What did the Great North look like from the southern point of view hundreds of years ago? From whose point of view history is written? Is the land really found only when a white man discovers it? These big questions are aroused in the new exhibition of Arktikum Science Centre, Rovaniemi.
An updated map from 1609 shows how Gerard Mercator comprehended the North Pole and its surroundings. This conception was used for a long time, probably because there was not any better information available.
The valuable collection of maps belongs to the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland. The treasures of the collection are on general display for the first time in twenty years. The oldest maps are from the 16th century. They reveal how the lines of the northern world were drawn. Detailed drawings are like photographs of their time, showing what Lapland looked like from elsewhere.
– Old maps are a fascinating mix of geography, beauty and power, says science communicator Marjo Laukkanen.
Is it true that there used to be sea monsters squirming in the Arctic Ocean? Or what killed over two million sailors in their long expeditions? You can find the answers to these questions and to many others in the
Mapped Beauty exhibition.
Mapped Beauty
6.6.2014–12.4.2015
Arktikum Science Centre (Pohjoisranta 4, Rovaniemi, Finland)
More information
Science Communicator Marjo Laukkanen, marjo.laukkanen@ulapland.fi, 040 4844 296