A. Kunz & S. Marburg
At the Institute of European History, Mainz, Germany, an historical GIS on Germany and Central Europe in the 19th Century (HGIS-Germany) is presently being built up. The system contains, among other things, a module on the spatial representation and visualization of Germany’s ruling dynasties during this period. The rationale behind this approach is, of course, that (with the exception of four city states) the 40 or so other states that existed in Germany at the time all were heriditary monarchies until 1918. Gathering “dynastic information” on the rulers and their families has thus emerged as an important contributing element to the “life histories” of these states. Later users of HGIS-Germany will be able to query the system for dynasty-related items such as the ruling monarchs themselves (and their families), their spouses (and their families), the heirs to the throne and their spouses (including the latter’s dynastic ties), but likewise on such questions as the duration, quality and forms of dynastic rule.Most importantly, all information will be encoded within our HGIS-database in such a way as to allow for the spatial visualization of these relationships, i.e. for the creation of “dynastic maps” on the fly generated by the GIS database. Another element contained in our information system relates to the lasting impact of dynastic rule, visualized in GIS-Germany through objects pertaining to the cultural heritage of former dynastic dwellings.
|
