Sprawozdania: Nowe atlasy poszczególnych krajów

Summary

This article reviews the development of comprehensive regional atlases and provides a detailed assessment of major national atlases published in Europe during the first half of the 20th century. The author begins by noting that regional atlases serve not only as visual complements to statistical publications but also as scientific syntheses of knowledge about a country. Citing the 1910 and 1925 editions of the "Atlas de Finlande" as exemplary, the article traces the historical lineage of such publications, mentioning early examples from Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia. The core of the article focuses on five significant atlases published between the world wars: the "Atlas of Industry of the USSR," the "Atlas de France," the "Atlas of the Czechoslovak Republic," the "Atlas des deutschen Lebensraumes," and the "Atlante fisico-economico d'Italia." The "Atlas de France," coordinated by the French National Geographic Committee, was planned to include 84 large plates covering topography, climate, hydrology, biogeography, agriculture, mining, industry, transportation, population, and politics. Its innovative cartographic concepts, such as aridity index maps and morphological maps, reflect the advanced ideas of the French geographical school. The "Atlas of the Czechoslovak Republic," published by the Czech Academy of Sciences between 1930 and 1935, is praised for its aesthetic layout, rich colors, and print quality, comprising 55 large plates on physical geography, geology, climate, biology, population, economy, and history. The article also reviews the "Atlas of Ukraine and Adjoining Countries," edited by Kubijovych, which covers natural, demographic, economic, historical, and cultural topics, though some maps exhibit political bias. Additionally, the author briefly discusses two smaller atlases: the "Atlas of the Free City of Danzig," focusing on human geography, and "Poland and Its Economy," published by the Königsberg Institute, which, despite its modest appearance, offers substantial content. The article concludes by summarizing the cartographic methods, organizational structures, and scientific merits of these atlases, noting their respective strengths and weaknesses.