Prussian Original Survey Maps (Urmesstischblätter) are hand-drawn, one-off topographic maps produced from 1822 for the entire territory of Prussia. The Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie provides these maps, which were created on a scale of 1:25,000 and served as the foundational basis for smaller-scale cartography. These maps mark the beginning of modern topographic cartography and are available as plano prints, with some sheets reworked in color to be more similar to the original hand-drawn versions.
Use Cases
- Analyze historical land use and landscape changes based on the detailed topographic features.
- Study the evolution of cartographic design and symbology based on the hand-drawn map content.
- Georeference and digitize historical map sheets for integration with modern spatial datasets.
Strengths
- Maps were produced from 1822, providing a long historical baseline.
- Sheets are drawn at a detailed 1:25,000 scale.
- Individual sheets have been reworked in color to better match the original hand-drawn state.
Limitations
- Last updated metadata is from 1845-01-01; freshness should be verified.
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
Provenance
- Source
- Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie
- Collection Method
- Hand-drawn, one-off map sheets produced by the Royal Prussian General Staff.
- Time Range
- Production began in 1822.
- Geography
- Entire territory of Prussia.