Maps of France from Cassini to Google
Between the 17th and 18th centuries, four generation of the Cassini family set out to draw detailed maps of France, and given the poor condition of roads and information available they did an exceptional job of it. The ‘final’ versions of these were published in the years following the French revolution, based on pre-Revolution information, and they contain a very impressive level of detail.
I found out about the Cassini France maps because a couple of years ago we bought a copy of the one for our region - on which I’m pleased to say that our property features. This is useful of course because whenever somebody boasts how much older their own house is than ours, I can wave my map around, say ‘Funny the Cassinis didn’t mention it then’, and smile politely.
I was reminded of this map when I heard that the entire French cadastrale system is now available on the internet - the whole of France is divided into loads of small plots of land, which are individually numbered and marked on these plans.
Getting these live on the internet is another amazing feat since I had assumed the number and details simply stayed locked away in a dusty cupboard at the local notaire’s office.
Apparently not, and now if you are ever buying a property in France you can track its exact position down on the legal documents, all from the comfort of your own home - the contract for purchase will tell you the cadastral number. Check at www.cadastre.gouv.fr if you are interested.
They haven’t yet combined it with satellite pictures unfortunately, so you have to find the geo-coordinates and head over to google earth if you want to see the terrain. It would be nice if the two could be superimposed in due course - that’s a good idea for a website for some bored estate agent, if you know one, or are one.
Leaping forward 200 years, apparently some places on google earth have now been blacked out, because of the security risk they present - I think the Chinese were getting nervous because they could zoom in to see an American army recruit sat with his finger poised on the nuclear button. or something like that.
Anyway in an effort to stay up with technology and maps I have combined lots of places in France into one map - see lots of places in France on a map if you have a high speed connection. Pretty cool, if I do say so myself, but it does remind me there are still quite a lot of places in France left to track down, visit and investigate.
Still, if the Cassini brothers took four generations and 150 years to finish the job, I (and my descendants) have still got 148 years left to go before we overtake them.
