Joseph Jüttner

From Bernartice near Opava in Silesia, Joseph Jüttner was an experienced artillery officer who was skilled in mapping as well as in trigonometric and astronomic measurement. He was also a teacher of mathematics at the military academy in Prague. In 1803, Joseph Jüttner and his pupils from the Mathematics School of Artillery were involved in the first trigonometric survey of Prague, the results of which he used to create the first detailed scientific plan of Prague, Grundriss der Königlichen Hauptstadt Prag auf Veranlassung und Kosten des Bömischen Nationalmuseums (1820).

The map had originally been commissioned by Emperor Francis I in 1812, but Jüttner’s work was interrupted by compulsory military service during the Napoleonic wars (1813–1814), and by his residence in Mayence (1815–1818).

Eventually, in 1819, Jüttner presented finished manuscript maps to the Emperor and Count Kolowrat, the Supreme Burgrave of Bohemia. Kolowrat authorised the publication of the plan, but for reasons of national security, details of the fortifications around the city were omitted. Nevertheless, the map would serve as the template for maps of the city for decades.

Joseph Jüttner died in 1848, having reached the rank of brigadier.