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Federal Office of Topography swisstopo

Image collection

swisstopo’s image collection is a unique cultural treasure that encompasses approximately half a million aerial and terrestrial photos. The images of the landscape from the 1920s until the present day are used for a broad variety of purposes. In the next few years, a special plan is to be implemented in order to ensure that the valuable originals are carefully preserved and easily accessible.

Key data and features

Table of the holdings historic geodata of swisstopo
The collection comprises a total of about half a million images.

Aerial photos

Aerial photo in black and white
Our aerial images are high-resolution landscape photographs. They contain a great deal of information and are used as a valuable source for identifying dynamic processes, as well as for documentation and planning purposes.

Terrestrial images

Example of a terrestrial photography in black and white
The terrestrial images were used as the basis for producing the 1:50,000 National Map and the 1:10,000 fortification maps in the period from 1915 to 1947.

Preservation and accessibility measures

Preservation and accessibility measures
Many of the valuable originals are endangered due to age-related deterioration and frequent use. In view of this, a plan to preserve them is to be implemented during the next few years, and at the same time digitisation will greatly improve the accessibility of the numerous images.

Comments about this page: Topography
Last updated: 29.12.2010

Contact

Swiss Federal Office of Topography

Geodata Distribution and Analogue Archives
Seftigenstr. 264
CH-3084 Wabern

Tel. +41 31 963 21 11
Fax +41 31 963 24 59
E-Mail to geodata

 

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