History of geodetic works in Vojvodina (Northern Serbia) and use of old maps in Serbian national spatial data infrastructure

Abstract

Imperial hegemony established by the Habsburg Monarchy relied upon proper mapping during its conquests. The need for the development of geodesy and establishing reference frames was important. Until the end of the First World War, Vojvodina belonged to the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, so all of its surveys were carried out as part of many organized land surveys in the Monarchy. Today, more than 100 years after Vojvodina became the Autonomous Province of Serbia, the network developed by the Monarchy and cadastral plans from that period are still in use. In this paper, in addition to a historical overview of military and cadastral surveys in Vojvodina, we will show data that have historical significance and are available on the Internet and in historical archives. We will also emphasize how the maps available in historical archives of the neighbouring countries could have been used to set up Serbian national spatial data infrastructure.