Theoretical foundations of the HGIS of Transylvanian Settlements

Abstract

As GIS technologies enhance the ability to perceive and analyse the spatial dimensions of society, historical research too is increasingly making use of historical geographic information systems, because of their potential to emphasise the role of space in understanding historical events. By linking geographic coordinates to descriptive historical data, the use of historical GIS can lead to the spatial representation of the past, fundamentally simplifying and redefining traditional approaches to the organisation, analysis and visualisation of historical information. Developing such a historical GIS for studying the settlements of Transylvania would open entirely new perspectives on the historical evolution of the settlement network in this historically and culturally diverse region of Romania as well.

This paper examines the factors that justify the need for a historical geographic information system for the settlements of Transylvania, while also outlining a plan for its implementation. Through a review of previous scientific works on the history of the Transylvanian settlements, it identifies the main challenges that anyone studying this topic is likely to confront. To address these issues, the paper proposes the development of a historical GIS, argues for its advantages, and even highlights the key steps for its practical implementation, providing an operational framework for the system.

Based on written records, the initiative aims to track and synthesise changes in the name, legal status, administrative role and administrative affiliation of the settlements over the past one thousand years, while visualising them in space and time using contemporary web cartographic solutions. Temporally dynamic historical data is intended to be integrated into the historical GIS database as sequences of year–value data pairs categorised by data type, with visualisation carried out using Leaflet, an open-source JavaScript library for creating interactive web maps.

As the creation of a historical geographic information system for the settlements of Transylvania is already more than a concept, the article also reports on the project’s achievements so far. It provides online access to a preliminary English-language sample web map, designed to demonstrate the basic functions of the system’s user interface, along with a significantly upgraded Hungarian-language version, reflecting the project’s latest status, the latter being made publicly available for the first time.

As evidenced by these web interfaces themselves, the goal of the historical geographic information system for the settlements of Transylvania is to become a platform that delivers reliable information on the historical development of the Transylvanian settlements to both specialists and the general public in a user-friendly way.