Croatia seceded from former Yugoslavia in 1991, becoming an independent Republic. As with other former Yugoslav territories, the topographic mapping had until that time been in the hands of the Military Geographical Institute in Belgrade.
Before the break-up of Yugoslavia, topographic and cadastral plans had been in progress at scales of 1:500, 1:1,000, 1:2,000 and 1:2,500, and there was a Croatian state map at the scale of 1:5,000. Yugoslavian military map series at scales of 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 also covered the country.
The production of all these maps is now in the civilian domain and is the responsibility of the State Geodetic Administration (Drzavna Geodetska Uprava), Zagreb. The actual production of maps however is carried out by the Photogrammetric Company of Zagreb (Zavod za Fotogrametriju) and by geodetic companies in Rijeka, Split and Osijek. Military mapping and geodetic control remains the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence (Ministarstvo Obrane Republike Hvratske (MORH). MORH also produces aeronautical charts, and is preparing a variety of smaller scale administrative and relief maps.
After Croatian independence, the reprographic material for the topographic series at scales of 1:25,000 and smaller were retained at Belgrade. Following a study commissioned from the Photogrammetric Company of Zagreb and the Faculty of Geodesy, University of Zagreb. A new official topographic information system for Croatia is being developed, ARC/ INFO software has been acquired for this purpose and new digital 1:100,000 and 1:25,000 scale series are in progress. Initially, the military topographic maps were scanned and separated for four color process printing. In addition the sheets have been redesigned with new marginal information and a new sheet layout, and the toponymy has been revised. New, structured vector data are being prepared for areas of primary economic interest. The digital topographic maps derived from these data comprise the Croatian bask map at 1:5,000 scale (HOK) and the 1:25,000 scale digital topographic map (HTZ25).
Soviet military topographic mapping of Croatia exists at the following scales: 1:1,000,000 (4 sheets, complete coverage, published 1981-1990); 1:500,000 (7 sheets, complete coverage, published 1978-1987); 1:200,000 (31 sheets, complete coverage, published 1978-1988); 1:100,000 (82 sheets, complete coverage, published 1976-1987); 1:50,000 (258 sheets, complete coverage, published 1973-1991) and city (1:10,000) topographic mapping of Rijeka, Split and Zagreb published between 1975 and 1982. These products are available in print, digital raster and digital vector GIS formats from East View Geospatial.
Nautical charts are produced by the State Hydrographic Institute at Split (Drzavni Hidrografski Institut u Splitu).
They include a series of 16 coastal charts at 1:100,000 scale, smaller scale charts of the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, and a variety of larger scale charts of coastal passages and harbours.
Geological mapping was formerly carried out by a Federal Geological Bureau as part of a unified series for Yugoslavia at 1:100,000 scale. In the 1990s, a new digital hydrological and engineering geological mapping program has been initiated by the Geological Research Institute (Institut za Geoloska Istraivanja) in Zagreb. Sheets cover a 30’x20′ quadrangle, and began appearing in 1996. Some 16 hydrogeological sheets had been published by 1999, and several sheets of engineering geology and of mineral deposits. A 1:300,000 scale hydrogeological map of the whole of the Republic was published in 1996, and an engineering geological map at the same scale in 1998. A 1:50,000 scale basic map series has also been initiated.
Institutes within the University of Zagreb have been very active in undertaking new mapping programs, many of them funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology. A number of mapping projects have been carried out within the Institute for Cartography (Zavod za Kartografiju) in the Faculty of Geodesy, or by its staff working privately. These include tourist maps of Zagreb, and of Croatia as a whole.
The Department of Soil Science in the Faculty of Agriculture has been active in developing digital soil information systems, based partly on a 1:50,000 scale soil series in existence from earlier years. Recent work has included the development of a geographic and land information system for the city and county of Zagreb. A 1:30,000 scale soil map of Primorje and Gorski Kotar county has also been produced, and the Department has contributed to the revised FAO/UNESCO 1:1,000,000 scale soil map of Europe with production of a digital soil map of Croatia at this scale.
Also active is a project organised by the Department of Geography (Geografski Odsjek) at Zagreb University to produce a 1:100,000 scale geomorphological map cover of the country, while a companion series of vegetation maps is being prepared by the Pharmaceutical and Biochemical Faculty (Farmaceutsko-biokemijski Fakultet) at Zagreb University. By 1999, 10 sheets of the latter had been printed.
A number of new, small independent cartographic studios have also appeared in the last few years. Some of these have undertaken work for the State Geodetic Administration, or are producing maps for regional administrative agencies and tourist offices. Many also publish under their own imprint. Naklado ‘Zadro’ produced the first map of Croatia following its independence, and this small private company has produced a road atlas of the Balkan republics and has begun a series of tourist maps and guides. The Cartographic Laboratory Krizovan (Kartografski Laboratorij Krizovan (KLK)), founded in 1992, has produced a 1:1,000,000 scale motoring atlas of Croatia and adjacent countries and some larger scale tourist maps, and also cooperates with the Faculty of Geodesy at Zagreb University on work for the Ministry of Defence. GEOdata, Split, founded in 1993, provides a variety of cartographic, surveying and GIS services, while Geofoto, also founded in 1993, specializes in aerial photography, photogrammetry, and the production of both digital and analogue maps. It has contributed to sheets in the 1:5,000 scale Croatian basic map, and has produced a digital orthophoto cover of the Zagreb region. GISDATA provides international services in geographic information systems, remote sensing and GIS, with its principal customers being in the Balkan countries. Geodetic Company, Osijek, also provides GIS services and has produced cadastral and city street mapping.
Among the commercial map publishers in Zagreb are two long established companies. The ‘Miroslav Krleza’ Lexicographical Institute (Leksikografski Zavod ‘Miroslav Krleza’ (LZMK)) specializes mainly in the production of maps for atlases and encyclopedias, using traditional cartographic techniques. Also among its recent products are several 1:1,000,000 scale maps, a general atlas of Croatia published jointly with Školska Knjiga, and a road atlas. The Concise atlas of the Republic of Croatia, published in English, and completed in 1993, has been designed to provide information about the country for an overseas readership. In addition to numerous thematic maps, the atlas contains general maps covering Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Croatia at a scale of 1:500,000, and 1:200,000 scale maps of the more urbanized regions. Some of the maps in this atlas were adapted from the geographical atlas, Zemljopisni atlas, published the previous year. The road atlas covers Bosnia and Slovenia as well as Croatia and includes road map cover at 1:500,000 and a number of town maps. An atlas of the New Europe was published in 1997. Hrvatska Školska Kartografija (HSK), formerly ‘Kartografija-Ucila’, was founded in 1947 and specializes in the production of maps, atlases, wall maps and globes for the educational market and also cooperates with Školska Knjiga (SK), a leading publisher of educational materials, which has also produced maps of Zagreb and Croatia, and a series of regional guides.
Cadastral mapping of Zagreb is carried out by the Central Cadastral Office, (Gradski Zavod za Kataster i Geodetske Poslove). A GIS has been established in collaboration with the City of Zagreb Data Processing Center and a digital land register is being compiled. As a basis for this, 360 sheets of the 1:5,000 scale Croatian state map have been scanned and vector formatted. Larger scale plans of municipalities are also being added to the database. Digital orthophotography of Zagreb is also available.
An official tourist map of Croatia was published in 1998 by the Croatian Tourist Board (Ministarstvo Turizma Republike Hrvatske (MTRH)). A number of tourist maps of Croatia are published by Freytag-Berndt (FB), Vienna, with cartography by KLK.
Economic and social statistical data are collected by the Central Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Croatia, (Drzavni Zavod za Statistiku Hrvatske). Demographic and ethnic maps are included in many of its publications, and a gridded spatial database of statistical data is held.
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