The estate map of the Żary lands (Lordship of Sorau) from 1758: What can cartographic sources reveal about the history of the von Promnitz family?

Abstract

As a result of the Allied air raid on the city of Żary in April 1944, part of broader air operations against Nazi Germany during World War II, the records of the Żary Land ownership, which had been in the possession of the von Promnitz family for over 200 years, were destroyed. From fragmentary records, historians are unable to fully reconstruct the economic history and economic situation of the Land ownership. Due to the insufficient number of archival records, a map of the Żary Land ownership (Herrschaft Sorau) from 1758 can supplement them. The elements included on it, related to: hydrography, forestation of the area, administrative divisions, settlement, roads, places related to production and manufacturing, mean that its informational and historical value should be greatly appreciated. In addition, the map sheds new light on the last of the family, Count Johann Erdmann von Promnitz, who is described negatively in historiography as an incompetent figure. The map, which was created during his reign, shows him as a good administrator, skillfully managing his lands. One might be tempted to say that it shows an almost model structure of landed estates. The discussed cartographic object is in the collections of the Cyprian Kamil Norwid Provincial and Municipal Public Library in Zielona Góra.