Atlas of Belgium

This article presents the rationale, international context, organization, and planned contents of the Belgian National Atlas. Unlike conventional “dictionary atlases,” which primarily compile boundaries, relief, hydrography, settlements, and transport networks, a national atlas should offer a systematic and explanatory account of a country’s physical, human, and economic geography. It thus serves not only as a fundamental research tool for geographers, but also as a reliable source for public administration, infrastructure planning, agriculture, reconstruction, industry, and commerce, while promoting informed understanding of the country abroad. After reviewing precedents in Canada, Finland, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Italy, the Soviet Union, France, Estonia, Switzerland, Denmark, and Britain, the article traces the Belgian project from the establishment of the Belgian National Committee of Geography through proposals formulated in 1932 and 1937, wartime interruption, and the creation of a dedicated Atlas Commission in 1946. This commission defines each map’s subject and treatment, recruits specialists, evaluates drafts, and submits final versions to the Committee for approval; individual authors retain immediate responsibility for signed maps. The projected folio atlas, largely mapped at 1:500,000, comprises forty-nine thematic plates covering cartography and geophysics, geology and morphology, climatology, hydrography, coastal and marine geography, biogeography, human geography, agriculture and forestry, industry, commerce, regional geography, and political geography. With multilingual national representation, technical production entrusted to the Military Geographical Institute, and state funding, the project is presented as a scientifically authoritative and practically valuable national undertaking, with initial plates expected in 1947.