Maps

You can read about our maps and how to find and access them here.

Most of the map collections are located at Carolina Rediviva, but you can also find maps and atlases in various specialised areas at our subject libraries.

Search for maps

The maps have been indexed in different ways over the years. Nowadays, maps are mainly registered in Alvin but also in the local catalogue of the University Library and the national library catalogue Libris. Start your search in Alvin.

• Alvin – parts of the Library’s older map collections up to around 1900.
• The Library Search Tool
• Catalogue -1962 – search printed material up to and including 1962.
• Catalogue of foreign maps – maps outside Sweden 1500s–2000.
• Uppsala University Library's maps in Libris
• Davidsson, Åke, Handritade kartor över Sverige i Uppsala universitetsbibliotek (Hand-drawn maps of Sweden in Uppsala University Library), Uppsala 1956. [Also in German.] Acta Bibliothecae R. Universitatis Upsaliensis 10
• Davidsson, Åke, Handritade kartor över Finland i Uppsala universitetsbibliotek (Hand-drawn maps of Finland in Uppsala University Library), Uppsala 1957. [Also a Finnish title and text.] Acta Bibliothecae R. Universitatis Upsaliensis 11.
• Davidsson, Åke, Handritade kartor rörande Sveriges krig i Uppsala universitetsbibliotek (Hand-drawn maps of Sweden’s war in Uppsala University Library), Uppsala 1985. Scripta Minora Bibliothecae R. Universitatis Upsaliensis Vol. 1.

Contents of the map collection

The University Library has large collections of printed and hand-drawn maps from the late Middle Ages to modern publications. Several of the Library's most famous treasures are maps, such as the Carta Marina, a map of the Nordic countries from 1539, and the Mexico Map, a hand-drawn map on parchment of Mexico City from around 1550.

Hand-drawn maps

The map collections contain a number of hand-drawn maps of Sweden or parts of Sweden, such as counties, provinces, districts, parishes, maps of individual farms and city maps. Similar maps are also available for Finland. A separate category is Hand-drawn maps of Sweden’s wars. In total, there are around 2,300 maps from the early 17th century to the beginning of the 20th century. The hand-drawn maps have been digitised and can be found in Alvin: Hand-drawn maps.

How did the Library acquire its map collection?

The maps have been given to the Library as gifts, mainly through the donors Carl David Gyllenborg and Jacob Westin. These maps were previously listed in Åke Davidsson's catalogue Handritade kartor över Sverige i Uppsala universitetsbibliotek, 1956, which has been supplemented with information on maps that came to the Library after the mid-1950s.