Antique map of Øresund and Copenhagen, 1720

Johann Baptist Homann’s The Øresund and Copenhagen, published around 1720, is a striking early eighteenth-century map depicting the strategically important waters of the Øresund, the narrow strait separating Denmark from Sweden, together with the Danish capital of Copenhagen and the surrounding coastline. The map offers an exceptional visual record of one of northern Europe’s most important maritime corridors during the age of expanding international trade and naval power.

The Øresund formed one of the principal gateways between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. For centuries, ships passing through the strait were subject to the Danish Sound Dues, making the waterway a crucial source of revenue for the Danish monarchy and an important focus of European commercial and diplomatic interests. Homann's map captures this maritime landscape at a time when control of Baltic trade remained a major geopolitical concern.

Copenhagen, prominently situated on the western shore of the Øresund, appears as the principal urban and political center of the composition. Its fortified character reflects the city's strategic importance as the capital of the Danish kingdom. The surrounding coastline, islands, harbors, settlements, and maritime routes are carefully delineated, while the Swedish shore across the strait demonstrates the close geographical relationship between the two Scandinavian kingdoms.

The map is especially interesting in the context of the Great Northern War (1700–1721), which was still underway when Homann's map was published. Denmark, Sweden, and other European powers were deeply involved in the struggle for dominance in the Baltic region. The Øresund consequently represented not merely a commercial passage but a vital strategic waterway through which fleets, merchant vessels, and military forces moved.

Johann Baptist Homann was one of the leading cartographers and publishers of eighteenth-century Germany. Operating from Nuremberg, his maps were distinguished by their detailed engraving, decorative cartouches, elegant typography, and carefully compiled geographical information. His works were widely circulated throughout Europe and remain highly regarded by collectors today.

For collectors of Scandinavian maps, maritime history, Copenhagen, Danish cartography, and Baltic trade, The Øresund and Copenhagen is a particularly attractive historical document. It combines geographical precision with the decorative elegance characteristic of Homann's work, preserving a vivid image of Copenhagen and the Øresund at a pivotal moment in northern European history.

This 1720 map is therefore both an impressive decorative engraving and an important record of the maritime landscape that connected the Baltic world with the wider European trading system.

More maps of Johann Homann