Plan der königl. Preuss. Haupt und Residenzstadt Königsberg

The 19th century was only a time of the industrial revolution, scientific and technical progress, and development of the state administration, but also the rise of people travelling the continent and beyond it. In the so-called “Century of Steam”, there was a rapid increase in the population of cities. The first cities with a population of a million appeared in Europe. This resulted in greater demand for detailed city plans. On maps such as the presented plan of Königsberg in East Prussia, the most important office buildings and districts of the city have been marked. The map was made and published by D. Eicholz, a member of the city council, which most likely commissioned the new city plan to be made and published. It is possible that the plan of Königsberg dates back to the second half of the 19th century, although it should be noted that it is not possible to determine the year of the map’s publication with complete certainty. Among others, the markings of the fortifications are noteworthy, although they may be misleading. The city was completely surrounded by a line of fortifications, which resembled earth bastions. In 1870–1890, fortresses were erected in Europe with a line of brick-concrete-earth artillery and armoured forts, which surrounded, among others, important communication points. In other cases, they surrounded entire cities, such as Verdun in France, Przemyśl and Krakow in the then Austria-Hungary. The map is foldable and stored in its special, original case, which bears the old signature of the Potocki castle library. The Counts Potocki – like most Polish aristocrats – travelled extensively, hence a large collection of plans and maps has survived. Łukasz Chrobak