Historical atlas of cities in France

The Atlas historique des villes de France (Historical Atlas of French cities) collection was founded in 1973 by Philippe Wolff and Charles Higounet, led by the International Commission for the History of Towns (ICHT). It was then directed by Jean-Bernard Marquette from 1982 to 2007 and is now published by Ausonius since 2003. These atlases offer to retrace, through a commented cartographic reproduction, the creation of the space of a city, from its origins to the first half of the 19th century, by involving all available sources. The 1:2500 scale historical map, produced from the “Napoleonian” cadastres, comes with a general manual that supplies historical readings and, since 2009, a “sites and monuments” component. These atlases deeply renew knowledge and the historical cartography of urban fabrication and establish a scientific tool supporting researchers, town planning actors, and history and heritage enjoyers.

Directors : Sandrine Lavaud et Ezéchiel Jean-Courret