{"id":4920,"date":"2026-03-31T12:25:51","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:25:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/?p=4920"},"modified":"2026-03-31T12:25:51","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:25:51","slug":"the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/","title":{"rendered":"The details on sea charts tell stories of culture, trade, and power"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The &#8220;Atlases of the Baltic Sea\u201d\u00a0virtual exhibition offers a glimpse into the history of\u00a0sea\u00a0charts dating back centuries and highlights how navigation, trade, and the exercise of strategic power were intertwined on the waves of the Baltic Sea. The free exhibition features four\u00a0sea\u00a0charts from the 17<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">th<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a018<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">th<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0and\u00a019<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">th<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0\u00a0century.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Seafarers\u00a0have been sailing the Baltic Sea since the Viking Age, but\u00a0sea\u00a0charts\u00a0to aid navigation were not\u00a0drawn\u00a0until the late 16th century.\u00a0These became\u00a0documents\u00a0containing\u00a0valuable navigational information that were\u00a0therefore carefully protected.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The\u00a0sea charts\u00a0guided\u00a0seafarers\u00a0through narrow channels, warned of shoals, and helped them find the right port. At the same time, they conceal much more information within their pages.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cHistorical\u00a0sea\u00a0charts are not merely navigational aids, but mirrors of their time. They reveal what was known about the seas, what was\u00a0perhaps feared, and where people dared to sail.\u00a0Sea\u00a0charts combine a tapestry of science, art, and history, which makes them uniquely valuable,\u201d says Maria Erkheikki,\u00a0Publications\u00a0and\u00a0collections\u00a0Manager\u00a0at the John Nurminen Foundation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A Strategic Weapon\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The &#8220;Atlases of the Baltic Sea\u201d\u00a0exhibition\u00a0demonstrates\u00a0the immense strategic and military significance of old\u00a0sea\u00a0charts at a time when the sea was the fastest\u2014and often the only\u2014means of travel between major powers.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cAccurate\u00a0sea\u00a0charts\u00a0enabled\u00a0fleets to navigate narrow straits, fragmented archipelagos, and treacherous coastlines\u2014and thus\u00a0determined\u00a0who controlled the sea routes and trade. The precise marking of ports and marketplaces revealed just how important maritime trade was to the Baltic Sea economy,\u201d Erkheikki explains.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Sea charts\u00a0also served as intelligence tools: Swedish, Russian, and British cartographies\u00a0contained\u00a0detailed markings of ports, fortresses, and waterways that could be exploited in military operations and sieges. Control over them signified the exercise of power: for example, the precise mapping of the Danish straits helped control access to the Baltic Sea, and Russian\u00a0charts\u00a0depicting the area around St. Petersburg\u00a0demonstrated\u00a0the imperial power\u2019s effort to secure the new capital from the sea.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The John Nurminen Foundation\u2019s maritime collection\u00a0contains\u00a0nearly a\u00a0thousand old\u00a0charts\u00a0of the Baltic Sea and the northern regions, dating back as far as the 15th century. The most significant parts of the collection are eight atlases, some of which are\u00a0on display\u00a0in the virtual exhibition &#8220;Atlases of the Baltic Sea\u201d.\u00a0Atlases are collections of nautical charts bound in book form. The exhibition delves into the history of Swedish, Dutch, Russian, and English atlases.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The &#8220;Atlases of the Baltic Sea\u201d\u00a0virtual exhibition offers a glimpse into the history of\u00a0sea\u00a0charts dating back centuries and highlights how navigation, trade, and the exercise of strategic power were intertwined on the waves of the Baltic Sea. The free exhibition features four\u00a0sea\u00a0charts from the 17th\u00a018th\u00a0and\u00a019th\u00a0\u00a0century.\u00a0 Seafarers\u00a0have been sailing the Baltic Sea since the Viking Age, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":4915,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[212],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The details on sea charts tell stories of culture, trade, and power - Digital museum<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An exhibition exploring the history of seafaring, the exercise of power, and cartography in the Baltic Sea is now on view at the Digimuseo.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The details on sea charts tell stories of culture, trade, and power - Digital museum\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An exhibition exploring the history of seafaring, the exercise of power, and cartography in the Baltic Sea is now on view at the Digimuseo.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Digital museum\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-31T09:25:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Merenkulkijan-kartastot_1080x1080.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Maija Soljanlahti\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Maija Soljanlahti\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Maija Soljanlahti\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/ab2fe7120c4a167e6178babc3799d616\"},\"headline\":\"The details on sea charts tell stories of culture, trade, and power\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-31T09:25:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/\"},\"wordCount\":429,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Merenkulkijan-kartastot_1080x1080.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/\",\"name\":\"The details on sea charts tell stories of culture, trade, and power - Digital museum\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Merenkulkijan-kartastot_1080x1080.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-31T09:25:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/ab2fe7120c4a167e6178babc3799d616\"},\"description\":\"An exhibition exploring the history of seafaring, the exercise of power, and cartography in the Baltic Sea is now on view at the Digimuseo.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Merenkulkijan-kartastot_1080x1080.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Merenkulkijan-kartastot_1080x1080.jpg\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The details on sea charts tell stories of culture, trade, and power\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Digital museum\",\"description\":\"Enter from your living room\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/ab2fe7120c4a167e6178babc3799d616\",\"name\":\"Maija Soljanlahti\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/12255a4e8c7901b991cd152a0867fade1a41a2322f2583de14791b1ae023352b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/12255a4e8c7901b991cd152a0867fade1a41a2322f2583de14791b1ae023352b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Maija Soljanlahti\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The details on sea charts tell stories of culture, trade, and power - Digital museum","description":"An exhibition exploring the history of seafaring, the exercise of power, and cartography in the Baltic Sea is now on view at the Digimuseo.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The details on sea charts tell stories of culture, trade, and power - Digital museum","og_description":"An exhibition exploring the history of seafaring, the exercise of power, and cartography in the Baltic Sea is now on view at the Digimuseo.","og_url":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/","og_site_name":"Digital museum","article_published_time":"2026-03-31T09:25:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Merenkulkijan-kartastot_1080x1080.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Maija Soljanlahti","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Maija Soljanlahti","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/"},"author":{"name":"Maija Soljanlahti","@id":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/ab2fe7120c4a167e6178babc3799d616"},"headline":"The details on sea charts tell stories of culture, trade, and power","datePublished":"2026-03-31T09:25:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/"},"wordCount":429,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Merenkulkijan-kartastot_1080x1080.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/","url":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/","name":"The details on sea charts tell stories of culture, trade, and power - Digital museum","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Merenkulkijan-kartastot_1080x1080.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-31T09:25:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/ab2fe7120c4a167e6178babc3799d616"},"description":"An exhibition exploring the history of seafaring, the exercise of power, and cartography in the Baltic Sea is now on view at the Digimuseo.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Merenkulkijan-kartastot_1080x1080.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Merenkulkijan-kartastot_1080x1080.jpg","width":1080,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/the-details-on-sea-charts-tell-stories-of-culture-trade-and-power\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The details on sea charts tell stories of culture, trade, and power"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/","name":"Digital museum","description":"Enter from your living room","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/ab2fe7120c4a167e6178babc3799d616","name":"Maija Soljanlahti","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/12255a4e8c7901b991cd152a0867fade1a41a2322f2583de14791b1ae023352b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/12255a4e8c7901b991cd152a0867fade1a41a2322f2583de14791b1ae023352b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Maija Soljanlahti"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4920"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4925,"href":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4920\/revisions\/4925"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digimuseo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}