ABSTRACT
The north and central regions of Poland are essentially flat and are characterized by morainic topography. This lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain has been a major reason for so many invasions of Poland throughout history. The remainder of Poland was surveyed and mapped by czarist Russia. The dates of this early mapping activity go back to 1816. The tsarist Russians performed surveys and topographic mapping of Poland in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but these works were for military purposes only. They did nothing with respect to individual land ownership registration, and they preferred the sazhen for their unit of measurement. Large-scale topographic maps of Poland published in the latter part of the 20th century are on the “UKLAD 65 System,” the parameters of which have been a closely held secret.
