Kaunas ir jo apylinkės XVII a. viduryje švedų karinėje kartografijoje
Kaunas and its Surroundings in the Mid-17th Century in Swedish Military Cartography

Summary/Abstract: The article analyses the depiction of Kaunas surroundings in the schematic map drawn up by the Swedish military cartographer Georg von Schwengeln in 1656. The map covers the area on both banks of the Nemunas River from Kaunas to the right tributary of the Šventoji River below Jurbarkas, and the left tributary of the Šešupė River. Kaunas and its surroundings are mapped in detail, but with significant localisation errors. The sketch reveals the hydrographic setting of the Nemunas River. The cartographer has marked 7 direct tributaries of the Nemunas on both banks, but only a part of them is named. The map also marks 15 settlements on both banks of the Nemunas. Various inscriptions providing evidence of the situation in the Kaunas area at the time of the map’s creation provide additional significant information. The contents of the map show how Kaunas and its surroundings were seen by Swedish military officers, what kind of precise information they had at their disposal, and how the map could have been used in the event of a possible military invasion.

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