Das Toponymische Erbe der Habsburgermonarchie in Galizien
The Toponymic Legacy of the Habsburg Monarchy in Galicia

Summary/Abstract: The paper discusses the influence of the Habsburg topographic surveys and cartography on the toponymic landscape of the former crown land of Galicia. Publicly available maps have had a great impact on the geographical names used both by locals and non-locals. The Habsburg toponymic policy was characterized by non-Germanisation of already existing Galician toponyms. The Habsburg toponymic heritage is therefore of double nature: 1) forms of toponyms popularized by Austro-Hungarian maps (especially by Spezialkarte) influenced a wide toponymic usus as well as the toponymy of the later maps (especially interwar-Polish military maps) – these popularized forms may have differed from the names used by the local communities, which could have been caused by a surveyor’s mistake; 2) the topographic and cartographic materials produced by the Austro-Hungarian institutions are a valuable source for toponomastic research. In the paper, the Austro-Hungarian and interwar-Polish topographic manuals are analysed. These documents defined the way a surveyor had to collect and process geographical names. The examples and possible causes of some Polonized forms occurring in Spezialkarte are discussed. Next, the influence of the Austrian maps on the toponymy of Polish maps is explained. Finally, hilarious examples of cartographic name-copying are given.

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