Ethnic Mapping in Central Europe, 1810–1945: The Case of the Czech–German Language Border

Abstract

ABSTRACT The mapping and re-mapping of language borders in Central Europe in the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries provides a rich example of a historical moment when ethnic cartography was at the height of its influence. This article analyses the process of cartographic representation of the ‘language border’ dividing Czech and German speaking populations in the Czech Lands based on analysis of more than 350 maps published primarily in Prague, Berlin and Vienna between 1810 and 1945. The dataset includes different types of maps, including single-sheet, atlas, newspaper and wall maps produced for academic, administrative, educational and propaganda purposes. The data collected have made it possible to identify the basic milestones, periodization and dynamics of public and private mapping of this border that furthered identification with a particular territory or national agenda.