Národní atlas ČSSR

Summary

This article presents the fundamental compilation and preparatory processes involved in the National Atlas of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. The atlas project originated from the 1957 Congress of the Czechoslovak Geographical Society, where it was designated as one of the primary tasks of Czechoslovak geography. Compared with the pre-war Atlas of the Czechoslovak Republic (1935), the involvement of geographers in the authorial team and editorial work was significantly enhanced. The article also underscores the international context: in 1956, the International Geographical Union (IGU) decided at its Rio de Janeiro Congress to establish a Commission on National Atlases, after which the compilation of national atlases became a core task of world geography. The article provides a detailed description of the atlas's technical design. The unfolded sheet size is 86 cm × 50 cm, allowing the entire country to be presented on a single page at a basic scale of 1:1,000,000; the map image itself measures 80 cm × 43 cm. Bound sheets are approximately 47 cm × 52 cm. Each map is accompanied on its reverse by explanatory text, as well as Russian and English summaries and legends. The atlas employs an equal-area conic projection with standard parallels at 49°30′ N, and the scale sequence is 1:1,000,000, 1:2,000,000, 1:3,000,000, 1:4,000,000, 1:5,000,000, and 1:6,000,000. The maximum linear distortion is only 0.4‰, and angular distortion is 3′, rendering the distortions negligible. The atlas's content is divided into five main sections according to the recommendations of the IGU Commission: Introduction (4 sheets), Natural Environment (19 sheets), Population and Settlements (7 sheets), National Economy (22 sheets, of which 9 cover industry, 8 agriculture, and 5 transport and foreign trade), and Living Standards (6 sheets). A comparison with major foreign national atlases reveals that the Czechoslovak atlas ranks third in total cartographic area, following the Canadian and Soviet atlases. The article also mentions specific cartographic methods, such as maps drawn by local communities (approximately 12,000 units), choropleth diagrams by districts illustrating urban-rural differences, and the dot method used in agriculture. Finally, the article lists the names, contents, and scales of all 58 maps, accompanied by references. The atlas reflects the collaboration of numerous institutions, including the Institute of Geography of the Academy of Sciences, the Central Administration of Geodesy and Cartography, and university geography departments. It represents not only a significant achievement of Czechoslovak geography but also an important contribution to world cartography.