This 1821 map of Novgorod Province is from a larger work, Geograficheskii atlas Rossiiskoi imperii, tsarstva Pol'skogo i velikogo kniazhestva Finliandskogo (Geographical atlas of the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Poland, and the Grand Duchy of Finland), containing 60 maps of the Russian Empire. Compiled and engraved by Colonel V.P. Piadyshev, it reflects the detailed mapping carried out by Russian military cartographers in the first quarter of the 19th century. The map shows population centers (six gradations by size), postal stations, roads (four types), provincial and district borders, and monasteries. Distances are shown in versts, a Russian measure, now no longer used, equal to 1.07 kilometers. Legends and place-names are in Russian and French. Novgorod is the oldest city in Russia and its first capital, with roots in the mid-ninth century. Vikings from present-day Sweden, under the leadership of the legendary Rurik, founded Novgorod (Holmgard) as a base in their trade networks between the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. These Vikings were known as the Rus’, from the name of their homeland north of Stockholm, Roslagen. The term Russia comes from the name of these Vikings, even though they named their new eastern territory Gardariki. The Rus’ established the first Russian polity known as Kievan Rus’, named after their city of Kiev on the Dnieper River, in modern-day Ukraine. Kiev soon superseded Novgorod and became the new Viking capital, with a prime location closer to the Byzantine capital of Constantinople. Novgorod remained an important northern city, particularly in the 13th century when it defended the western state borders against the Teutonic Knights. An important center of Russian art and culture, Novgorod was ruled in the medieval period by a town council, possessed an early legal code, and served as an eastern outpost of the Hanseatic League. Novgorod ultimately was brought under the rule of Moscow and became a minor Russian provincial town thereafter. The historic monuments of Novgorod and its surroundings are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.