Schmettau Map Collection: Brandenburg Topography, 1767-1787

270 hand-drawn, unpublished topographic map sheets of Prussian territory east of the Weser river, created between 1767 and 1787 under the direction of Prussian officer Friedrich Wilhelm Karl Graf von Schmettau. The original unique pieces are held by the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin and are available as multi-colour prints measuring 97 cm x 64 cm. This work is considered the culmination of Prussian cartography of its era.

Use Cases

• Analyze historical land use and settlement patterns based on the detailed topographic features.
• Study the evolution of cartographic techniques and styles based on the hand-drawn, multi-colour map sheets.
• Conduct comparative geography research based on the depiction of Prussian territory east of the Weser river.
• Digitize and georeference historical maps for integration with modern GIS layers based on the 1:50,000 scale.

Strengths

• High historical fidelity as the culmination of Prussian cartography from its period.
• Detailed scale of 1:50,000 for precise geographical analysis.
• Consists of 270 individual map sheets providing broad spatial coverage.
• Original hand-drawn sheets are unique archival pieces.

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.
• Data may reflect geographic/temporal bias inherent to its 18th-century Prussian origin.

Provenance

Source

Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie

Collection Method

Hand-drawn topographic survey conducted between 1767 and 1787.

Time Range

1767 to 1787

Geography

Prussian territory east of the Weser river, specifically the Mittenwalde section.