Národní atlas ČSSR

Summary

This article presents fundamental information on the preparation of the National Atlas of Czechoslovakia. The Congress of Czechoslovak Geographers in 1957 designated the atlas's publication as a primary task, after which the Presidium of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences appointed an editorial board that developed the map list, plan, and model. The atlas, measuring 86×50 cm, uses a main map scale of 1:1,000,000, with each sheet's reverse bearing Russian and English text summaries and explanations. Compared with eleven major foreign national atlases, this atlas ranks third in size, containing over 400 maps on 58 sheets. It employs an equal-area conic projection with a standard parallel at 49°30′, and a scale sequence from 1:1,000,000 to 1:6,000,000. The structure comprises: Introduction (4 sheets), Natural Environment (19), Population and Settlements (7), National Economy (22 – Industry 9, Agriculture 8, Transport and Foreign Trade 5), and Living Standards (6). The article compares the new atlas with the pre-war Atlas of the Czechoslovak Republic, noting that the new edition achieves greater content density through more economical layout without compromising readability. Cartographically, some maps at 1:1,000,000 are designed by municipalities (approximately 12,000 in the CSSR). In the population section, certain cartograms divide districts into inner and outer parts according to the proportion of urban and rural inhabitants, respectively. Relative value scales are typically equidistant, while absolute value scales are gradual or continuous, with symbol areas (usually circles) proportional to phenomenon quantities. The dot method is widely used in the agriculture section, particularly for depicting crop areas. The atlas's creation involved collaboration among numerous geographical institutions, including Academy of Science institutes, the Central Administration of Geodesy and Cartography, and university geography departments. A complete list of map sheets with their scales is appended.