Abstract
The chapter presents a terrestrial globe with a diameter of 52.5 cm created by Jacob Floris van Langren (1525-1610) in Amsterdam. This first Dutch globe maker was the founder of globe making and the father of a family dynasty of three generations of cartographers and publishers.
The globe is located at the order of the Franciscans in Prague. It was described as the oldest globe (1593) in the Czech Republic in an international overview of 247 old globes by Karel Kuchar and his team in 1964.
Since then, no new research into the condition of these heritage has been carried out in the Czech Republic. The globe was under the administration of the National Library of the Czech Republic and after restitution in 1990 it was returned to the Franciscan order.
The history of the monastery and the library is briefly described. In 1991, P. van der Krogt described it and determined a new date, the publication of 1605.
The Prague version of the globe marked LAN II is described in P. van Krogt's research as the third in the order of 14 different copies. It is very valuable, contains many new original modifications in the copperplate, and comes from the original printing plates.
While moving the Franciscan library, the globe fell and broke. In 2016, it was successfully restored by M. Široký, even though the mass of the body increased.
In 2023, the state of the cartographic monument was re-examined and described by the author of the paper in the Franciscan Order Library in Prague. The globe probably came to the Franciscan library in the 17th century during the tenure of Bernard Sanning OFM, who was a Czech provincial and also worked closely with Vincenzo Corroneli, OFM, an important creator of globes.
The confusion of the production date was probably due to the number of geographical notes on the globe. These are analyzed in detail.
It was found that it is not the oldest preserved globe in the Czech Republic, as it was supposed to be. However, the monument is valuable and in good condition.