Acta Musei Moraviae

Geological maps of Silesia and Kłodzko by Augustin Kaluža from 1818

Geological maps of Silesia and Kłodzko, authored by Augustin Kaluža, are among the oldest geological maps in Central Europe. They are a set of four maps, which are an appendix to Kaluža’s work from 1818 with title “Overview of minerals in Silesia and Kłodzko, including locations of discoveries, and with many new elevation measurements printed on 4 maps”. Kaluža was an educated naturalist, a professor at the Leopold Grammar School in Wrocław, a doctor of philosophy, a priest, and a member of the Society for Patriotic Culture. He worked in Silesia, in both the current Czech and Polish areas. All Kaluža’s maps are based on lithology and have simple topography. There is an effort to express younger and older geological units, the evident influence of Werner’s Neptunist school. This work marked a significant advance in the knowledge of the whole region at the beginning of the 19th century. It can be included among the “map milestones” that were essential for the development of geological mapping in nineteenth-century Central Europe.