To the user

Mapscroll.fi has been designed to tell about land surveying and its history. The website describes the special features of land surveying in Finland, and is thus a good introduction to the field. The Mapscroll is useful both to those who know a lot about land surveying and those who know almost nothing about it. Both students and tourists were kept in mind while designing the service. Those who wish to know more will be led further.

Mapscroll.fi consists of four sections.

Place of memory contains information about current events and contacts.

Measure of land tells about the history of land surveying. The online material is a compact description of the land survey field and its significance.

World heritage tells about world heritage sites and especially about the chain of triangulation points known as the Struve Geodetic Arc.

Importance of land is an activity-based webpage directed at schools in particular. It contains tasks concerning the entire website as well as tips for teachers to use in lessons.

Please send feedback concerning Mapscroll.fi using our feedback form (viestinta(at)maanmittauslaitos.fi)

Creators

Content: National Land Survey
Graphic design: Mikko Luotonen
Design and implementation: Virtamieli and Voimo

Copyrights
© 2008 National Land Survey

Terms of use

By using this online service (www.mapscroll.fi and all contents under this URL) the user commits to abide by these terms of use.

Copying, transferring and distribution of the contents of this website in full or in part, with the exception of images, is allowed by permission of the National Land Survey. Permission must be requested in advance. Information about copyrights and terms of use concerning images is found in connection with each image.

It is permitted to use the contents of this website in education and in public communication. The source and URL of the information must be mentioned where it is used.

Place of Memory

Welcome to the National Land Survey of Finland’s history website, www.mapscroll.fi. This site will take you through five centuries of land survey in Finland, describing their impact on the land and its inhabitants. The www.mapscroll.fi website is the memory of land survey.

You can access the Archive Centre and the Land Surveying Museum from these pages. Whether you are a traveller, scientist, student or land survey professional, or just interested in the subject, www.mapscroll.fi is your window to the multi-faceted world of land survey.

The Measure of Land online exhibition

What is the measure of land? The Earth's circumference is 40 000 kilometres and its mass is 5.9737×10²⁴ kg. But how can we measure land without using such units of measurement? What is the meaning of land? Why is land important? What is the cultural measure of land?

Image bank

Are you looking for illustrations? The NLS image bank contains images shown on the Mapscroll.fi website.

Measure of Land

The Measure of Land is an online exhibition on the history of land survey which takes you on a journey through the multifaceted world of land survey. It illustrates the role land survey has played in Finnish society and strives to answer the question: what is the measure of land?

Visit the image bank on this page to view the images shown on the Mapscroll.fi website, including historical photos and maps.

World Heritage

The fascinating Struve Geodetic Arc – a tour de force in land surveying before the satellite era – is the sixth Finnish site accepted to the UNESCO World Heritage List. What makes the Struve Geodetic Arc particularly interesting as a World Heritage site is that it is not actually visible. The significance of the Arc lies in the effort put into its creation.

This page will tell you how the Struve Geodetic Arc came to be created. You can also follow its route, which nowadays runs through ten states. Six of the station points selected for protection are located in Finland.

Exercises for schools

What is land? Is it just the foundation on which everything else is built?

Tips for teachers

Tips for teaching and an invitation to contribute to the development of the material

Importance of Land

An esoteric science, or just dull fiddling with numbers? Land surveying may seem like an obscure branch of science, but it is actually very much present in our daily lives. We use land survey information and geographical data every day without paying much attention to the fact. The examples found on this page were designed as tools for teachers and to provide insightful learning experiences.

This page contains learning material designed to help you consider what land means for all of us. Teachers of various subjects can use the exercises to demonstrate the practical relevance of the topic at hand.

Karttakäärö