August 2003 - Nr. 8
Ambassador welcomes U.S. acquisition of historic map
TWIG - It is what some call America’s birth certificate - the Waldseemüller map - the earliest map to assign the name America to the continent that had become the destination of European explorers.
The map was drawn in 1507 by the German cartographer and humanist Martin Waldseemüller who, like many in Europe at the time, was more familiar with the voyages of Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci than those of Christopher Columbus.
In an extraordinary exception, the German government has allowed the document to be acquired by the Library of Congress, which will display it formally beginning in 2004 and in a preview exhibition beginning July 24.
"The Waldseemüller map is not only a national treasure, but an invaluable example of world heritage that should be shared," German Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger said.
"So it is appropriate and welcome that the Library of Congress will display this glorious document for all to see and that it will also remain available for exhibition in Germany," he added.
Rediscovered in 1901 in the castle of the Waldburg-Wolfegg family, the Waldseemüller map is part of the German registry of its most valuable national cultural property. As such, it is normally not allowed to leave the country.
However, in the spirit of cooperation and in recognition of the long and deep bonds that connect the United States of America and Germany across the Atlantic, Germany’s Minister of Culture granted a waiver to allow the Library of Congress to acquire the one known remaining print of the map.
The map will be formally displayed in a special exhibit space being prepared by the Library of Congress. That space will be opened in 2004 in a ceremony with high-ranking representatives of the governments of both Germany and the United States in attendance.
But beginning July 24, visitors to the Library of Congress can get a preview look at the map as part of the exhibition "Rivers, Edens, Empires: Lewis & Clark and the Revealing of America."
Link:
Library of Congress - "Rivers, Edens, Empires: Lewis & Clark and the
Revealing of America"
(http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/lewisandclark/lewisandclark.html)
