Topographic maps contain artificial and natural elements of the earth's surface (e.g. settlements, traffic routes, bodies of water and vegetation) including landforms and are characterized by a great wealth of detail and high accuracy. They are the result of an area-wide survey and systematic updating by the official national survey. They are used for planning, visualization and analysis in environmental, economic and administrative areas and are indispensable in education, rescue services and civil protection.

Official topographic maps are available as printed maps in the scales 1:25,000 (ATK25 series), 1:50,000 (UK50 series) and 1:100,000 (ATK100 series). Many users also like to use these map series for individual leisure activities due to the depiction of hiking and cycling trails as well as tourist information.
Overview maps depict the whole of Bavaria on one map sheet: the large-format 1:500,000 map (ÜK500 Bayern) and the 1:2 million map (ÜK2000 Bayern) in DIN A4 format.

Digital topographic maps (DTK) form the geodata basis for a large number of navigation and communication systems as well as the basis for various Internet applications, such as BayernAtlas or Energie-Atlas Bayern (see "Related topics").

Further information can be found under "Related links".