German Empire Topographic Maps 1:25,000, 1875-1931

Maps of the German Empire at a scale of 1:25,000, produced by the Prussian state survey beginning in 1875 and largely completed by 1912. The work, which includes contour lines and elevation references, was created to meet civil needs and served as the primary large-scale topographic basis for the Reichsamt für Landesaufnahme. The dataset is provided by the Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie.

Use Cases

• Historical land-use change analysis based on the topographic features and contour lines.
• Georeferencing and digitization of historical map sheets for modern GIS applications.
• Study of cartographic techniques and standards from the late 19th to early 20th century.

Strengths

• Provides a consistent, large-scale (1:25,000) topographic series for a defined historical period.
• Covers a significant time range, with primary production from 1875 to 1912 and updates through 1931.
• Includes contour lines and elevation references, suggesting detailed terrain representation.

Limitations

• Last updated 1934-01 00:00:00; freshness should be verified.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to the historical survey methods.

Provenance

Source

Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie

Collection Method

Topographic survey and cartographic production by the Prussian state survey and later the Reichsamt für Landesaufnahme.

Time Range

1875 to 1931

Freshness

1934-01-01 00:00:00

Geography

German Empire (historical Prussia and related territories)