• Start ›
  • Overview
  • Release
  • Installation
• Maps ›
  • Northern Europe
  • Eastern Europe
  • South Eastern Europe
  • Southern Europe
  • Western Europe
  • Middle Europe
  • Mountains
  • Others
• Documentation ›
  • Map legend
  • Design
  • Indexsearch
  • Routing
  • Development
  • Bits and Pieces
  • Call for Help
• About

On our own behalf

Virus warnings
We occasionally receive emails from concerned users that their virus scanner has "failed". So far, all reports have turned out to be false alarms. Due to the system environment used system environment used, we estimate the probability of a virus attack to be very low. However, we cannot rule it out with absolute certainty. We therefore ask you to virus messages should first be checked by a second virus scanner.

Mail etiquette
Oh yes, of course we would also like to know who we are communicating with, who is helping the project with project with tips and suggestions, and who we send our answers to.

Map representation in BaseCamp: The northernmost point of Germany - (called elbow) the north end of the island of Sylt to 0m altitude. Good to see the last dunes Germany - which are shifting the way around 3-7 meters per year to the east.

Known Issues

Order of rendering lines
The order in which lines are rendered can (sadly) not be changed and is therefore random. This means that with overlapping or crossing lines it is not possible to define which line is on top and which line goes below. This may lead to unwanted effects, e. g. bridges over a river may seem interrupted by a gap. This gap exists in the rendering because the river line goes on top of the bridge line. Routing is not effected through this.

Colors and contrast
The design was created with rather "pale" colors and an "average" contrast. Road, paths and many important symbols are displayed more distinctly. The overall design follows the style of OpenStreetMap

Printing using BaseCamp on macOS
While printing a map using BaseCamp on macOS symbols are turned by 180 degrees and additionally mirrored. With BaseCamp on windows this does not happen.

Map representation in BaseCamp: The southernmost point of Germany marked by the state boundary markers No. 147 1883m altitude.

Tips and tricks

Symbols of public transportation
Especially for passengers of public transportation the symbols of train stations, bus stops and subway stations are displayed concisely. It is possible to prevent these symbols from being displayed. Therefore you have to deactivate the following display settings:
Hide Map Features -> Transportation -> Ground Transportation
Hide Map Features -> Transportation -> Transit Service

Symbols for places of worship
Religious places like churches, mosques and synagogues are usually significant and well known points for orientation. The symbols for these places are concise. It is possible to prevent these symbols from being displayed. Therefore you have to deactivate the following display settings:
Hide Map Features -> Community -> Place of Worship

Symbols for banks / ATMs
"Leisure time is expensive" - therefore the symbol for ATMs is concise. It is possible to prevent these symbols from being displayed. Therefore you have to deactivate the following display settings:
Hide Map Features -> Bank/ATM

Visibility of POIs on your GPS device
Many POIs are only visible on maximum zoom. From the viewpoint of clarity this is a good feature. But with a GPS device you may not want to see more POIs in other zooming levels. Many GPS devices provide settings for customizing the level for which POIs are being displayed. E. g. on a Dakota-20 you find these settings here:
Setup -> Map -> Advanced Map Setup -> Zoom Levels -> Map Points

Elevation lines
Elevation lines provide important additional information for mountainous areas, where on plain area these may be bothersome. It is possible to prevent these lines from being displayed.
Hide Map Features -> Contour -> Topographic

BaseCamp on a macOS
If you want to use the Freizeitkarte maps on your Mac you have to install the App BaseCamp from the App Store (or Garmin). Additionally the programms MapManager and MapInstall (Garmin) are required. The actual installation of the Freizeitkarte map is done by MapManager. All files ending with ".gmap" will be linked to MapManager - double click on a gmap file and it will be installed. MapInstall loads a map (or part of it) on your GPS device or an external data storage such as a micro SD card. If you want to see every feature of the map it is recommended to set the "Details" slider to max.

More than one active map on a GPS-device
On your GPS device there should only be one map active. If not, this may lead to overlapping at the edges which cases issues with the display (missing or not matching map elements).

Hiking paths (tip by Günter from Fürth)
If you want hiking paths of the hiking clubs, cycle routes or public transportation as an overlay in addition to the Freizeitkarte you can download the respective img file(s) under this link https://www.thkukuk.de/osm". You also find a description on how to load them on your Garmin device and activate in the profile of the Freizeitkarte map.
With older Garmin devices that only allow a single img file named gmapsupp.img you have to merge the Freizeitkarte and the respective layer using the tool gmaptool, also described under https://www.thkukuk.de/osm/#installation.

Device and map management
Advisable in connection with maps and GPS devices are some freeware tools from JaVaWa. With "JaVaWa Device Manager" you can manage the GPS device. E.g. you can make backups, save owner informations, or prevent the automatic loading of maps in Basecamp. Quite similar is "JaVaWa GMTK", which lets you manage your installed maps in Basecamp. Also interesting for Mac users is the utility "CleanEject" which ensures that all trashed objects are deleted before you eject the SD-card.