What is the Swiss Federal Topographical Bureau?

swisstopo is participating in the Year for Cultural Heritage by exhibiting its many contributions in this field. Discover its rich program throughout 2018, from the founding document that is the Dufour map to the documenting of the long-term evolution of the landscape based on geodata of increasing variation.

The constant evolution of the Swiss mapping tradition since the creation of the “Swiss Federal Topographical Bureau” in 1838 by Guillaume-Henri Dufour allows to precisely document over a century of landscape changes. swisstopo’s maps and geodata are true witnesses to the landscape of their time and also reflect its techniques, concerns and culture in general.

Topographical maps thus constitute cultural assets of national importance in their own right, as well as having the characteristic of graphically representing many of these objects. Just as important as its maps, swisstopo also has an important collection of aerial and terrestrial photographs, the oldest dating back to 1915. The evolution of techniques and tools throughout the Office’s 180-year history is an equally important cultural heritage.