Until recently, the two major government mapping authorities in Romania have been the Military Topographic Department (Directia Topografica Militara (DTM)), and the Institute for Geodesy, Photogrammetry, Cartography and Land Management (Institutul de Geodezie, Fotogrammetrie, Cartografie, si Organizarea Teritoriului (IGFCOT)). This situation has recently changed, following a decision in 1996 by the Romanian Government to establish a combined civilian National Office of Cadastre, Geodesy and Cartography (Oficiul National de Cadastru, Geodezie si Cartografie (ONCGC). Maps continued to be published under the imprint of the previous organizations into the late 1990s.
The DTM operated within the Ministry of Defence, and has been responsible for carrying out geodetic survey and the production of topographic mapping for military purposes and for use by other official state organizations since 1859. Topographic survey at a basic scales of 1:20,000 or 1:10,000 made good progress from 1875, and continued up until the First World War. Subsequently, in the inter-war years, a series of Directorial Plans at 1:20,000 was compiled for the whole country, together with derived maps at 1:100.000 and 1:200,000 scales.
Following the Conference of East European Cartographic and Geodetic Services held at Sofia in 1952, new topographic series were initiated according to the Soviet 1942 system. The projection is Gauss-Krϋger, Krassovsky ellipsoid, while a modified polyconic projection has been used for 1:500,000 and 1:1,000,000 scales. Sheet lines conform with the International map of the World system, and printing is in seven colors.
Soviet military topographic mapping of Romania exists at the following scales: 1:1,000,000 (7 sheets, complete coverage, published 1979-1990); 1:500,000 (15 sheets, complete coverage, published 1977-1989); 1:200,000 (64 sheets, complete coverage, published 1970-1993); 1:100,000 (202 sheets, complete coverage, published 1973-1984); 1:50,000 (731 sheets, complete coverage, published 1971-1994) and city (1:10,000 to 1:15,000) topographic mapping of 35 major cities from Alba Iulia to Zimnicea published between 1950 and 1987. These products are available in print, digital raster and digital vector GIS formats from East View Geospatial.
From 1958, a number of town maps at scales of 1:5,000 or 1:10,000 were also made, initially on the Gauss-Krϋger projection, but after 1970 on a stereographic projection. More than 100 such sheets have been produced. There is also a street map of Bucharest in four sheets at 1:15,000 derived from larger scale surveys, which is revised annually.
The 1:50,000 series in 737 sheets is now regarded as the base map. It was revised in the period 1965-72 using aerial photographs, and is currently being updated again with the intention of establishing a revision cycle of five to six years. The 1:25,000 will be retained, but revision only at 15-20-year intervals, except for sheets covering areas of rapid change.
Geo Strategies SA, Sibiu, is a private company established in 1993, which has rapidly become a major producer of digital mapping, initially specializing in data for Romania and other countries of the former East European bloc, and now extending cover to areas in the Near and Middle East. Its main task has been the vector digitizing of the Romanian topographic map archive. This work includes maps at scales ranging from the 1:1,000,000 map of administrative areas to topographic map series at 1:200,000 and 1:100,000 scales, and urban mapping at 1:5,000 and 1:1,000. There is also a digital version of the 1:1,000,000 scale geological map and a 100 m interval Digital Terrain Model of the whole country.
Earth science mapping is the responsibility of the Geological Institute of Romania (Institutul Geologic al României (IGR)), established in 1906 and superseding the Geological Bureau founded in 1882. A series of 1:200,000 scale geological sheets was published for the whole country over the period 1965─68. Magnetic maps at the same scale cover the southern part of the country. The most detailed geological series, however, is at 1:50,000 scale. Some 136 sheets have been published, and this is an active series with many more sheets in preparation. Other series maps include hydrogeological maps at 1:100,000 scale which cover the south and northeast and a few 1:50,000 sheets in a metallogenic and a hydrogeological series. Particularly useful for general reference purposes is the 1:1,000,000 scale geological atlas, which comprises 17 sheets covering a wide range of themes, including some not strictly geological, such as a soil map and a geobotanical map.
Soil mapping has a long tradition, and the current soil survey organization, Institutul de Cercetari pentru Pedologie si Agronomie (ICPPA) completed the principal series of 1:200,000 scale soil maps, initiated in 1963. It is intended to derive new 1:1,000,000 and 1:500,000 scale maps from this series.
Amco Press is a private company specializing in map and atlas production and GIS. They have produced road, tourist and wall maps of Romania, hiking maps of some mountain areas, and street maps of Romanian cities. Currently they are cooperating with the University of Bucharest in the production of a 1:50,000 scale series of geomorphological maps of Romania, with funding from the World Bank.
The Romanian national atlas, Atlasul Republicii Socialiste Romania, was prepared by the Geographical Institute of the Romanian Academy of Sciences (Institutul de Geografie Academia Româna (IGAC)) and published during the period 1974-79. This substantial work has numerous foldout maps at the principal scale of 1:1,000,000, arranged into 13 subject areas. Texts and legends are in Romanian, French, English and Russian. The Institute continues to have an active interest in mapping, and a historical-geographical atlas was published by Editura Academiei Române in 1996.
IGFCOT has been the primary civilian mapping institute, producing tourist, thematic, city and administrative mapping. It has also undertaken cadastral mapping, being responsible for a cadastral/land use planning series in 597 sheets, compiled in the 1980s. Most of the territory was also covered by cadastral maps at the scale of 1:10,000 or 1:5,000. A series of judet (county) maps at 1:100,000 scale in 41 sheets include small thematic inset maps of industries, soil and features of cultural and tourist interest.
In 1989, the publishing house Editura Sport-Turism, was disbanded and the publishing element replaced by Casa Editoriala pentru Turism si Cultura ‘Abeona’ (Abeona). Abeona has published a series of tourist maps (Harta turistica) at scales mainly of 1:100,000 or 1:50,000 and with legends in four languages. Mountain tourist maps are also published by Regio Autonoma a Imprimeriilor. Maps for educational instruction, including school atlases, globes and wall maps, are published by Editura Didactica si Pedagogica, founded in 1951.
Tourist and general maps of the country are published by a number of well-known European publishers, including Cartographia, Kummerly + Frey (K+F), Freytag Berndt (FB), Hallwag, Mair and Ravenstein.
Statistical data about the economy and society are collected and disseminated by the National Commission for Statistics (Comisia Nationala pentru Statistica).
Copyright © 2014 De Gruyter for e-version of World Mapping Today, 2nd Edition | Copyright © 2019 East View Geospatial, Inc.
