Maps, plans
Our collection contains hundreds of cartographic documents that can be useful for researching the past of Budapest and its predecessor settlements, from the first printed representations of the city to the latest atlases. In addition to the most frequently used atlases available in our reading room, we keep quite a few maps from the beginning of the 20th century, from the time of city unification and from the era of Reformation. These are laminated, safely usable prints in order to protect the documents. However, most of our map collection is stocked in the storage rooms.
In addition to the general maps of Budapest, you can find cadastral, land use, military topographic documents, and documents processing the transport network of the city and its surroundings. In addition to maps showing the whole of the capital, we keep a large number of large-scale maps showing different themes or different parts of the city and districts. The collection is also diverse according to their types, in addition to the mentioned atlases and map sheets, the collection also has manuscript, wall and relief maps.
The publications published before 1801 were all included to the protected collection unit of the Budapest Collection, regardless of the topic, language or place of publication. All the old, rare prints, manuscripts, and decorative editions that had no local history relevance have been listed here. Among these rarities there are some high-value documents with cartographic historical significance. Such is the 1570 edition of Abraham Ortelius's monumental work Theatrum orbis terrarum, which already contains a map of Hungary by Johannes Sambucus (János Zsámboky) and a map of Transylvania by Honterus. Ludovicus Gotofredi’s 1638 Neuwe Archontologia cosmica with engravings by Matthaeus Merian, along with several vedutas - which can be considered as one of the antecedents of urban cartography - also conveys the view of Pest-Buda, offering a connection between the rarities preserved in the collection and the works of local knowledge.
Copies of maps, as well as other documents of the collection, can only be made with your own devices for the purpose of research, study and information gathering. Only reproduction devices (eg cameras) that do not come into contact with the surface of the document may be used under the given light, in the reading room of the Budapest Collection.
Some of the contemporary engravings, map drawings and plans can be found digitally in the Budapest Picture Archive.
Information
Beiratkozás
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