Old Map of South Holland

Historical Background

The broad water around Dordrecht and the Biesbosch dominates Blaeu’s map of South Holland. Branching channels, islands and enclosed strips of land occupy much of the sheet, with settlements arranged along the waterways. The Latin title, Zuydhollandia stricte sumta, identifies a specific part of Holland rather than the whole country.

Map Details

• Original title: Zuydhollandia stricte sumta
• Mapmaker and publisher: Willem Jansz. Blaeu, Amsterdam
• Date: Seventeenth century
• Area shown: Southern Holland and adjoining Brabant, including the Dordrecht–Biesbosch river landscape
• Edition note: The map is securely identified; the exact atlas printing year is not established

Gouda appears towards the upper left, while Dordrecht lies beside the complex meeting of channels below it. Farther east, Gorinchem provides another point of reference, with Leerdam and Culemborg among the inland names. Following these places through the map makes the water network more understandable than treating the towns as isolated dots.

The Biesbosch area is especially revealing. Large expanses of water sit beside small islands and narrow pieces of land, creating an outline very different from a modern road map. Elsewhere, fine linear divisions cross the enclosed land. The contrast between those ordered strips and the wider channels gives the sheet much of its visual interest, and makes the relationship between settlement and water immediately apparent.

Small sailing vessels occupy the waterways, while a compass rose and scale help organise the detailed drawing. Colour picks out boundaries and edges without hiding the dense engraving beneath. The title panel occupies open space at the upper right, leaving the central river landscape unusually prominent.

This is a useful companion to Blaeu’s broader map of the County of Holland. Here the interest lies in a closely described river district: a viewer can spend time following the channels around Dordrecht, then trace their connections through the surrounding towns and countryside. The historic geography is the subject, so present-day provincial boundaries should not be assumed to match every coloured line.