Mission
The National Survey and Cadastre is Denmark’s public authority for the management and distribution of geographic information.
Vision
The National Survey and Cadastre's vision is to provide Denmark's public sector, private companies and general public with accurate and updated geographic information about the territories and waters of Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
Responsibility and Tasks
The National Survey and Cadastre is Denmark's central authority for surveying, topographic- and hydrographic- mapping, land registration and the authorization of surveyors.
Modern Maps and Spatial Data
Since 2002, the National Survey and Cadastre has been responsible for Denmark's national geographic infrastructure. The country is moving towards the implementation of a broad eGovernment strategy in which geodata will serve a central role. The National Survey and Cadastre promotes Denmark's goals for more efficient public administration.
The establishment of a national geodata-based infrastructure presupposes that all Danish authorities that work with geodata have a common understanding and a solid base for cooperation. The implementation of FOT (Common Object Types) has helped to ensure that the geographic databases held by these authorities are streamlined and can be integrated.
History
Although the National Survey and Cadastre was not officially established until 1989, the authority's roots extend back to 1757, when the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters undertook the first comprehensive triangulation survey of Denmark.
The surveying work was handed over to The Danish Survey in 1816, while cartographic responsibilities came under the Danish Army's Topographic Mapping Department in 1842. These two institutions were merged in 1928, forming the Danish Geodetic Institute.
The history of systematic charting of Danish waters reaches at least as far back as mapping of the country's territories. The country's first centralised nautical chart archive was established in 1784. Hydrographic surveying, chart production and distribution became the archive's official responsibilities.
The history of Denmark's modern cadastral mapping system began in 1804, when the Danish government recognised the need to maintain accurate property records for taxation purposes. The cadastre was- and remains- a concrete tool for protecting land owner's property rights.
The National Survey and Cadastre itself was established in 1989 with the merger of Denmark's Geodetic Institute, Hydrographic Department and Cadastral Department. The authority operated under the Ministry of Housing until 2001, when it was transferred to the Ministry of the Environment.
Until 2004, the National Survey and Cadastre functioned both as a mapping authority and as a geographic sector research institute. On July 1, 2004, responsibility for seismology was transferred to The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS). Six months later, on January 1, 2005, all research activities related to cartography and geodesy were transferred to the Danish National Space Centre .
The National Survey and Cadastre has been working under its current organisational structure since January 1, 2005. More information about this structure and the individual departments' areas of responsibility is available here .