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Guillaume Levasseur de Beauplan (c. 1600 – 6 December 1673) or William le Vasseur de Beauplan was a French-Polish
cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an ...
,
engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...
and
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
. Beauplan served as
artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during si ...
captain for the army of the
Crown of the Kingdom of Poland The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Korona Królestwa Polskiego; Latin: ''Corona Regni Poloniae''), known also as the Polish Crown, is the common name for the historic Late Middle Ages territorial possessions of the King of Poland, includ ...
between 1630 and 1647 or 1648. He was sent to
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
where he served under
Stanisław Koniecpolski Stanisław Koniecpolski (1591 – 11 March 1646) was a Polish military commander, regarded as one of the most talented and capable in the history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was also a magnate, a royal official (''starosta''), ...
in 1637–38. He used his architectural skills while in the military. In 1639, he was involved in the rebuilding of the
Kodak Fortress Kodak fortress ( uk, Кодак; pl, Kudak) was a fort built in 1635 by the order of the Polish king Władysław IV Vasa and the Sejm on the Dnieper River near what would become the town of Stari Kodaky (now near the city of Dnipro in Ukraine). ...
. He also built a
fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
at
Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ( ...
, worked on
Brody Castle Brody Castle (, ''Brodivskyi zamok'') is a former fortress in the city of Brody, part of Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. The earliest information about the construction of the castle in Brody town refers to the 1580s. Crown Hetman ( pl, Hetman polny kor ...
, and structures in
Kremenchuk Kremenchuk (; uk, Кременчу́к, Kremenchuk ) is an industrial city in central Ukraine which stands on the banks of the Dnipro River. The city serves as the administrative center of the Kremenchuk Raion (district) in Poltava Oblast (pr ...
. In 1639, Beauplan created the first "descriptive" map of Ukraine. He created a map of Ukraine in 1648 that had detailed border information. By 1654 he was working in Danzig. He created a map with a scale of 1:452,000 and an additional map scaled at 1:1,800,000. Both maps were engraved by
Willem Hondius Willem Hondius or Willem Hondt (c. 1598 in The Hague – 1652 or 1658 in Danzig (Gdańsk)) was a Dutch engraver, cartographer and painter who spent most of his life in Poland. Life Willem Hondius was one of seven children of Hendrik Hondius the ...
. These maps would go on to be published in
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...
, France and reproduced by Veniiamyn Kordt. Beauplan published another map of the
Dnieper River } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine an ...
in 1662. He wrote ''Description des contrés du Royaume de Pologne,'' which was published in 1651. It was renamed ''Description d'Ukranie,'' when the second edition was released in 1651. Two more editions were published in 1660 and 1861. The book was the first book published that provided a geographical, economic, and demographic description of Ukraine. By 1832 it had been translated into five languages. It remains in print today. In the book, Ukraine was described as a territory between Muscovy and
Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...
.


Publications

*, Internet Archive


References


External links

* * Dennis F. Essar, Andrew B. Pernal:
Beauplan’s Description d’Ukranie. A Bibliography of Editions and Translations
'. Harvard Ukrainian Studies VI, 4 (1982), S. 485–499 (PDF).
Guillaume Le Vasseur de Beauplan
at WorldCat
Beauplan's bio
at the website of French Ambassador to Ukraine {{DEFAULTSORT:Le Vasseur de Beauplan, Guillaume Year of birth unknown 1673 deaths People from Dieppe, Seine-Maritime 17th-century French architects French military engineers 17th-century engineers 17th-century cartographers French cartographers Emigrants from France to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Military personnel of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1600s births Articles containing video clips