Brandenburg 1717. An early 18th century topography of a state in words and images

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Matthias Asche
• Subject Area: Early Modern History
• Term: from 2020 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 442250128

We are planning an edition of Johann Christoph Bekmanns description of Brandenburg (GStA PK, VI. HA, Nl Bekmann Nr. 35) and the miniature city views by Christian Gottlieb Hertel and Daniel Petzold (SBB PK, Kartenabteilung Y 12469). The manuscript of about 1.100 pages covers the central, southern and eastern parts of Brandenburg. The author died in 1717, before the manuscript had been printed. The 1751-1753 edition of the „Historische Beschreibung der Chur und Mark Brandenburg“ remained a fragment, which gave a general outline of the country and only covered the western part in detail. The edition which we propose to undertake connects to that without territorial overlap. For the first time, it will present the topography of Brandenburg up to 1717 by re-uniting the descriptions with the pictorial representations of the cites.The text will be accompanied by several commentaries: A running commentary of the text; an overview commenting on the origin of the manuscript and the history of its tradition, which will place both manuscript and vedutes in their historical, social and cultural contexts, including their place in the history of art and the history of science; as well as an analysis of the relations between words and pictures. The edition includes indices of persons and places. The printed edition will be followed by a digital edition linked to larger corpora. To interactively present all information and commentary in its spatial context an a map of Brandenburg, we are planning a website.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants