Prussian Urmesstischblätter: Hand-Drawn Topographic Maps from 1822

Prussian territory is covered by hand-drawn, one-off topographic maps at a scale of 1:25,000. The maps were produced by the Royal Prussian General Staff beginning in 1822, with this specific sheet dated to 1827. They represent the foundational basis for smaller-scale maps and the origin of modern topographic cartography.

Use Cases

• Analyzing historical land use and settlement patterns based on hand-drawn topographic features.
• Training computer vision models for historical document analysis based on scanned map images.
• Studying the evolution of cartographic design and symbology based on the standardized 1821 instructions.
• Georeferencing historical landscapes for comparison with modern geospatial data based on the 1:25,000 scale.

Strengths

• Maps were produced under a standardized instruction from the Royal Prussian General Staff in 1821, ensuring design consistency.
• The scale of 1:25,000 provides a detailed view of the historical landscape.
• Some sheets are available as high-quality plots with reworked color schemes, potentially improving legibility.

Limitations

• Last updated 1827-12-31 00:00:00; freshness should be verified.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality and file formats require manual inspection after download.
• Row count and specific column-level documentation are absent; field semantics must be inferred.

Provenance

Source

Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie

Collection Method

Hand-drawn cartographic surveys conducted by the Royal Prussian General Staff.

Time Range

Production began 1822; this specific sheet is from 1827.

Freshness

1827-12-31

Geography

Prussian territory (historical region in Central/Eastern Europe).