Deák Antal András: A Duna fölfedezése
Tartalom - III.A DANUBIUS PANNONICO-MYSICUS, 1726
T II E DISCOVERY OF THE DANUBE Sava river, since from here to the mouth of the Una river the Sava marked the border. Along this stretch, the presence of swamps, channels and streamlets meant a lot of extra work for the Austrian commission, which carefully surveyed this region as well. The drafts and notes found in the Marsigli Archives testify to the tenacious alacrity the engineers showed in their work even along unambiguous stretches of the frontier. Everything was noted with topographical accuracy in the uninhabited swamps - Lauter Wald und Morast (pure forest and swamp), Müller remarked on one of his sketches. 7 2 Five drawings about the river are kept in the Marsigli Archives in Bologna, made by the engineers during the demarcation of the frontier. 7 3 They surveyed the Roman remains at Szalánkemen, the width of the Danube (280 fathoms; 530 m), 30-40 channels and "bara" along the Sava. Three camps were pitched on the frontier stretch along the Sava river up to the mouth of the Una. The locations of the camps and the arrangement of the tents were indicated on the map. 3. The Una (Unna) as a boundary river 7 4 At the mouth of the Una river, the frontier commission left the Sava and proceeded south along the banks of the next boundary river. The Una was also carefully surveyed. It is typical of their circumspection that on the stretch of the river where it divided the two empires, the locations of 242 islands were marked, the shapes of the larger ones were drawn. Several maps were made of this area. Novi and its environs was strategically very important for both parties. Neither yielded to the other, so, suspending the unpromising discussions, a decision was postponed. In fact, agreement was never reached. This is why there is a hiatus , a gap in this frontier line on each borderline map. Marsigli had several maps made of the disputed area to show what consequences the various borderline versions would have had from the military, communication and political points of view. 7 5 4. Croatia west of the Una river This frontier stretch produced the largest number of the maps. Partly because both parties obstinately clung to Novi, partly because the territory west of the Una river had acquired great strategic significance: its importance was increased by castles, the low number of passable roads, and the passes where the mountains could be crossed. We can find several maps among our unknown acquaintances 7 6: from the triple border (Austrian-Turkish-Venetian borders) to Sluin, from the Corana river to Jesera 7 7, from the mouths of the Sava and Una rivers to the Popina mountain and from there to the territories ruled by Venice down to the Adriatic Sea 7 8, the region of Jesenovitz and Dubitza 7 9, the frontier map of Croatia with the accepted and still disputed frontier stretches and 8 0, southern Hungary west of the Danube, where Marsigli suggested barriers that might hinder the advance of pestilence towards the heart of the empire. 8 1 IMAGE No. 9 on page 27: Marsigli illustrated on one of Müllers maps how to prevent the spread of the plague that was threatening the Empire from the Balkans 7 2 BUB Mss di Marsigli Vol. 49. p. 4. 7 3 BUB Mss di Marsigli Vol. 38. p. 1, 3, 4, Vol. 39. p. 4, 16. 7 4 The stretch of the Una river from Kastanovitz to the ruins of the monastery, that is, until the still disputed territory of Novi, was depicted on map B IX c. 829-1. Neither the author nor the date is indicated. Manuscript, coloured, inverse orientation. Measurements: 67 x 151.5 cm; 66 x 150 cm. 7 5 B IX a 764 - 800 A geographical map, which shows within a red frame the territory that had legally belonged to the emperor before the fixing of the borders on this side of the Danube and that had to be ceded to the Turks by virtue of the peace treaty. Measurements: 43 x 36.5 cm. IX c 829-3 ibid.; 47 x 70.5 cm. Inscription: A geographical map, which depicts the stretch of the Una river flowing between the two empires. 7 I am thinking of the unregistered maps kept in the Kriegarchiv of the National Archives of Vienna. 7 7 ÖStA KA B IX c 829-7 ibid.; 36 x 49.5 cm. 7 8 ÖStA KA B IX c 829-2 ibid.; measurements: 42.5 x 61 cm. 7 9 ÖStA KA B IX c 790 - 800 Vienna, ÖStA KA Kartensammlung, inverse orientation, measurements: 50.5 x 59 cm 8 0 ÖStA KA B IX C 829-8 ibid.; measurements: 40 x 65 cm. The text is very short: legends: Higher wooden structures or towers with sentries. 8 1 ÖStA KA B IX. c 829-5. A geographical map which depicts the measures to be taken by virtue of the peace treaty after the evacuation and demolition of the settlements along the frontier beyond the Danube with the purpose of stopping the spread of pestilence. 109
