Fantastische Karten zu legendären Geschichten

Maps do not merely describe the world we live in. They also allow us to create worlds that have never existed in reality. For centuries, maps have been a powerful means of explaining concepts, spreading ideas and, ultimately, telling stories.

The exhibition Fantastical Maps From Legendary Stories takes visitors on a journey through the fascinating world of fictional cartography. From early literary visions of imagined worlds to the fantastic universes of J.R.R. Tolkien, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Dune and Star Wars, it explores how maps spark our imagination, give stories a spatial dimension and lend imagined worlds a surprising sense of reality.

The starting point is J.R.R. Tolkien’s idea of the Cauldron of Story: stories emerge as myths, legends, historical traditions and earlier narratives are continually revisited, blended and reinterpreted. The same is true of their maps. They, too, draw on historical models, adopt familiar forms and motifs, and transform what is known into something new.

This distinctive perspective is made possible through a collaboration between the Zentralbibliothek Zürich and Ex Carta, one of the most extensive private collections of fictional cartography. Historical maps from the Zentralbibliothek’s collections enter into dialogue with rare and remarkable examples from literature and popular culture. In doing so, the exhibition reveals the many connections between real and imagined cartography – and shows how mapping the world has repeatedly inspired the creation of new ones.

The virtual exhibition invites visitors to follow these traces and discover maps anew: not simply as tools for orientation or illustrations, but as storytellers in their own right – narrating adventures, ideas and fantastic worlds.