1700-talets ortsbeskrivningar

Eighteenth century topographical descriptions The gymnasium library in Visby contains a number of volumes from the time before 1800 describing places (parishes, towns, counties) in Sweden. These topographical descriptions cover topics such as the landscape, customs, history and economic development. In the eighteenth century writing such descriptions became a popular pastime among priests and burghers, and it was seen as an appropriate topic for university students writing their thesis. In the course of the century more than 300 such descriptions were printed in Sweden (including Finland). Some of these descriptions are found in this collection, and three of them are dealt with in the article. The first one was a description of Uppsala and its environs authored by the royal antiquarian Johan Peringskiöld in the early eighteenth century, focusing entirely on the antiquities of the place. The second description was one of the antiquities of Gotland, written in 1730s and 1740s by the superintendent Jöran Wallin. The third one is an account of the county Stora Kopparberg from 1757, written by the merchant Abraham Abrahamsson Hülphers who also published an extensive description of northern Sweden.