A colorful collection of about 250 historic maps of Jerusalem can now be viewed on the Internet, thanks to the efforts of the Jewish National and University Library (JNUL) and the Department of Geography of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The maps can be seen at http://maps-of-jerusalem.huji.ac.il. The site incorporates maps from the cartographic collection of the Eran Laor Cartography Collection, which has been housed at the Jewish National and University Library since 1975. This collection is world renowned as one of the largest and most impressive assemblages of its kind. The site makes the maps available to a wide audience of both scholars and the general public.
The site presents the maps accompanied by a general introduction, a gallery in which one can view the maps in detail, a bibliographic section about the cartographers, a presentation of the maps by date, and links with other sites of ancient Jerusalem maps.
500-year span
The oldest map in the library collection that can be seen dates from 1486, while the most modern are from the early 20th century.
Yoram Tsafrir, director of the Jewish National and University Library, commented that there is no city in the world that has been the subject of so much cartographic interest as Jerusalem. He noted that additional maps will be added to the site from collections around the world.
This is the second Internet site that has been developed through the cooperative efforts of the JNUL and the Department of Geography at the Hebrew University.
For more information, contact Pini Shani, director, Israel Government Tourist Office, Southern USA, at 972-490-1222 or e-mail at pinishani@imot.org.
(TAB)
Share with others: