Slovenia rediscovered its first world atlas after decades
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Around 160 years ago, people in Slovenia gained access to their first world atlas, called Atlant, a collection of 18 maps published in six parts between 1869 and 1877.
The atlas began with maps of the entire Earth, Europe, and Austria, then expanded to include other continents and individual countries. Dr. Jerneja Fridl, a cartographer at the Anton Melik Geographical Institute, points out that Atlant wasn’t based on the work of Gerardus Mercator, a famous mapmaker.
For much of the 20th century, scholars overlooked Atlant, and it faded from professional memory. Even a comprehensive 1995 study of Austrian atlases from 1561 to 1994, called Atlantes Austriaci, failed to include it despite its detailed record of map production within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Researchers only began to study Atlant again more than twenty years ago, rediscovering its importance to Slovenian cartographic history. The investigation into the atlas continues, revealing new details about its creation and significance.
