(Communicated by the Hebrew University Dept of Media Relations)

The public can now see images of some 1,100 original and rare maps from the library’s collection that illustrate the land of Israel and surrounding areas. Each map comes with a bibliographic description. Viewers can enlarge the maps to see details and also have the option of selecting maps according to various criteria, such as the mapmaker, locale or year.

Because of its centrality to the monotheistic religions, a great number of maps of the land of Israel were drawn through the ages, in many cases highlighting the religious orientation of their creators during the various periods. Among the more modern maps, one can obtain valuable geographic data about the development of the country.

The maps range from the oldest one in the collection from 1462, to a series of maps commissioned by the British Palestine Exploration Fund in the 19th century, and up through various Hebrew maps drawn in the modern age.

The uploading of the map collection was done as part of the David and Fela Shapell Digitization Project at the Hebrew University’s Jewish National and University Library. The project has already made available on the Internet important elements of the library’s collections of such items as original manuscripts, decorative marriage contracts and ethnic musical selections.