Today, the extensive and historical collection of geodata can be considered a national treasure. In order to make better use of it and to make it accessible to the general public, swisstopo is publishing the geodata online in the form of a chronological series. Switzerland’s restored, digitalised and carefully stored cultural heritage is now accessible and enhanced. You can go on a virtual journey back to 1844 – the year the first Dufour map was published. Geodata for the whole of Switzerland has never been made available online to the public on such a scale before.

Switzerland since 1864

In 1838, General Guillaume-Henri Dufour founded the Federal Topographic Bureau and in 1844, the first map was produced for the region between Vevey and Sitten (no. XVII). By 1864, the whole of Switzerland was charted. Today, swisstopo produce around 8,000 maps from the Dufour Map, the Siegfried Map and the National Map series available online, enabling an impressive visualisation of spatial development up to well into the 19th century.