1871 Petermann Map of the Hinlopen Strait, Svalbard, Norway

This is an 1871 Augustus Petermann map of Hinlopen Strait in the Svalbard Archipelago. Hinlopen Strait separates Spitsbergen and Nordaustlandet. The map highlights the route of the First German North Polar Expedition through the strait, which is often impassable due ice. Dates, anchorages, and shore excursions are noted, along with a handful of depth soundings. The 1827 English expedition led by Sir William Edward Parry (1790 - 1855) and the 1861 Swedish expedition led by Nils Otto Gustaf Nordenskjöld (1869 - 1928) are also traced. Three views appear in the lower left corner illustrate shore excursions, among them a walrus hunt.

The First German North Polar Expedition

The First German North Polar Expedition was an arctic expedition led by Captain Carl Koldewey during the summer of 1868. Inspired by the great German geographer Augustus Heinrich Petermann (1822 - 1878), the expedition left Bergen on May 24, 1868. Given the primary objective of reaching Greenland's east coast, the ship and her crew reached sea ice on June 4 and were stuck by June 9. They spent the next two weeks drifting with the current before they were able to break free of the ice and get underway again. Once free, Koldewey continued with the expedition's secondary objective: reaching 'Gillis-Land' an island northeast of Svalbard, since it was apparent that reaching Greenland's east coast by sea was not possible. The expedition proceeded along the sea ice to Svalbard. but were stymied in their attempt to round the archipelago on the south. They reversed course, electing to try to reach Greenland again, but were again unsuccessful. Heading north one last time, the expedition tried to get past Svalbard to the north, and, in doing so, spent weeks exploring the Hinlopen Strait. The Expedition also reached 81 degrees, 4 minutes north latitude on September 13, still a record for the highest northern latitude reached by a sailing ship without auxiliary drive.

The First German North Polar Expedition was not meant as a scientific expedition, simply an exploration. Their orders were to achieve the greatest possible latitude and not to embark on a thorough investigation of the region or a thorough mapping of the coastlines. Those activities would be undertaken by a subsequent expedition. After returning to Bergen on September 30, Koldeway believed that the expedition was 'an unfortunate, completely unsuccessful one'. However, the expedition achieved its goal of reaching an extremely high latitude and the scientific data they recorded, which included extensive oceanographic, meteorological, and geomagnetic readings, proved invaluable.

Svalbard

Dutch explorer Willem Barentz (1557 - 1597) first discovered Svalbard in 1596, and the first recorded landing on the island happened in 1604. During the early 17th century, whalers established the first settlements in the archipelago, and by the early 1630s, the heartiest would winter on the islands. Russian hunters arrived in the late 17th century and set up relatively permanent settlements. Nonetheless, by the 1860s the islands were again largely uninhabited. Svalbard became a destination for Arctic tourism in the 1890s. Today, Svalbard's three principal industries are mining, tourism, and research. It is also home to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.

Publication History and Census

This map was created by Augustus Petermann and published in 1871 by Justus Perthes for Die Erste Deutsche Nordpolar-Expedition im Jahre 1868. The book is well represented in institutional collections. Two examples of the separate map are cataloged in OCLC as part of the institutional collections at the British Library and the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek.