Brussels International Map Collectors' Circle

This year, the BIMCC Conference was part of a joint cartographic programme, comprising an Exhibition and a Conference on the same theme, launched in cooperation with the Royal Library of Belgium, in the framework of the europalia.europa festival marking the fiftieth jubilee year of the European Union. The Conference took place in Auditorium Lippens and benefited from the very professional support of the Royal Library.

M. Patrick Lefèvre, Director General of the Royal Library of Belgium, welcomed some 80 participants from nine different member states of the European Union (Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom, in addition to Belgium); a number of them had to face disturbances in public transport in their home countries. Participants included not only map collectors and other amateurs, but also a number of academics from Universities across Belgium (Brussels, Gent, Leuven, Liège, Mons) and Europe (Paris-Sorbonne, Utrecht, Wroclaw), from prestigious Libraries (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, National Library Helsinki, British Library London, Bodleian Library Oxford, Maritiem Museum Rotterdam) and from other institutions (Belgian cadastre, Royal Geographical Society of Belgium). From the ladies at the reception desk, they all received a package of information comprising a nice colour brochure (a première for the BIMCC!) with abstracts of the presentations and professional résumés of the speakers (which can now be accessed on the BIMCC web site), pending the publication of the proceedings of the Conference in 2008 by the Royal Geographic Society of Belgium.

Speakers: from left to right, A. Cattaneo (Florence), P. van der Krogt (Utrecht), K. Szykula (Wroclaw), L. Miekkavaara (Helsinki), R. Barron (Sevenoaks, UK), G. Schilder (Utrecht), G. Palsky (Paris), M. Heinz (Berlin)

The BIMCC President opened the Conference and handed over to Professor Günter Schilder (from the University of Utrecht) who had kindly accepted to act as Conference Chairman.

The morning session started with Angelo Cattaneo ( 74 kB) (a researcher from Florence) who spoke about Europe in late Medieval and early Renaissance World Maps: Provincializing Europe ( 3.2 MB), drawing an interesting parallel between the representation of Europe in the 15th century mappamundi by Fra Mauro and a contemporary Korean map.

Leena Miekkavaara ( 69 kB) (from the National Library in Helsinki) then took us to the northern frontiers of Europe, explaining how Scandinavia, which was just a nameless island on Ptolemaïc maps, was represented properly in the 16th century: Unknown Europe: the mapping of the Northern Countries by Olaus Magnus ( 3.3 MB).

After a coffee break during which the public could intermingle with speakers, Krystyna Szykula ( 65 kB) (just retired from Wroclaw University) presented Anthony Jenkinson’s unique wall map of Russia (1562) and its influence on European cartography ( 295 kB).

Peter van der Krogt ( 113 kB) (from the University of Utrecht) made an analysis of European towns in Braun & Hogenberg’s town atlas ( 553 kB), detailing their contents and presentation.

Most participants could join in the Speakers’ Lunch in a nearby, pleasant restaurant and pursue informal exchanges with the speakers.

Markus Heinz ( 3.6 MB) (from the Berlin State Library) had the difficult task to begin the after-lunch session and managed to keep the audience interested with Europe as seen by the Homann publishing firm in Nürnberg in the 18th century.

Roderick Barron ( 69 kB) (antique map specialist operating from Sevenoaks, UK) talked about Bringing the map to life : European satirical maps, 1845 – 1945 ( 2.9 MB), and brought in an unusual aspect of the relationship between history and cartography.

After another coffee break, Gilles Palsky ( 69 kB) (from Paris Sorbonne University) also brought in an unusual aspect of cartography, showing how maps began to be used to convey non-geographical information: Connections and exchange in European cartography: the example of 19th century choropleth maps ( 2.1 MB).

Finally, Bernard Jouret ( 1.8 MB) (from the Université libre de Bruxelles) explained how one of his countrymen introduced the third dimension in cartography: The space perception of the relief of Europe by contour lines: the remarkable work of J.-C. Houzeau, edited in 1857.

Bernard Jouret (Brussels) at the Conference

There was then a formal session, making the transition between the Conference and the official opening of the Exhibition of Maps on the same theme, Formatting Europe – Mapping a Continent.

After the speeches by M. Patrick Lefèvre, Director General of the Royal Library, and Ms Kristin De Mulder, Europalia Director General, the President of the BIMCC took the floor to congratulate all participants and praise the excellent cooperation between the KBR and the BIMCC.

Wouter Bracke, Head of Plans and Maps at the Royal Library and Curator of the Exhibition, then explained the concepts behind the exhibition and the difficulties faced during its preparation. He then led the public into the refurbished Houyoux Hall, for the first visit.

The day was concluded, in the former hall of the Library, with a nice reception cocktail offered to Conference participants and guests of Europalia, the Royal Library, and the BIMCC.

On 21 September 2007 a BIMCC party of 12 met at the 'Ter Kameren / La Cambre' abbey in Brussels to visit the NGI/IGN of Belgium. Situated in a park in one of the nicest residential quarters of the city, this abbey of Cistercian nuns still has its gothic church and cloister, as well as some fine classical buildings, set in French gardens.

We were welcomed in a classroom where several speakers would join us, to explain about the work that is done in the various departments of the Institute.

Mr. Steven Roovers gave the introduction, describing both the history and the activities of the NGI/IGN.

In its present form, it dates from 1976, when it became a semi-autonomous Institute that gets its budget for three thirds from the Belgian Ministry of Defence and one third out of its own activities. Up until that date, it had a military status, being the heir to the 'Dépôt de la guerre et de la topographie', established in 1831, right after the independence of Belgium.

As far as the process of mapmaking is concerned, 1947 is another important date: so far, making maps had always been based on field work, but after the WWII aerial photography was the new technique. The nineties brought on yet another new technique: in stead of just making maps, the focus shifted to Geographical Information Systems. Moreover, the monopoly the Institute had enjoyed until then was ended and cooperating in European projects became the new key word. Mr Roovers then briefly described the different activities of the NGI/IGN: the construction and maintenance of a geodetic framework, the collecting of topographical data (and updating them), maintaining historical data like old maps, making non-standard products like tourist maps and finally - and of course still today – military activities. Some 260 people work on all these tasks.

We were joined by Mr Pierre Vervloet who explained the work that is being done by the department of geodesy. Since after WWII most of the geodetic signs on Belgian territory had been destroyed and the Bonne map projection that was used until then had proven to be rather inadequate, a whole new geodetic planimetric network, based on the Lambert projection, was created. Today, some 4 200 survey points cover the national surface and are under constant maintenance. They form the reference system for positioning terrain objects (X, Y). As for the altimetric system (Z), Belgium uses a net of some 19 000 signs, spread over the country and with an 0-level (the average sea level at low tide) situated in Ostend.

The photogrammetry department was introduced by Mr Jan Beyen. The main tasks of this department are aerial photography, field completion and stereo plotting. First, aerial photos are taken. Bad weather or too leafy trees are just some of the limiting factors here. After this, photos are scanned and via aero-triangulation the correct coordinates of all photo-points are calculated. Stereoscopy is used to extract 3D data (x, y, z) from the photographs, which means that, through a special technique, the operators can look at the images on their computer screen from different angles. This is possible because the initial aerial photos were taken with an overlap, so the same area is covered twice by photos taken from a different angle. Each eye of the technician looks as it were from a different point of view. This three-dimensional image allows a better recognition and interpretation of what is seen on the terrain. Finally, the 3D data have to be completed by field work to specify for instance the type of buildings they are showing, objects covered by trees, etc.

Mrs Anne Fechir explained how the Special Data Infrastructure department has created a new basic vector database on a scale of 1:10 000. This scale is chosen by the Institute because it is both the largest scale allowing showing a surveyable image of the territory and the smallest one that doesn’t distort topographical reality. The data shown on this scale are roads, hydrography, railway networks, land use and buildings. The NGI/IGN has chosen this scale as ‘the scale of the future’: it will be permanently updated from now on, with a fully automated process (this means without people having to go into the field).

There is also the vector database on a 1:50 000 scale, and one on a 1:20 000 scale, both derived from the 1:10 000 scale. However, this kind of 'map generalising' is not a simple question of reducing data, it is far more complicated. Finally, there is the 1:100 000 vector database, which was of military origin.

Finally, Mr Lardinois joined us. He had brought a selection of old documents from the archives of the Institute. We saw a map from around 1818, showing the boundaries of France and the then Kingdom of The Netherlands, of which Belgium was a part. A map of the famous Battle of Ramillies (1706), a village in what is today the Belgian Province du Brabant Wallon, was commissioned by the French army and made by the Belgian army in 1844, after doing fieldwork. Several maps of land registry of the first half of the 19th century followed. We also were shown the 1853 map of the Rives de la Dyle, the first map of Belgium showing contour lines, the 0-level being the confluent of the rivers Dyle and Demer. Next came something quite incredible: those who are familiar with the Belgian coast will know there is one feature that makes it stand out: apartment blocks. The 1877 series of maps of the coast show it in its pristine state, without any buildings. We were also shown the first topographical map of Belgium, from 1865 and some manuscript drawings of Brussels on a 1:2 5OO scale, dating from 1874, and finally some remakes of older maps (1:20 000) from the beginning of the 20th century, when, instead of lithography, zincography was used. When some of us expressed the desire to see some specific maps, Mr Lardinois proved to be a very patient and kind person, taking us to another wing of the building, opening drawers and cabinets, delving into tons of material to find the objects of our desire. Top of the bill for me were the working documents of the Comitee, installed in 1839, to execute the Treaty of London of 19 April 1839, by which the territory of the new state, Belgium, was defined. The Comitee, based in Maastricht and consisting of representatives of both Belgium and The Netherlands, had to draw the actual borderlines between both countries and worked on it from 1839 to 1843. On the drawings, one can actually see how the Comitee proceeded in detail. Fascinating.

And so our visit to the NGI/IGN ended. Had we ever supposed that today, with computers and everything, map making 'was just a button away' we were now convinced of its complexity and some of use have no doubt discovered material in the archives of the Institute for an article in one of the next Newsletters.

Caroline De Candt