Maps of Minsk of the late XVIII – early XIX century as the sources on social topography of the city

Abstract

This article examines the maps of Minsk of the late XVIII – early XIX century as the sources on social topography of the city. Socio-topographic approach in history implies combining topographic data and social research. City maps have been traditionally viewed as the sources for reconstructing urban topography. However, they often contain valuable data on population of the city, thus it is suggested viewing the maps of Minsk as the carriers of two types of information – topographic and social. Having prepared a review of twenty city maps, the author demonstrates the context of their emergence and provides brief description. The importance of city maps for reconstruction of its topography is underlined. Bases on studying the cartographic content of maps, the author reproduces the image of Minsk of the late XVIII – early XIX; determines the records on social characteristics of urban population. The meaning of cartographic sources for examination of social topography of Minsk is defined.