swisstopo’s aerial photograph collection is an unique cultural asset and contains more than
600'000 analogue and digital images. Swisstopo's aerial photography is primarily used for the revision of national mapping and the production of the SWISSIMAGE orthophotomosaic.
Our aerial photographs provide high resolution vertical views of the earth's surface. They contain a wealth of information and provide a valuable resource for the investigation of dynamic processes, for all kinds of documentation and as a basis for planning and development.
Complete coverage of Switzerland is provided through a cyclical flying programme at regular intervals.
The photo scales usually vary between 1:20 000 and 1:30 000. The images are available in black and white (from 1927 to 2003) or in color (since 1998).
Terrestrial survey photographs from around 1930 are also available for alpine regions. They are oblique or horizontal photos.
An additional section of the archive includes all of the photography flown for Federal Inventory purposes (alluvial zones, bogs, mires and fens, and dry grasslands), for glacier monitoring or for the documentation of natural phenomena (storms, floods, avalanches and landslides) and other special photographic flights which do not cover the entire country. These include color, colour infrared and black-and-white photographs at a wide range of scales from 1:3 000 to 1:40 000.
The aerial photographs form a unique treasure trove which should be preserved and made accessible to the general public. To achieve this aim, swisstopo will be digitalising all photographs over the next few years. This will help to minimise the repeated physical exposure of the original images, which speeds up the disintegration of analogue photographs due to natural deterioration. Furthermore, digital georeferenced aerial photographic data will enable every user to access information quickly and easily.
The digitalisation and indexing of the image collection present a great challenge for the coming year.
Information on the status of the project
Images that have already been scanned can be ordered through the LUBIS 
aerial image information system
