Religious Cartography as a Segment of Thematic Cartography: A Case Study of the Archdiocese of Đakovo–Osijek

This research presents the development of a thematic map of the Archdiocese of Đakovo–Osijek, one of five Roman Catholic archdioceses in the Republic of Croatia. The map delineates contemporary ecclesiastical boundaries and key religious sites, while drawing on both historical and modern geospatial datasets. In addition to the final cartographic product, this paper emphasizes the methodological process of map creation, including data acquisition, historical georeferencing, symbol design, and GIS integration. The workflow is structured within a Historical GIS framework to ensure positional and semantic accuracy. The aim is not only to present a high-quality spatial representation but also to propose a reproducible methodology adaptable to other religious cartographic projects.