Historical Map of the Month: November 04.11.2024 - The selected map from the archive takes us back to 1926 and shows Europe in the interwar period. The political structures of the Soviet Union and important transport routes come to life - from the Baltic to North Africa.

In November, the Federal Office of Metrology and Surveying - BEV presents a historical map of Europe from 1926. This map, published by the Kartographische, former Militärgeographische Institut, offers a detailed insight into the political and administrative boundaries of that time as well as the most important transport routes.

The map shows the extensive division of the Soviet Union into various republics and autonomous territories such as the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia, the Autonomous Soviet Republic of Tataria and many more. This diversity illustrates the complex federal system within the USSR at that time.

Of particular interest are the waterways marked with times indicating the connections between European and international cities, such as the route “Lübeck-Riga 55 hours” or “Lisbon - Rio de Janeiro 16 days”. These references to the travel times of the time provide fascinating insights into the speed and availability of transportation in the 1920s.

The map also shows striking differences to today's political boundaries: The German Reich is visible in its historical borders, Lebanon is not yet an independent state, and Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia (“Southern Slavia”) are still on the map. In addition, large desert areas in Algeria and Arabia remain unexplored and inaccurately mapped as “white spots”.

This historical map of the month invites you to rediscover the geopolitical conditions and transportation routes of 1926 and thus visually retrace a piece of history.

Title: Europe
Publisher: Kartographisches Institut (formerly: Militärgeographische Institut)
Scale: 1:12 000 000
Publication: 1926
Format: 680 x 530 mm

The former historical maps of the month can be viewed in our online archive.