Andreas Walsperger was a German cartographer of the 15th century. The son of a carpenter

Carpenter

A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....

, he became a Benedictine monk

Benedictine

Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...

 at St. Peter's

St. Peter's Archabbey, Salzburg

St Peter's Archabbey, otherwise St Peter's Abbey in Salzburg is a Benedictine monastery in Austria. It is considered one of the oldest monasteries in the German-speaking area, if not in fact the oldest.-History:...

 in Salzburg

Salzburg

-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...

 in 1434. He left the monastery in 1442. Little more is known about him except that in 1448/9
he created his map in Konstanz

Konstanz

Konstanz is a university city with approximately 80,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south-west corner of Germany, bordering Switzerland. The city houses the University of Konstanz.-Location:...

.

The map

The map of Andreas Walsperger is a Christian Mappa Mundi

Mappa mundi

Mappa mundi is a general term used to describe medieval European maps of the world. These maps range in size and complexity from simple schematic maps an inch or less across to elaborate wall maps, the largest of which was 11 ft. in diameter...

 typical of the medieval style of cartography

Cartography

Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...

. It and the "Mappa mundi Ciziensis" from Zeitz

Zeitz

Zeitz is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river Weiße Elster, in the middle of the triangle of the federal states Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony.-History:...

 are the only remaining representatives of the genre in Germany.

The size of the Pergament is 57,7 x 75 cm.

Ownership

The Fugger

Fugger

The Fugger family was a historically prominent group of European bankers, members of the fifteenth and sixteenth-century mercantile patriciate of Augsburg, international mercantile bankers, and venture capitalists like the Welser and the Höchstetter families. This banking family replaced the de'...

 family possibly owned the map in the 16th century. In 1622, Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria

Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria

Maximilian I, Duke/Elector of Bavaria , called "the Great", was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. His reign was marked by the Thirty Years' War ....

, gave it to Pope Gregory XV

Pope Gregory XV

Pope Gregory XV , born Alessandro Ludovisi, was pope from 1621, succeeding Paul V on 9 February 1621...

. The map is now in the Vatican Library Palatina (Lat. 1362 B).

Literature

• Paul Gallez
  Paul Gallez
  Paul Gallez was an Argentinian cartographer and historian, born in Brussels, and based on the city of Bahía Blanca, province of Buenos Aires, Argentina....
  
  : Walsperger and His Knowledge of the Patagonian Giants, 1448. In: Imago Mundi. The international journal for the history of cartography. Thaylor & Francis, London 1981 (Jg. 33), S. 91-93
• Karl-Heinz Meine: Zur Weltkarte des Andreas Walsperger, Konstanz 1448. In: Wolfgang Scharfe u.a. (Hrsg.): Kartenhistorisches Colloquium Bayreuth '82. Vorträge und Berichte. Dietrich Reimer Verlag, Berlin, 1983, ISBN 3-496-00692-7

External links

• http://www.bad-radkersburg-online.at/bad-radkersburg/pers3.htm zur Person des Andreas Walsberger
• http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/LMwebpages/245.html