildings? What
about the main town church? Were these public settlements built in the center of the
city, easily seen and accesible? Where did Ottomans built their mosques in Thessaloniki?
Were the public buildings built near the port or not and why?
The other aspect, which probably will take more space in my thesis, is the
differences and distinctions of these two cities and the way spatial arrangement
reflected social, ethnic or religious diversities. It is taken for granted that Stockholm and
Thessaloniki are metropolises for different reasons, the first as a capital of a country and
8
the largest city of Sweden for centuries and the second, as the major port of northern
Greece and a multinational melting pot throughout its history. Given the above, i will
examine how religion, climate, economy and history, shaped the town structure. Ethnic
structure and religious-social characteristics will be examined. For example i will
examine the presence of German burghers and merchants or Finns officials in
Stockholm. Which part of the town was the Finnish parish or where did Germans built
their church? Is it possible to find traces on city plans regarding the social stratification
of the era? Why one area was inhabited by the wealthiest and another by the poorest?12
The same applies to Thessaloniki. Is it possible to know where did the merchants or the
Muslim officials live? Where were the parishes of Jews or Muslims? Finally how did
climate affected the urban planning of each town? Further aspects may occur to me
during the research (depending on the potential difficulties of examining the sources),
and will contribute to this intriguing process, but for now this will be my main topic
and the main aspects of study.
In order to examine these aspects, there is a huge amount of primary and secondary
sources which eventually will produce some results, and for the purpose of my proposal,
i will divide them in three sections:
12
Nilsson, pp. 189-193.
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1) Primary sources in situ:
The Map collection of Carolina Rediviva in Uppsala and Stockholms Stadsmuseet will
provide material regarding the city of Stockholm. Maps from Early Modern period, city
plans and possible town views will be available. Stadsmuseet hopefully has material
concerning the social or ethnic aspects of the city. The Map collection of National
Record Office of Maps and Cartographic Heritage in Thessaloniki, has maps and city
plans of the city while the collection of The Institute for Balkan Studies in Thessaloniki
and the collection from the Institute of Macedonian Studies in Thessaloniki, will
probably cover enough the Ottoman period, from the conquest of Thessaloniki until the
19th century. Finally i intend to visit the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki which as far
as i know, has a rich collection about it’s presence throughout the city’s history.
2) Primary sources in catalogues, books or internet sources:
Carolina Rediviva in Uppsala and Kungliga Biblioteket in Stockholm have plenty of
books and catalogues of original maps of Nordic regions and towns or city plans,
especially if some of them are not available for study in situ. Maps from Samourka Map
Collection which contains maps of Greek region from 16th to 18th centuries and finally
maps and town views from books and catalogues in University Library of Aristotle
University of Thessaloniki.
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3) Secondary sources:
There is a massive amount of possible sources about history of cartography in general.
Jonathan Lanman, A. Hodgkiss, P.D.A. Harvey in their books, present information and
details on the evolution of cartographic science and are great sources for the history of
maps. Ulla Ehrensvärd also did a great study about the origins and evolution of Nordic
maps.13 Raaflaub and Berggren are great sources for the history of cartography also
and will be used together with Leontidou who has done many studies on Critical and
Geographical thought regarding mostly southern Europe.14 Wim Boerefijn studies the
town planning in the late Middle Ages and examines the very creation and entity of the
city. L. Benevolo’s study on European cities is a masterpiece and helpful guide for
everyone interested in urban planning. 15
Regarding the specific cities, a primary research has been done up to now, and
there is a wide material for every aspect mentioned above (political history, town
planning, social, economic and ethnic history) but indicatively i could mention Thomas
13
A. G. Hodgkiss, Understanding Maps, A systematic history of their use and development, (Dawson 1981); Jonathan
Lanman, Glimpses of History from Old Maps, A Collector’s View, (Map Collector Publications 1989); P.D.A Harvey,
The history of topographical maps, Symbols, Pictures and Surveys, (Thames and Hudson 1980); Ulla Ehrensvärd, The
History of the Nordic Map -From Myths to Reality, (John Nurminen Foundation 2006).
14
Kurt A. Raaflaub & Richard J. A. Talbert ,Geography and Ethnography: Perceptions of the World in Pre-Modern
Societies, (John Wiley & Sons 2009); J. L. Berggren, Alexander Jones, Ptolemy's Geography By Ptolemy, (Princeton
University Press 2001); Lila Leontidou, Geographically illiterate land, (ellinika grammata 2005).
15
Wim Boerefijn, The foundation, planning and building of new towns in the 13th and 14th centuries in Europe: an
architectural-historical research into urban form and its creation, (Amsterdam 2010); Leonardo Benevolo, La citta
nella storia d’Europa, (elliknika grammata 1997).
11
Hall and Lars Nilsson who both give interesting information on the Swedish capital
concerning political, social and economic history. 16 I am presently searching for more
specialised studies on ethnic and social aspects of Stockholm’s history. About
Thessaloniki, Mark Mazower’s controversial work presents the city as a melting pot and
pays much attention to the last five centuries of city’s presence focusing on the three
main ethnic groups.17 Lambropoulou is studying the lively Jewish presence in Greek
space for fifteen centuries, while Phokion Kotzageorgis examines the conflicts in the
Christian community of Thessaloniki in Early modern times with many details on the
Christian population of the city and the interaction with other communities.18 As i said
before, this literature is just indicative and lots of information is and will be used in
order to further enrich my research, but currently and for the period to come, i am
searching for more relevant and specific studies, so for now it will not be safe to refer to
any more literature.
16
Thomas Hall, Huvudstad i omvandling – Stockholms planering och utbyggnad under 700 år-The changing capital.
700 years of planning and buildingStockholm, (Sveriges Radio 1999); Lars Nilsson, Staden på vattnet, (Stockholmia
2002)
17
Mark Mazower, Salonica City of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims and Jews 1430-1950, (London, HarperCollins 2004)
18
Anna Lambropoulou, Jewish presence in the Greek space -4 th-19th c. (Athens 2008); Phokion Kotzageorgis, Aspects
of (Early) Modernity: Conflicts in the Christian Community of Thessaloniki-end 17th-early 18th c., in
Turkologika,(Stamouli 2011).
12
Relevance and Contribution
There are plenty of maps and town views of Stockholm throughout her history. The
same applies for Thessaloniki. There is also a variety of studies that have been conducted
regarding aspects of each city’s historical background. Town planning, social
stratification, ethnic realities or religious history are some of the topics that literature
deals with. Although my ideas are at an embryonic stage, with the continuous research,
i hope and believe that many paths will open and eventually these sources will produce
some results which may lead to further thinking and research. I believe that the
examination of the different nature and the totally different history of each city, is an
intriguing and challenging process, which will produce some interesting answers for
the reader and broaden his/her horizons on each ones perspectives. In that way i hope
to make a small contribution and shed a light in the history of these specific towns.
13
Bibliography
-Benevolo Leonardo, La citta nella storia d’Europa, (elliknika grammata 1997)
-Berggren J. L., Alexander Jones, Ptolemy's Geography By Ptolemy, (Princeton University Press 2001)
-Boerefijn Wim, The foundation, planning and building of new towns in the 13th and 14th centuries in
Europe: an architectural-historical research into urban form and its creation, (Amsterdam 2010)
-Ehrensvärd Ulla, The History of the Nordic Map -From Myths to Reality, (John Nurminen Foundation,
2006)
-Hall Thomas, Huvudstad i omvandling – Stockholms planering och utbyggnad under 700 år-The changing
capital. 700 years of planning and buildingStockholm, (Sveriges Radio 1999)
-Harvey P.D.A., The history of topographical maps, Symbols, Pictures and Surveys, (Thames and Hudson,
1980)
-Hodgkiss A. G., Understanding Maps, A systematic history of their use and development, (Dawson, 1981)
-Lambropoulou Anna, Jewish presence in the Greek space -4th-19th c. (Athens 2008)
-Kotzageorgis Phokion, Aspects of (Early) Modernity: Conflicts in the Christian Community of
Thessaloniki-end 17th-early 18th c., in Turkologika, (Stamouli 2011)
-Lanman A. Jonathan, Glimpses of History from Old Maps, A Collector’s View, (Map Collector Publications,
Herts, 1989)
-Leontidou Lila , Geographically illiterate land, (ellinika grammata 2005)
-Mazower Mark, Salonica City of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims and Jews 1430-1950, (London,
HarperCollins 2004)
-Nilsson Lars, Staden på vattnet, (Stockholmia 2002)
-Raaflaub Kurt A. & Talbert Richard J. A., Geography and Ethnography: Perceptions of the World in
Pre-Modern Societies, (John Wiley & Sons 2009)
14
Appendix
1) Stockholm plan, 1547
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Karta_%C3%B6ver_Stockholm_p%C3%A5_1500-talet.
png
2) Stockholm in 1693
http://www.kb.se/samlingarna/oversikt/suecia/forsta-bandet/stockholm-oster/
15
3) Thessaloniki in 1688
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thessaloniki_in_1688.png
16
4) Thessaloniki and the historical center,1882
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thessaloniki_map_1882.jpg
17