Geotopography

The topographical survey records the real landscape and the natural terrain relief. The information obtained is stored in a standardised national information system and kept up to date.

The aim of geotopography is to describe the real landscape and the natural terrain relief. Based on the spatial reference system, the main objects on the earth's surface such as settlements, transport networks, vegetation, bodies of water and landforms as well as the boundaries of political and administrative units with names and other descriptive information are recorded for the entire country and stored in digital form in the nationally standardised Official Topographic-Cartographic Information System (ATKIS®). On the basis of the stored landscape objects and elevation information of the terrain, topographic maps are derived in various scales through cartographic processing. This portfolio is supplemented by orthophotos (rectified aerial photographs) as well as digital terrain, surface and building models.
The geotopography products are regularly updated and are used extensively in administration, business and science.

Aerial image products

Aerial photographs are a photographic image of the landscape. They show a real image of all objects visible from a bird's eye view at the time the image was taken.

Topographic maps

Topographical maps are maps describing the landscape. They show the shape of the earth's surface and provide an image of the natural and man-made or built landscape.