The oldest printed maps of the Farthest North

Abstract

<p>“Looking to the North” is a unique cartographic exhibition currently on display at the Polar Museum in Tromsø. The exhibition features some of the most spectacular printed maps of the northern regions, among them a copy of the first printed map of the European Far North, published in Ulm 1482, in present-day Germany. UiT The Arctic University of Norway boasts one of the finest collections of printed maps of the Far North, supplemented by a substantial book collection with travelogues from the northern regions. The objects on display all come from this collection. <p>The exhibition spans just over a century, from the late fifteenth to the early seventeenth century, a period which saw swift technological development coincide with mounting interest in the northern regions. Covering a whole room, each of the four exhibition walls marks a particular thematic or materialistic feature.