Walter Christaller | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1893-04-21)21 April 1893 Berneck,Württemberg |
| Died | 9 March 1969(1969-03-09) (aged 75) |
| Known for | Central place theory |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Geography |
| Doctoral advisor | Robert Gradmann [de] |
Walter Christaller (21 April 1893 – 9 March 1969) was a Germangeographer whose principal contribution to the discipline iscentral place theory,[1] first published in 1933. This groundbreaking theory was the foundation of the study of cities as systems of cities, rather than simple hierarchies or single entities. He was primarily concerned with the urban space and worked on the role of towns as geographic-economic units, besides analyzing the relationships between towns of the same region.[2]
Walter Christaller was born to Erdmann Gottreich andHelene Christaller, an author of Christian-themed children's novels at Berneck (today part ofAltensteig inGermany. His paternal grandfatherJohann Gottlieb Christaller was alinguist and aChristian missionary inWest Africa.[3][4]
Before 1914, Christaller began studies in philosophy and political economics and subsequently served in theGerman Army duringWorld War I. He washomeschooled and educated at theUniversities of Heidelberg andMunich. In the 1920s, he pursued a variety of occupations. In 1929, he resumed graduate studies, which led to his famous dissertation onCentral Place Theory, which he published as theDie zentralen Orte in Süddeutschland (The Central Places inSouthern Germany), in 1933.[3][5]
In the late 1930s, he held a short-lived academic appointment at the University of Freiburg-in-Breisgau. Whether Christaller was a member of theNazi Party is disputed.[6][7] He moved into government service, forHimmler's SS-Planning and Soil Office, during theSecond World War. Christaller's task was to draw up plans for reconfiguring the economic geography of Germany's eastern conquests (Generalplan Ost), primarily in Czechoslovakia and Poland but also, if successful, Russia itself. Christaller was given special charge of planning occupied Poland, and he did so by using his central place theory as an explicit guide.[8] His work was extended by fellow GermanAugust Lösch.[6]
After the war, he joined theCommunist Party of Germany and became politically active. In addition, he devoted himself totourism geography. Since 1950, his Central Place Theory has been used to restructure municipal relationships and boundaries in theFederal Republic of Germany, and the system is still in place today.
In 1950, Christaller, together with Paul Gauss and Emil Meynen, founded the German Association of Applied Geography (DVAG).[9] The Walter Christaller Award for Applied Geography is named after him.[3]
He died inKönigstein im Taunus,West Germany, on 9 March 1969.[10]
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