Fantastical Maps from Legendary Stories

Maps do not merely describe the world in which we live. They also enable us to create worlds that have never existed in reality. For centuries, maps have served as powerful instruments for explaining concepts, disseminating ideas and ultimately telling stories. From September 2026 onwards, rare and remarkable examples from literature and film will bear witness to this tradition in the exhibition.

“The Cauldron of Story”

The exhibition is conceptually informed by a notion developed by J. R. R. Tolkien: the image of the “Cauldron of Story”. According to Tolkien, fictional narratives – and with them their maps – emerge from a continual process of blending, layering and reinterpretation. Myths, fairy tales, legends and literary traditions from different epochs form the “ingredients” of this cauldron. Authors draw upon these sources, transform inherited motifs and reconfigure them within new imaginative contexts.

The exhibition translates this model into a spatial experience: the visitor’s journey itself becomes a “Cauldron of Story”. Along the outer wall of the Treasure Chamber, a chronological narrative unfolds, revealing the literary works, myths and cartographic traditions that have shaped the development of fictional worlds across more than seven centuries. Running in parallel, the centre of the exhibition space presents historical maps that served as important visual and conceptual references for fictional cartography. Particular attention is given to early modern maps of Switzerland, whose aesthetic and structural characteristics profoundly influenced later literary world-building traditions, including Tolkien’s own imaginative geographies.

Reilly Atlas of the Moral World, 1802. Ex Carta, EC 014.

Map of the Square and Stationary Earth, 1893. Ex Carta, EC024.

Bernard Sleigh, A Guide to the Map of Fairyland, 1917. Ex Carta, EC033.

The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, 1812/13. Ex Carta, EC008.

The Wind in the Willows, 1931. Ex Carta, EC041.

Tik-Tok of Oz, 1914. Ex Carta, EC034.

William Morris, The Sundering Flood, 1898. Ex Carta, EC027.

Stevenson, Treasure Island, 1883. Ex Carta, EC020.

Gerhard Mercator, Atlas sive Cosmographicae meditationes de fabrica mundi et fabricati figura. Department of Maps and Panoramas, Central Library Zurich, T 44.

Joan Blaeu, Theatrum orbis terrarum, 1644–1645. Department of Maps and Panoramas, Central Library Zurich, T 5.

Two Collections – A Shared Dialogue

The exhibition’s distinctive character lies in the dialogue between two exceptional collections: “Ex Carta”, one of the most extensive collections dedicated to fictional cartography and the renowned holdings of the Department of Maps and Panoramas at the Central Library of Zurich, whose cartographic collections rank among the most significant in Switzerland. At the intersection of these collections – particularly through Tolkien’s work and its relationship to Swiss cartographic history – emerges a curatorial concept that makes the reciprocal relationship between reality and fiction tangible in an unprecedented way.

“Fantastical Maps” invites visitors to regard maps not merely as illustrative accompaniments to literary texts, but as cultural artefacts in their own right. They embody historical systems of knowledge, aesthetic traditions and narrative practices, while simultaneously functioning as projections of collective imagination and vehicles for the construction of entire worlds.

Experiencing “Fantastical Maps” Digitally

The accompanying digital exhibition is currently under development. In parallel, the private collection “Ex Carta” will become accessible through “Oculi Mundi”.

Fantastical Maps – The Exhibition Publication

Jost Schmid-Lanter & Helen Sunderland Cohen (eds.): Fantastical Maps (Cartographica Helvetica, Special Issue 26). Murten, 2026, 56 pages including illustrations, ISSN 1422-3392.

Special exhibition price: CHF 18.-

In cooperation with:

With kind support of Lukas Ritzel/ Initiative Tolkien-Schweiz