Prussian territory east of the Weser was surveyed at a scale of 1:50,000 between 1767 and 1787. The 270 hand-drawn, multi-color map sheets were created under Friedrich Wilhelm Karl Graf von Schmettau and are held by the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. Each sheet is a unique, unpublished plano measuring 97 cm x 64 cm.
Use Cases
- Analyze historical land use and settlement patterns based on the detailed 1:50,000 scale topographical images.
- Study the evolution of Prussian cartographic techniques based on the hand-drawn, unpublished nature of the sheets.
- Georeference historical features for comparison with modern maps based on the precise geographical coverage of Prussian territory.
Strengths
- 270 individual map sheets provide detailed coverage of a large historical region.
- High-resolution source at a scale of 1:50,000 suggests detailed geographical features.
- Original hand-drawn sheets from a named Prussian cartographer indicate primary source authenticity.
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 topographical survey.
- Time Range
- 1767 to 1787
- Geography
- Prussian territory east of the Weser, specifically the Hoyerswerda section.