1827 Deschmann City Plan or Map of Ljubljana, Slovenia

A highly detailed 1827 city plan or map of Ljubljana (Laibach), Slovenia by Franz Deschmann.

A Closer Look

The map covers the entire city and its suburbs along the Ljubljana River, labeling public buildings, major streets, plazas, and the historic castle near the center. Adjacent waterways, farms, and fields are also illustrated. Nearly 300 buildings are numbered, corresponding in part to an index at the bottom-right, which likely continued in the accompanying book in which the map appeared. Of the buildings named in the index here, most serve an administrative or religious function, but also include schools, hospitals, and theaters.

Aftermath of Napoleon

Prior to the 1790s, the Habsburgs ruled Ljubljana for nearly five centuries. But as with most of Europe, the French Revolution and the march of Napoleon's armies shook up historic arrangements, often permanently. In 1809, Ljubljana was made the capital of the Illyrian Provinces of Napoleon's empire. It was returned to Austrian rule in 1813 but was retained as the capital of the newly-created Kingdom of Illyria, a crown land of the Austrian monarchy devised at the Congress of Vienna. Many of Napoleon's administrative reforms remained, though incremental changes were made to align the kingdom with the Austrian Empire. The city gained international attention when it hosted the 1821 Congress of Laibach, meant to solidify the agreements of the Congress of Vienna and resolve outstanding issues (namely, to justify an Austrian intervention in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in order to quell a liberal uprising). Following the Revolutions of 1848, the Austrian crown was anxious about nationalist sentiment and divided the Kingdom of Illyria, with Ljubljana becoming the capital of the Duchy of Carniola.

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared by Franz Deschmann in Prague in 1827. The notation 'Seite 523' at the top-left suggests that it came from a larger work, not identified in existing catalog listings but which may be Christian Karl André's Neueste geographisch-Statistische Beschreibung des Kaiserthums Österreich. The map is noted in the OCLC among the holdings of Yale University and the Narodna in Univerzitetna Knjiznica in Slovenia. It is also held by the Herzog August Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel.