National atlases in the Nordic countries
Nationalatlanten in den Nordischen Ländern
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Sweden · Version 2
1990–2014In this 1995 survey of Nordic national atlases, Staffan Helmfried gives an editorial account of the planning, production and reception of Sveriges Nationalatlas. Parliament approved and funded the ten-year project in April 1987. Its original programme comprised 17 independently usable thematic volumes in separate Swedish and English editions, designed for upper-secondary schools, adult education, public authorities and a wider readership. The project combined central coordination in Stockholm, specialist editorial teams in universities and government agencies, and digital cartographic production at LMKartor in Kiruna. Helmfried explains that thematic coverage was intended to reflect geographical importance, with maps addressing problems and theories as well as descriptive information. Compared with its predecessor, the atlas reduced agricultural and geological coverage and expanded cultural life, heritage, environment and Sweden's international connections. Population received a more problem-oriented and theoretically developed treatment. He also identifies difficulties caused by unsuitable data and by the mapping of complex processes. Digital production initially brought no substantial cost savings, although working procedures became more efficient. By April 1995, 14 volumes had appeared at the planned rate of three annually. Helmfried reports early professional criticism of the design alongside strong Swedish sales: about 80,000 copies of the first volume, partly sold at promotional prices, and generally 15,000–20,000 for other volumes. A PC edition had been released on diskette in 1991; improvements were underway and a CD-ROM edition was planned. The concluding geography volume was scheduled for 1996. Continuation beyond the original programme remained undecided, with reissues, new themes, regional atlases and international cooperation under discussion.
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This article reviews the historical development, institutional organization, production models, and cartographic concepts of national atlases in the Nordic countries, with particular attention to Finland and Sweden. Finland’s 1899 atlas is widely regarded as the first national atlas in the modern sense. Conceived partly to present a nation striving for independence under Russian rule, it was followed by four editions that documented Finland’s rapid transformation. The fifth edition, completed in 1993 after fifteen years of work, retained the traditional scholarly atlas model while expanding social and cultural coverage, employing diverse cartographic forms, and providing parallel texts in three languages. Elsewhere, Iceland had not yet realized its atlas plans, largely because of its small population and limited market. Norway developed a state-led series of thematic maps and explanatory volumes, but financial constraints prevented a fixed publication schedule and prompted a shift toward a more practical book format. Denmark adopted a flexible, society-led model in which independent thematic studies were gradually incorporated into an overarching national-atlas program without regular state funding. The main case study is the new Swedish National Atlas (SNA), approved by parliament in 1987 as a ten-year project involving the Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography, the national mapping authority, and Statistics Sweden. Its seventeen autonomous thematic volumes were designed for schools, adult education, public authorities, and a general readership. Production was fully digital and relied where possible on public databases. Each volume combined maps, explanatory text, photographs, diagrams, and tables and appeared in separate Swedish and English editions. The atlas sought a geographically balanced, explanatory, and problem-oriented representation of Sweden rather than allowing available data or conventional cartographic practices to determine content. Accordingly, agriculture and geology received less emphasis than in earlier atlases, while services, cultural life, heritage, environmental issues, international integration, population processes, and the history of Swedish cartography received greater attention. The project demonstrated both the opportunities and limitations of computer-assisted thematic cartography. Digital production was not initially cheaper, and complex spatial processes remained difficult to represent; moreover, effective production required personnel trained in both geography and cartography. Nevertheless, standardized workflows, decentralized institutional participation, regular publication, accessible design, and professional marketing produced an exceptional public response. Individual Swedish volumes sold between approximately 15,000 and 20,000 copies, while the introductory mapping volume reached about 80,000 copies. A PC version, conceived as an affordable GIS for schools and the public, further broadened access to spatial analysis. The Nordic experience shows that national atlases function not merely as cartographic inventories but as instruments of national representation, geographic education, public information, and technological innovation. Their sustainability depends on balancing scholarly quality, institutional cooperation, financing, usability, and market appeal.
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