ABSTRACT
Models are tools of various disciplines. They are a prerequisite of communication in and between the disciplines. A model is made up by purpose-oriented classification and reduction of the original. Every modelling process is primarily a generalization process. Since the 60s, cartographic model theory has developed on the basis of information theory, communication theory and semiology. Cartographic model theory has its roots in the fundamental human concept of mapping, i.e. the activity of every human being to secure their existence by defining their location in space and the accessibility of the spatial environment. Cartographic model theory describes the communication process related to geoinformation using three types of models of the environment: primary models provided by the disciplines involved, primary models provided by the disciplines involved, and tertiary models resulting from the thought processes of the map users (cognitive maps).
