1822 marks the start of production for the Prussian Urmesstischblätter, hand-drawn topographic maps at a scale of 1:25,000. Created by the Royal Prussian General Staff, these maps were foundational for later cartography and are available as plano prints, with some reworked in color. The dataset includes individual sheets like '3754 Aurith' and was last updated in 1847.
Use Cases
- Analyze historical land use and settlement patterns based on hand-drawn topographic features.
- Study the evolution of cartographic design and standards based on the 1821 Royal Prussian General Staff instructions.
- Georeference historical maps for comparison with modern digital terrain models based on the 1:25,000 scale.
- Train image segmentation models on historical map features like rivers, roads, and settlements.
Strengths
- Maps are hand-drawn originals at a detailed 1:25,000 scale.
- Production began in 1822, providing a long historical baseline for topographic cartography.
- Some sheets have been reworked with enhanced color schemes, improving visual clarity.
Limitations
- Last updated 1847-12-31 00:00:00; freshness should be verified.
- Row count and file formats are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
Provenance
- Source
- Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie
- Collection Method
- Hand-drawn cartographic surveys by the Royal Prussian General Staff.
- Time Range
- 1822 onwards
- Freshness
- 1847-12-31
- Geography
- Prussia