Topographic map of Switzerland

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Hochfelden on the Dufour map, sheet 3 «Liestal, Schaffhausen», data status 1869

The topographic map of Switzerland , also known as the Dufour map , is the oldest official map of Switzerland . The topographic map drawn up by the Federal Topographical Bureau under the direction of Guillaume Henri Dufour on a scale of 1: 100,000 represented Switzerland for the first time in a geometrically correct manner. Work under Dufour's direction began in 1832, before the Federal Topographical Bureau was founded in 1838 The 25 sheets of the map were published between 1845 and 1865. The Dufour map is considered a work of national importance, not least because it was created parallel to the modern federal state of 1848 and helped symbolically bring the cantons together in the sense of the federal state.

prehistory

Between 1796 and 1802 the 16 map sheets of the Atlas Suisse were created , which depicted the whole of Switzerland on a scale of approx. 1: 120,000 and went on sale from 1803. Until the Dufour map was published, the Atlas Suisse remained the authoritative topographic map series for Switzerland.

During the border occupation in 1809, which was called up because of the national uprisings against Napoleon , Colonel Hans Conrad Finsler had the eastern part of Switzerland triangulated by engineer Johannes Feer and some staff officers. The astronomer Johann Kaspar Horner and staff captain Heinrich Pestalozzi linked the triangular network that was created with the measurements of the cantons of Basel and Bern. By 1822, together with Pestalozzi's angle measurements in western Switzerland, the first-order triangulation for the Central Plateau was created. The still missing triangulation of the Alps was a more difficult task because of the dangerous mountain climbs and the bad weather with no visibility. Finsler's efforts led to the fact that the Diet of 1822 declared land surveying to be a federal work and placed it under the federal military supervisory authority. In 1829 the attempt by the Swiss natural science society to take the entire work by its own and finance it through private sponsors failed.

In 1832, Guillaume Henri Dufour became chief quartermaster of the military supervisory authority and in this function took over the management of federal triangulation and national surveying. He had already done topographical work in the French war school. Dufour was to standardize the existing triangular measurements and mappings at the federal level, close the gaps, have the triangulation checked and supplemented by the engineers, and issue uniform federal guidelines. For example, the cantons had to record the mountains on a scale of 1: 50,000, Jura and Mittelland 1: 25,000.

Development of the map series

Triangulation primordial 1826–1837

Geodetic basics

Baseline (end point Sugiez)

The astronomer and geodesist Johannes Eschmann (1808–1852) created the "Triangulation primordiale", the first nationwide triangular network , between 1834 and 1837 on the basis of existing cantonal networks and the baseline . The «Results of the trigonometric measurements in Switzerland» published by Eschmann in 1840 served the Dufour map as a geodetic reference system.

The 13 km long route in the Grosse Moos between Walperswil BE and Sugiez FR formed the basis or baseline for the Dufour map. ⊙ ⊙ It was measured in 1791, 1797 and 1834 (under Dufour) using measuring chains and iron rods. In order to be able to transfer the length of the base to the triangulation network , angles had to be measured at its end points and other neighboring points. From Walperswil, the endpoints in Sugiez, the Chasseral and the Montoz were targeted in the Dufour era . Another station on the Frienisberg was used to calculate the distance between the Chasseral and the Rötifluh .

With these distances (side lengths) between the triangulation points , the coordinates of the main points could then be derived with the aid of the orientation elements , starting from the fundamental point. The base endpoints of Walperswil and Sugiez were connected to a triangular network (base enlargement network of the "Triangulation primordiale"), which for the first time covered the whole of Switzerland and connected the parts of the country north of the Alps with the south. The 13 km long base route served as a scale for the network. In the old Bern observatory (1812–1876; fundamental point of the Swiss national coordinates : 600,000  /  200,000 ), the length and latitude of the fundamental point were determined astronomically , so that Switzerland was correctly positioned on the globe . The network was based on the astronomically determined azimuths of the points Rötifluh / Weissenstein SO and Chasseral in Bern .

Triangulation point on the Chasseral

Topographical basics

Parallel to the geodetic basics, Dufour tackled the topographical recordings. In the absence of good draftsmen and engravers in Switzerland, Dufour set up a draftsman's office in Carouge in 1837 - initially at his own expense . In the following year it officially started work as the Federal Topographical Bureau, so that 1838 is considered the founding year of today's Federal Office for Topography . The bureau served as a collection point for all trigonometric and topographical work. Dufour and his employees first produced four sample sheets 1: 50,000 with great care, which then served as templates for the sample sheet 1: 100,000. In 1842 Dufour issued the Geneva map at the expense of the canton of Geneva, which served as a test piece for the Dufour map.

The Bonnesche projection served as the basis for the Dufour map . Dufour used the Repère Pierre du Niton rock in the port of Geneva as the starting point for the development of the Dufour maps of 1845 and 1864 . The original recordings for the Dufour map were made on a scale of 1:25,000 (in the plains and Jura) and 1:50,000 (in the mountains).

Triangulation of the canton of Bern 1811
First order triangulation point from 1860 on the bowl

The cooperation of the cantons using the example of the canton of Bern

Several cantons took up their territories themselves in accordance with federal regulations and received a contractually agreed amount from the Confederation. They made the basis of their maps available to the Federal Topographical Bureau for conversion into the federal map.

In 1853 a contract was signed between the Swiss Confederation and the Canton of Bern. The Bern government council then set up a mapping commission. In 1854 this elected the Zurich geodesist and topographer Hans Heinrich Denzler as the chief engineer responsible for the topographical survey of the canton of Bern. Denzler remained chief engineer until 1862 and was entrusted with the following tasks:

  • Angle measurement and calculation of a sufficient number of first and second order triangles
  • Calculation of the right-angled coordinates of the triangular points, based on the meridian and parallel of the Bern observatory
  • Trigonometric determination of the height of the triangle points
  • Insuring the signal points "by burying stones where they should be necessary"
  • Draft instructions for engineers and
  • Participation in the topographical survey if possible.

The previous federal points of the first and second order in the Bernese part were no longer usable and Denzler therefore has to tie in with the distant points of the first order Rötifluh and Chasseral.

For the creation of a new first-order network, the commission selected the items Napf , Niesen , Berra , Rigi Kulm , Lägern , Schwarzhorn and Gurten , the first five of which belonged to the federal network.

Page division

As the outer framework for the map series, Dufour defined a grid (sheet division) of five by five sheets. Each leaf covered 70 km in west-east and 48 km in north-south direction. The entire map series covered an area of ​​350 × 240 km. For the original photos on a scale of 1: 50,000, a sheet was divided into 16 sections (each 17.5 × 12 km). For a scale of 1:25,000, each section was broken down into four parts (8.75 × 6 km).

The four corner sheets contained information about the map and additional geographical information:

  • top left (sheet no. 1): title page with information such as “measured and published by order of the federal authorities”, “recorded and reduced by federal engineers under the supervision of General G. H. Dufour”, type of projection and scale
  • top right (sheet no. 5): Lists with place names in two national languages ​​each, key to symbols and abbreviations
  • bottom left (sheet no. 21): Scheme of the division into 25 sheets
  • Bottom right (sheet no. 25): Height information on lakes, mountains, passes and places of residence, area of ​​the cantons and area of ​​15 lakes

The 25 sheets are listed in a table below.

reproduction

Approval note from the “Directeur de la Carte” GH Dufour for a drawing for the Dufour card

The original photographs submitted to the topographical bureau were personally checked by Dufour. This was followed by the final drawing on a publication scale of 1: 100,000 (so-called “reduction” from the original recordings on a finer scale). Engravers transferred the final drawing to the copper plate using a pause and worked out the map image with graver . After the engraving, the copperplate printing took place.

The terrain (which is mostly hilly and mountainous in Switzerland) is shown on the Dufour map with shaded hatches , assuming a north-west lighting, whereby the relief effect and the rock drawings appear particularly three-dimensional. This so-called “Swiss manner” earned a lot of praise and brought the Topographical Bureau several international awards.

publication

The publication of the map series in 25 sheets (each 70 × 48 cm) on a scale of 1: 100,000 took place between 1845 and 1865 ( see below for details ). As early as the end of 1864, Dufour had written his final report in which he took stock of his activities and made comments on “work still to be carried out”.

Revised new editions of these sheets appeared by 1939. Maps on the scale of the original photographs were issued from 1870 under the name " Siegfried Map ".

In 2003 swisstopo made the Dufour map digitally usable for the first time: as a “Dufour Map” on a CD-ROM at a price of 148 francs . The option of a cartographic "journey through time" was attractive: users could compare any sections of the Dufour map with the representation in the current national map, either side by side or by overlaying with freely selectable settings, which map should stand out more clearly (stepless blending technique).

The federal geoportal was activated in August 2010 . Since then, internet users have not only been able to use current national maps and geographic information, but also the Dufour map and other historical maps free of charge.

The 25 sheets of the Dufour map

The entire Dufour map is 3.5 × 2.4 meters in size. It is obtained by placing the 25 sheets together in five rows of five sheets each (row 1 = sheets 1 to 5, row 2 = sheets 6 to 10, etc.). The scheme is shown on sheet 21 of the Dufour map. The source of the sheet names and the year is swisstopo .

Sheet
no.		 Row /
column		 designation data
was		 publications
cation		 Remarks
1 1/1 Title page 1855 1855
2 1/2 Belfort , Basel 1846 1848 Belfort is located in France
3 1/3 Liestal , Schaffhausen 1849 1850
4th 1/4 Frauenfeld , St. Gallen 1850 1850
5 1/5 Rheineck 1850 1850 with lists of place names and legend for the map
6th 2/1 Besançon , Le Locle 1846 1848 Besançon is located in France
7th 2/2 Porrentruy , Solothurn 1845 1848
8th 2/3 Aarau , Lucerne , Zug , Zurich 1861 1861
9 2/4 Schwyz , Glarus , Appenzell , Sargans 1854 1854
10 2/5 Feldkirch , Arlberg 1853 1853 Feldkirch and the Arlberg are in Austria
11 3/1 Pontarlier , Yverdon 1849 1850 Pontarlier is located in France
12 3/2 Friborg , Bern 1860 1860
13 3/3 Interlaken , Sarnen , Stans 1864 1865 Was published as the last sheet
14th 3/4 Altdorf , Chur 1859 1859
15th 3/5 Davos , Martinsbruck 1853 1853
16 4/1 Genève , Lausanne 1845 1845 Was published as the second sheet
17th 4/2 Vevey , Sion 1844 1845 Was published as the first sheet
18th 4/3 Brig , Airolo 1854 1855
19th 4/4 Bellinzona , Chiavenna 1858 1858 Chiavenna is located in Italy
20th 4/5 Sondrio , Bormio 1854 1855 Sondrio and Bormio are in Italy
21st 5/1 Fort de l'Ecluse, Sallanches 1848 1848 Fort [de] l'Ecluse and Sallanches are in France;
with a scheme of division into 25 sheets
22nd 5/2 Martigny , Aoste 1861 1861 Aosta is in Italy
23 5/3 Domodossola , Arona 1862 1862 Domodossola and Arona are in Italy
24 5/4 Lugano , Como 1855 1855 Como is in Italy
25th 5/5 Bergamo 1862 1862 Bergamo is in Italy;
with height information and area information

Appreciation and exhibition

The work of Dufour and its employees established the world renown of Swiss cartography and was honored with several international awards.

The contemporary geographer August Petermann rated the Dufour map in his communications as the "most excellent map of the world":

«Dufour's map in 25 sheets combines a precise picture with masterful, natural drawing and beautiful, tasteful engraving in such an excellent way, in such a harmonious whole, and gives such a true-to-nature picture of the imposing alpine nature that we absolutely consider it the most excellent map the world. "

Historians have appreciated the political and cultural-historical dimension of the Dufour map and found that the map series is not only the first geometrically correct depiction of the young federal state from 1848, but is also aesthetically convincing and, as a symbol of national unity, has contributed to the unification of Switzerland.

At the first Swiss National Exhibition in Zurich in 1883, the Dufour card was the main attraction for the 1.7 million visitors. One marveled at the precision and beauty of the large-format map, which visually showed the viewer the political unity of the country. The relief drawing had been retouched especially for the exhibition in order to bring out the three-dimensional effect even more clearly. In the Allgemeine Schweizerische Militär-Zeitung the enthusiasm for the Dufour card as a symbol of the nation was expressed as follows:

«Wess' Swiss breast is not filled with just pride when he sees the sovereign sovereignty to be defended represented in the great, unsurpassable Dufour map on the place of honor opposite the main portal in the industrial building and embraces it with a glance? This exhibition object is the pearl of the entire exhibition, it represents the political unity of Switzerland in the most worthy way. "

As a national symbol, the Dufour card is issued in the National Museum Zurich in two places: in the permanent exhibition History of Switzerland and when entering the extension building opened in 2016. In the Federal Palace, it is emblazoned in the visitor entrance that was newly built in 2008. As a correspondence to the three confederates above the main entrance, the topographic map there is a symbol for the founding of the federal state in 1848.

See also

literature

  • Guillaume Henri Dufour: The Swiss National Survey, 1832–1864. History of the Dufour map, etc. Stämpfli, Bern 1896. British Library , Historical Print Editions, London 2011, ISBN 1-241-38017-1 .
  • Madlena and Alfons Cavelti: The Road to the Modern Map 1750–1865. Switzerland and its neighboring countries on the map. From Cassini to Dufour. Exhibition catalog Kornhaus Bern and ETH Zurich. Plepp, Horw / Köniz 1989.
  • David Gugerli , Daniel Speich : Topographies of the Nation. Politics, Cartographic Order and Landscape in the 19th Century. Chronos, Zurich 2002.
  • Gerhard Ammann: 200 years of "Atlas Suisse". Aarau 2003.
  • Original drawing 1: 25,000 for the Dufour map (1846/51). In: Zurich then and now - a look into the past. New Year's Gazette 2009. Matthieu, Zurich 2009.

Web links

Commons : Topographic map of Switzerland  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : Triangulation Points  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The birth of modern cartography blog.nationalmuseum.ch
  2. ↑ Geodetic Basics of Surveying in the Canton of Aargau Lecture by H. Zoelly, Bern, Head of the Geodesy Section of the Federal Topography, 1926 (PDF; 18 MB), p. 3.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Chronology of work on the Dufour map Federal Office of Topography swisstopo
  4. ↑ Martin Rickenbacher: The basic measurements in the large moss between Walperswil and Sugiez
  5. ↑ Thomas Klöti: Denzler, Hans Heinrich. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  6. ↑ Theo Locher (1954): Bernese mapping at the time of the Dufour map and preliminary work on the Bernese land registry (PDF)
  7. ↑ Hans Heinrich Denzler (1864): The topographical recordings of the Canton of Bern (PDF)
  8. ↑ Overview of the sheets (PDF), cf. Dufour card online at swisstopo
  9. ↑ a b Extract from sheet 5: Signs and abbreviations
  10. ^ Final report by General Dufour on the topographic map of Switzerland. (From December 31, 1864.) In: Swiss Federal Gazette , March 11, 1865 ( PDF ).
  11. ↑ Martin Rickenbacher: Dufour Map: Top cartography in the fourth dimension. A journey through time with General Guillaume-Henri Dufour (PDF; 5.2 MB)
  12. ↑ Dufour Map nzz.ch, March 4, 2004
  13. ^ Online walk on the Dufour card nzz.ch, August 19, 2010.
  14. ^ First edition of the Dufourkarte online Geoportal des Bundes
  15. ↑ Overview of the sheets (PDF) on sheet 21 of the Dufour map
  16. ↑ When you click on the Dufour map online , information on the respective sheet is displayed, including the sheet name and data status (= year in which the geographical data was recorded). A later year of publication, if applicable, can be seen via the link under Bibliographical information . If there is no indication of such a discrepancy, the following can be assumed: year of publication = year of the data status. However, on page 13 with data as of 1864, the different year of publication (1865) was not noted. It is possible that further such information was missed.
  17. ↑ Quoted from Rudolf Wolf : History of Surveying in Switzerland , Zurich 1879, Chapter XX (see table of contents ), Section 159: The so-called Dufour Atlas and the General Map
  18. ^ David Gugerli, Daniel Speich: Topographies of the Nation. Politics, Cartographic Order and Landscape in the 19th Century. Chronos Verlag , Zurich 2002, ISBN 978-3-0340-0548-7 , pp. 9-14.
  19. ↑ J. v. S .: The national exhibition in a military context , in: Allgemeine Schweizerische Militär-Zeitung, Organ of the Swiss Army, 1883 (29), pp. 269–329, here p. 269.
  20. ↑ The Dufour Card - a Swiss cultural heritage , swisstopo.ch, accessed on May 10, 2018.