Last check: 05/25/2026 Slap count: 4 Last checked ID: 16777215
4 December 2012 - new maps
wig_news_EN
166
sheets of a WIG 1:100,000 series have been added, all 300 dpi &
600 dpi
(Mapster index sheet).
These are older editions, dated
1920 – 1925, from private collection. Please note! - map sheets from
the area of "Kresy" (Borderlands), approximately east of Pas 42, which
cover the area of Russian 2-verst map (1:84 000) – do NOT
exactly correspond to the later WIG editions, even though they might
have the same sheet name - and the discrepancy grows the
further to the east a sheet is from the Pas 42. This
WIG index sheet dated 1924 (approx. 8 MB) might help to see
the issue clearly. Therefore, a list of WIG 1:100 000 maps has been
split into the older editions and the newer ones. The sheets now added
have been marked on this list, available
through Mapster.
Because the new sheets are based on Austrian German and Russian
original maps, they might appear, at first sight, to be quite
primitive. The most typical change is the updated place-names (in
Polish) or Russian (Cyrillic) changed into Latin. That said,
some sheets are quite impressively redone such as a
multi-colour Mir-Stołpce.
These early editions, even though somewhat crude perhaps, are really
valuable, as they show the area right after "Great War", as WW1 used to
be known at that time. Moreover, sheets extending far into the
territory of what would be the Soviet Union, mark the hamlets of Polish
impoverished gentry (zaścianek, zaścianki), which disappeared from
later map editions. For those familiar with Polish, the sheets offer a
bewildering array of place-names which, although mostly of Polish
origin, actually make no sense in contemporary Polish, and more akin to
Jabberwocky, e.g. Dzirkal, Smacz,
Czeremoszniki Podzisienne, Ażubel, Nunniki, Chrapunia, Ergał,
Azopniki, Zaścianek Usoch (Zahibel), Uroczysko Baby-Woda, Uroczysko pod
Winpiszczem, Folwark Stary Zamek-Birża, Dwór Smolgów or Błoto Lodowe
Jezioro.
Two sheets of WIG
1:500,000 maps, sheets Przemyśl and Wiedeń (Vienna), have
also been added, both in "temporary edition", dated summer 1939.
Another, minor update is 10 sheets of Russian
2-verst map (1:84,000) from Latvia, and one from the Ukraine
(Zhytomir). A larger number of those maps can be expected next year.
We have added approx. 120 sheets of 1:25,000 maps covering mainly
Western Poland and Mazowsze. The scans come courtesy of Wydział
Geografii i Studiów Regionalnych Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
(Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies, University of Warsaw), and
of private collectors. Most sheets are pre-WW2 editions, several are
dated early 1950s (maps reprinted by W.Z.K. - Military Cartographic
Works) and approx. 20 others are German editions from WW2. New maps
have been marked on a list in Mapster
and are also accessible via the usual
index sheet.
Courtesy of a famous map collector, Mr David Rumsey (David Rumsay Map
Collection), we have received permission to make available a
full set of scans for a "flagship" Prussian map, Karte des
Deutschen Reiches, in 1:100,000 scale. The sheets come from a rare, late
19th century edition of this map. The maps were professionally scanned and are
available via Mapster in full resolution (600 dpi), in two variants -
the original images, which show the sheets cut up and glued on a piece
of cloth, as well as in a "composite" variant, where individual segments
have been stitched in a graphic program. Please remember - the files are large (40 - 50 Mb), so the best way to get them is to right-click them with a mouse and "save as..." to your computer.
We have also received a permission from another US map
collector, Mr Andrew Kapochunas (www.Lithuanianmaps.com)
to show his collection of pre-1939 maps, Latvian 1:75,000 and
Lithuanian 1:100,000 series. The scans are available in 300 dpi
(resolution they were scanned at).
The above-mentioned maps are available on the same, non-commercial
basis. We promise to forward inquiries related to potential commercial
application. Alternatively, you can contact the owners directly, via
web sitess mentioned above.
Just over 300 sheeets of German 1:25,000 Topographische Karte
(Messtischblatt) have been added to Mapster. New sheets, marked
"New" on this Mapster list, are mostly different editions of
the maps already available but there are some sheets filling up the
gaps too.
Courtesy of the University
of Chicago Library, we have added approx. 390 sheets of a
detailed W.I.G. map in 1:25,000 scale - both the list of
new sheets and index
sheet available in Mapster). The majority of new maps come
from the area of "Kresy" (Borderlands) to the east of pre-WW2 Poland,
and they are, predominantly, from 1930s. A couple of sheets are dated
September 1939.
The following map collections (links on the left) have been updated:
• Other Central European maps
• KUK (Austro-Hungarian) maps
• German maps - 1919
• German maps - 1919
• Town plans
As some files are very large (40 - 90 Mb), we would recommend to save them to the hard drive first (mouse right-click and "Save as...")
We've applied some rather significant updates to the "machinery" that runs this site. This should make the site more secure and allow us to add new features. But, as usual, there is the chance of trouble. If you notice anything missing or not working, please notify us at email address given in the "Authors & Contact" page (link at left). We will do our best to fix the problem as quickly as possible.
Today is 72th anniversary of the outbreak of World War 2. To coincide, we have added approximately 230 new sheets of 1:25,000 maps which cover west, central and south part of Poland, including the sheet we lacked previously (Westerplatte) and an older, 1926 colour edition of the Gdansk - Danzig sheet.
The new scans are the first batch of approx 1300 sheets scanned this summer which are due to be added to the collection over the next few months (next, larger batch, probably in October).
Most of the maps comes courtesy of Department of Geography, Teaching University in Krakow, Poland, who not only shared their map collection with us, but also provided substantial "logistics support" in scanning them. New maps are available, for the time being, only via Mapster.
Unfortunately, the table (list) of 1:25,000 maps on our website is so long that the html editors we used can't cope with adding any more lines and we need to test new software, before the maps become available directly through our website. As usual, we would appreciate users' comments on any errors and problems with the new maps.
• 1:100,000 (British / American series M651 / GSGS 4416 Central Europe: Germany, Poland, Middle Danube, sheets east of the Oder River),
• 1:250,000 (British air series GSGS 4346 Central Europe), sheets (roughly) east of the Oder River,
• 1:50,000 (series M752 East Prussia), US maps from mid-1950s, showing the Kaliningrad area, formerly East Preussen (East Prussia).
All maps will be available, as usual, via Mapster index sheets. Missing 1:250,000 sheets (Warszawa, Åódź, Tilsit) should become available after summer, around September 2011. At that time we will also try to add about 100 sheets of the AMS 1:50,000 map of Poland (M753).
Sorry to say, this web site has been unavailable intermittently in the past several days. Our hosting service told us this was due to a problem (unspecified) that might take them several days to fix. As of today, the site seems OK, and we hope this is the end of the difficulties.
Hey, Marek! Trying to access maps at your page "Other Central European Maps, via both Chrome and Opera browsers, I get the dialog box "File not found (404 error)
If you think what you'r
Hello: I do Polish Genealogy. I need a topo map of Poland with major cities which I’ve never been able to find on the WEB. It should show post partition Poland with an out line of pre-partition Pola
Hi:
Are there any other maps showing parishes such as:
Andrzej Tomczak
Siec parafialna
Wojewoddztwa pomorskiego
Okregu bytowskiego I leborskiego
W drugiej polowie xvi wieku
Skala 1:300.
Thanks
