{"id":27644,"date":"2022-08-08T19:54:22","date_gmt":"2022-08-08T18:54:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/2022\/08\/privozy-na-starych-topografickych-mapach-2\/"},"modified":"2024-07-23T18:09:31","modified_gmt":"2024-07-23T17:09:31","slug":"privozy-na-starych-topografickych-mapach-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vtei.cz\/en\/2022\/08\/privozy-na-starych-topografickych-mapach-2\/","title":{"rendered":"River ferries on old topographic maps"},"content":{"rendered":"

SUMMARY<\/h2>\n

Medium and large rivers were a major obstacle to historic trade routes and trails. River ferries were one of the main ways to cross them, so their sites were considered points of strategic importance. Using old topographic maps from Austrian military mapping from 1763\u20131768, 1836\u20131852, 1876\u20131880, Prussian military maps from 1825 and 1877, and Czechoslovak military maps from 1953\u20131957, we systematically located ferries throughout the current territory of Czechia. Map keys from individual mappings were also analysed to examine how ferries are depicted on these maps. Based on the study of old topographic maps, a\u00a0geographical database was created with the location of individual ferries, including the period in which the river ferry was registered. A total of 514 historical ferries were recorded on old topographic maps from military mapping throughout Czechia; another 28 ferries were identified from other available, more detailed, map sources.<\/p>\n

INTRODUCTION<\/h2>\n

Large rivers embody a natural landscape barrier that has always had a significant influence on the management of transport networks. Sections suitable for\u00a0safe crossing of such a barrier were important strategic and trading places, and therefore are used in history as fixed points in the reconstruction of the course of\u00a0old roads and trails [1]. Even in the first half of the 19th century, stone bridges were rare; some wooden bridges were unmaintained and dangerous, so fords were one of\u00a0the possible ways of crossing rivers. On larger rivers in sections with greater depth, it was already necessary to provide transport in another way, usually by\u00a0river ferry or boat. The operation of ferries was originally part of the landowners\u2019 privileges, and a fee was collected from the ferryman for the transport of\u00a0people, goods, and cargo.<\/p>\n

In 1870, the Imperial Water Act was adopted, by which the operation of ferries became a licensed business [2] and three regional laws for individual administrative territories. The Czech Land Act No. 71\/1870 applied to Bohemia on how to use, collect and protect against water; for Moravia, the Moravian Land Act No. 65\/1870 on the use and operation of waters and protection against them; and for Silesia, the Silesian Land Act No. 51\/1870 on the use and operation of waters and protection against them. The Moravian and Silesian water laws differed from the Czech law only in some details [3].<\/p>\n

With the gradual development of technical knowledge and construction technologies, bridges became the dominant option for crossing watercourses, and\u00a0ferries were preserved only in places where bridge construction was not possible for technical or economic reasons. In Czechia, ferries are currently also operated on some more important water reservoirs. In urban areas in particular, ferries currently serve as part of public transport [4, 5], which is not only about preserving a certain tradition in the transport system, but also about the practical effect of\u00a0reducing transport time for daily commuting and, at the same time, as an\u00a0attraction in\u00a0the\u00a0tourism industry. Ferries thus compensate for the lack of\u00a0bridges that would facilitate the movement of passengers between specific destinations on\u00a0opposite banks of rivers. Tourist demand is another driving force that is crucial to maintaining the operation of river ferries, as they offer passengers a unique waterscape experience that is outside of today\u2019s dominant forms of transport [6,\u00a07].<\/p>\n

Old topographic maps are a valuable source of information about the\u00a0state of\u00a0the then landscape, and, simultaneously, can be applied in geographical, historical, and landscape-ecological research. In Europe, topographic maps are usable from the mid-18th century, when the first medium-scale maps
\n(around\u00a01\u00a0:\u00a025\u00a0000\u00a0to\u00a01\u00a0:\u00a030\u00a0000) began to appear. Since the mid-19th century, topographic maps achieved a relatively solid positional accuracy of around 25 m due to high-quality cartographic and geodetic foundations [8]. These maps are used in a wide range of research areas; in the case of rivers and water bodies, the historical connections of the development of water bodies and ponds [9], historical development of the river network [10], and historical identification and registration of water management objects [11] are most often examined. Systematic identification and registration of all sites with ferry operations has not yet been published in the Czech Republic. Some historical works dealt with specific sections of rivers, while their methodology for the identification of ferries was mainly based on archival sources [12, 13]<\/p>\n

Due to the relatively simple equipment required for ferry operation, which consists of the vessel itself, two embarkation piers or entrances into the water, and a guide rope, ferries can easily come and go (Fig. 1<\/em>). Slight changes in the ferry location can thus be caused by morphological changes in river beds or banks [14],\u00a0or by changes in the settlement structure of villages and towns.<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

Fig. 1. A ferry for motor vehicles on the Elbe river in Doln\u00ed \u017dleb<\/strong><\/h6>\n

The main objectives of this article include:<\/p>\n