Prussian Urmesstischblätter: Historical Topographic Maps of Prussia

Prussian Urmesstischblätter are hand-drawn, one-off topographic maps produced for the entire territory of Prussia beginning in 1822. The maps were created at a scale of 1:25,000 and were not published, serving as the basis for smaller-scale maps. The dataset is provided by the Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie.

Use Cases

• Analyze historical land use and settlement patterns based on the detailed topographic features.
• Study the evolution of cartographic design and symbology based on the hand-drawn map content.
• Georeference and compare historical landscapes with modern maps based on the precise 1:25,000 scale.
• Train image segmentation models on historical map features like forests, water bodies, and settlements.

Strengths

• Maps mark the beginning of topographic cartography, providing foundational historical data.
• Individual sheets have been reworked in color to be more similar to the original hand-drawn versions.
• The production process was standardized by the Royal Prussian General Staff's 1821 instruction.

Limitations

• Last updated 1841-01-01 00:00:00; freshness should be verified.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• The specific file formats and availability of digital versions are unknown.

Provenance

Source

Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie

Collection Method

Hand-drawn, one-off map sheets produced for internal military and administrative use.

Time Range

Production began in 1822. Individual sheet dated 1841.

Geography

Territory of Prussia