The Schmettausches Kartenwerk is a collection of 270 hand-drawn, unique topographical map sheets of Prussian territory east of the Weser river. The maps were created between 1767 and 1787 under the direction of Prussian officer and cartographer Friedrich Wilhelm Karl Graf von Schmettau. The original sheets are held by the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin and are available as multi-colour prints measuring 97 cm x 64 cm.
Use Cases
- Analyze historical land use and topography based on the detailed 1:50,000 scale maps.
- Study the evolution of cartographic techniques based on the hand-drawn, multi-colour print format.
- Conduct regional historical research based on the coverage of Prussian territory east of the Weser river.
Strengths
- Contains 270 individual map sheets, providing substantial coverage.
- Created at a detailed scale of 1:50,000.
- Based on original, hand-drawn unique pieces held by a major state library.
Limitations
- Last updated 1787-12-31 00:00:00; 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 cartographic survey.
- Time Range
- 1767 to 1787
- Freshness
- 1787-12-31
- Geography
- Prussian territory east of the Weser river, specifically the Zahna region (Section 99).