Map of Stockholm, 1805

Plan af Stockholm anno 1805 is an old map of Stockholm created by Carl Fredrik Akrell (1779-1868), a Swedish officer (lieutenant general), cartographer and graphic artist. This map is in the archives of Lund University and shows what Stockholm looked like about two centuries ago, when King Gustav IV Adolf was on the Swedish throne and the Napoleonic Wars were raging in Europe.

In addition to his career in the military, Carl Akrell was distinguished for his skill as a draughtsman and engraver. His maps are excellent for their time. Carl Akrell was the son of the copper engraver Fredrik Akrel and his wife Kristina Bergqvist, and began his career as an auskultant at the Surveyor's Office, but in 1794 he moved to the Fortification - the forerunner of the Fortification Agency. He participated in the work on the Trollhätte Canal and lock buildings and worked on fortification work in the Stockholm archipelago.

Carl Akrell later participated in the battles of Gross-Beeren, Dennewitz, and Leipzig during the Napoleonic Wars. During the Battle of Leipzig, 2 years after this map was published, he was hit in the chest by a musket ball, which he later wore as a charm on his watch chain for the rest of his life.

The same battle gave him the title of Knight of the Order of the Sword and the medal for bravery in the field. In 1819 he was knighted and promoted to colonel in the army. In 1831 he became the first director of the Topographical Corps. In 1843 Carl Akrell was promoted to Major General and from 1849 to 1862 Chancellor of the War Academy. In 1854, the same year that he became a lieutenant general, he was commissioned to organize the Electric Telegraph Company, over which he served as director until 1862. The rapid development of the telegraph was largely due to him.

Carl Akrell is represented at Kalmar Art Museum, Örebro County Museum, National Museum in Stockholm and Uppsala University Library, among others.