The Abraham Ortelius edition of Martin Helwig's seminal map of Silesia.

Important regional map of Silesia, from Abraham Ortelius' Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the first modern atlas of the World.

Shows the region from Olomunz and Crackaw in the south to Krossen and Syratz and Kails in the North, centered on Breslaw and Oppelen. Prague also appears at the bottom of the map.

The map is based upon an extremely rare map by Martin Helwig (1516-1574). Helwig was a trained mathematician, classical linguist and geographer, who became the Rector of St. Maria Magdalena School in Breslau (now Wrocław, in Poland), in 1552. Helwig produced the first woodcut map of Silesia made on the basis of locally collected surveys and data which he published in 1561, under the title Silesiae Typus. Helwig dedicated the map to Nicolaus II. Rehdiger, a wealthy Silesian merchant, banker, philanthropist, governor and patron of the principality of Breslau (Wrocław), who sponsored the map. Martin Helwig's map went on to receive acclaim in a public writing by Caspar Peucer, an eminent German scholar at the University of Wittenberg, ultimately receiving the notice of Ortelius, who incorporated the map into the Theatrum.

This map appeared until 1592 and from 1595 was replaced by Ortelius in an updated map of Silesia.