Universitätsbibliothek

Map collections

The Schöpfkarte

Bern on the Schöpfkarte (1578), shelfmark MUE Ryh 3211 : 6-14, image: Raul Surace

The 500th anniversary of town physician Thomas Schöpf’s (1520-1577) presented the opportunity to revisit his eventful life and to review the work that came to be known by his name: the Schöpfkarte. Alongside the exhibition from 3 August to 25 October 2020 at Münstergasse Library, a special issue of the journal Cartographica Helvetica was published, which outlines the current state of research and serves as an exhibition catalogue.

The south-oriented wall map consists of 18 sheets, which amount to the impressive measurements of 1.3 by 1.9 meters when connected. It was printed in two editions in 1578 and 1672. With its attention to detail it stayed unrivalled for two centuries. The map is based on a handwritten Latin description of the aera, a so-called chorography, which contains an extensive survey of geographical data.

The Schöpfkarte (1578) at the University Library Bern
The Schöpfkarte (1672) at the University Library Bern
A re-etching oft the Schöpfkarte (1970-72) by Georges Grosjean
The first part / second part of the chorography at the State Archive of the Canton of Bern
A translation of the chorography into German

Cartographica Helvetica Nr. 60: Summary (d/f/e) (PDF, 295KB)
List of all currently discovered manuscripts of the chorography (PDF, 340KB)
List of all currently known copies of the Schöpfkarte (PDF, 179KB)
Translation of the cartouche texts (PDF, 1.0 MB)

Podcasts Radio srf 1:
Unterwegs mit der Schöpfkarte von 1578 (broadcast Oct 12, 2020 at 12:30) 
Der Namensgeber der Berner Schöpfkarte ist weitgehend unbekannt (broadcast Sept 12, 2020, 17:30 Uhr)

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