Abstract
The Viennese Jesuit Joseph Liesganig made a significant contribution to the transformation of Habsburg mapmaking into a “scientific” enterprise before the dissolution of the Jesuit order. Liesganig’s work began at the Vienna University Observatory as part of Empress Maria Theresa’s and Chancellor Kaunitz’s effort to build a network of scientific centers within the Habsburg lands. His 1769 field journal from his measurement of a meridian arc in the Hungarian plain and the resulting map disclose details about the personnel working with Liesganig, the instruments they used and their methodology. Although Liesganig failed to convince Maria Theresa to connect geodetic and astronomical measurements when mapping the Habsburg territories, Liesganig’s 1769 instructions on how to represent large territories on a map based on mathematical principles shaped Maria Theresa’s decision to commission a general survey of Lower Austria based on this method. These ties to court-sponsored science suggest why Habsburg monarchs only reluctantly implemented the papal directive to dissolve the Jesuit order in 1773. The Habsburgs continued to employ ex-Jesuits in their lands because of the important functions figures like Liesganig fulfilled in the domain of scientific development and cartography.
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