The Carta Marina is the earliest reasonably accurate map of the Nordic and Baltic countries. The map's author, Olaus Magnus (1490-1557), brother of Sweden's last Catholic Archbishop Johannes Magnus, spent twelve years working on the map before it was printed in Venice in 1539.
The map you can buy here is the second edition of the map published by Antonio Lafreri in 1572, then coloured by hand during the same period. In the second edition Antonio started from Olaus Magnus' original which was 125×170 cm and redrew all the details from scratch to make the map more suitable for smaller formats, like the 70×100 cm map you can buy here.
The original was intended as an illustration for Olaus Magnus' great historical work "Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus", or "History of the Nordic peoples", published in Latin in Venice in 1555.
Olaus Magnus described his map as follows in Swedish translation: "A short exposition to the new maps of the old Göta kingdom and other Nordic countries and with the strange things on land and in water included therein, which so far in the whole world have never been clearly described..."
Over the centuries, few seem to have known about this map. Only in 1886 was a copy found in Munich and in 1962 another copy in Switzerland, which is now in the Uppsala University Library. A copy of the latter edition can be found in the Royal Library, where the map has been digitised and made available under CC BY 2.0 license.
Now this rare map can be yours too, adorning a wall in your home.
Robin L. (verified owner) -
Really cool map and a great print!
Solveig K. (verified owner) -
The map was an appreciated gift to 2 different relatives. It combines geography and history. For me ( bought several) it is a memory. In my childhood home in Helsinki the same was on the wall, but on a poorer base in the 1960s.
Ingemo Sahlström (verified owner) -
The pressure seems very genuine. Because of modern technology, it is also fascinating and clear, giving the viewer an excellent insight into how beauty, art and science went hand in hand 500 years ago.
Monika Lindberg (verified owner) -
Gave away the large Carta Marina as a gift. The print is absolutely beautiful! The recipients were really happy and if I didn't have such a full wall, I would buy one for myself too!
irene (verified owner) -
It's a very nice card.
Frederik (verified owner) -
Beautiful map of Scandinavia. Fast shipping to Denmark. Very satisfied.
Fredrik Johansson (verified owner) -
I buy a lot of posters and it's rare to get prints of this quality. Very satisfied!
other folke (verified owner) -
A real ornament. Says something about the beliefs of the past.
Linnea J. (verified owner) -
Detailed and nice print, hangs beautifully on the wall!
Simon Lind (verified owner) -
Ett helt fantastiskt tryck av en fantastisk del av Nordens historia!
Helen Strandvall (verified owner) -
En jätte fin karta över Skandinavien! Har den och inramas som bäst för att den ska få sin plats på väggen sen. Mycket nöjd!
Per Sandberg (verified owner) -
Intressant presentation av avstånd.