Topographic surveys for the Dufour Map
Topographic surveys for the Dufour Map 1:25 000 / 1:50 000
What happened back in the 1830s?
No large-scale maps for the whole country were available. But to produce a map 1:100 000 (later called Dufour Map) thorough knowledge of the country was indispensable.
Some Cantons were indeed conscious of this drawback and decided to survey the territory by themselves. However, some Cantons mainly in the Alpine region were not able to execute the surveys because of financial reasons.
The Confederation had to do the work alone and that is the reason why these topographic surveys are called Federal topographic surveys.
