During the construction of Roman and medieval roads and the creation of baroque parks, lines were laid across the land, giving it a new meaning. Earlier uses could not be continued, new claims to power existed, which were expressed by lines.
In the period around 1800, the land was covered by lines of triangulation in order to draw accurate maps. Carl Friedrich Gauss included Bremen in his triangulation network by laying a bearing line from Zeven to a church in Bremen, which no longer exists today. The Gauss triangulation network was shown on the last 10 DM note. The lines of triangulation connected town and country as well as castles.
With new lines, land was redivided in the 18th/19th century. Railway lines were laid as straight as possible through the country so that trains could reach higher speeds, and the same principle was initially followed for motorways. One can therefore compile a “cultural history of the lines”.
Prof. Dr. Hansjörg Küster is biologist and has been professor of plant ecology at the institute of geobotany at Leibniz University of Hanover since 1998.
A lecture to the exhibition “Till Krause. Briesener Zootzen”.