Atlas of the Federal Republic of Germany

This article reports on the pilot volume of the planned twelve-volume Atlas of the Federal Republic of Germany, produced by the Leipzig Institute for Regional Geography and presented at major geographical and cartographic conferences in 1997. Comprising 25 thematically diverse contributions and a demonstration CD with interactive map-construction and multimedia components, the pilot volume is intended to stimulate professional discussion concerning the atlas’s conceptual framework, visual design, cartographic implementation, and substantive orientation. The project is institutionally supported by Germany’s principal geographical and cartographic associations. Initial reception was highly positive: nearly 1,000 copies were sold within six weeks, while political representatives, federal ministers, the Saxon prime minister, and the federal chancellor expressed support; the chancellor also assumed patronage. Media coverage demonstrated considerable public interest but revealed limited understanding of how a national atlas differs from conventional school or road atlases. Conceived as a representative achievement of German geography and cartography, the atlas will address twelve broad thematic fields, including society, environment, population, settlements, markets, living standards, mobility, culture, recreation, and Germany’s global position. The article primarily calls for expert participation as volume coordinators. Coordinators will develop thematic concepts, recruit authors, organize submissions, and prepare introductory sections, whereas the institute will manage editing, cartography, textual processing, and electronic publication. The initiative thus combines scholarly cooperation, institutional coordination, and multimedia cartography to create a comprehensive and publicly accessible national reference work.