Cartographic Image vs. Reality: Spatial Overlay Analysis of Maps Depicting the Czech-German Ethnic Border (1840s–1930s)

Ethnolinguistic maps represent a crucial visual tool in the study of nationalism, propaganda, and state formation, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, where they reached particular prominence between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries.One of the most highly contested and frequently mapped ethnic borders in Central Europe was the Czech-German divide.Although the Czech-German language borderline changed very little during the examined period (1840s-1930s), neutral cartographic depictions of it were rare.On the contrary, nationalist mapmakers on both sides actively sought to reshape and reinterpret its course in line with political and territorial agendas.The principal battleground for Czech, German, and Austrian mapmakers was the relatively narrow, ethnically mixed belt between two largely homogeneous regions, together with several language enclaves (or language islands).