Most of the available topographic map series and general maps (approx. 25,000 map sheets) come from the 19th and 20th centuries and are available at scales of 1:10,000 to 1:2,500,000. Of particular significance are the modern topographical surveys of the historic states of East Central Europe and current, official topographic map series of the states of Central and East Europe, which are accessible for the first time since the most recent political changes.

The thematic maps (approx. 3,500 titles) provide information on abstract, spatial facts, primarily on the following thematic areas of East Central Europe: Political history; urban history; art, church, economic and social history; as well as population and general regional studies.

With holdings of around 1,300 early maps (up to 1850), the main lines of regional variance in cartographic development in East Central Europe can be shown. The oldest maps come from Sebastian Münster (around 1545) and from the atlases of Abraham Ortelius (around 1570) and Gerard Mercator (around 1585). At this time, the first regional maps appeared of all the countries in East Central Europe; at that time, geographical knowledge of their own territories was as important for sovereigns as spatial illustrations of foreign countries. These maps were widespread in the atlases of large publishers in the 17th century. After the mid-18th century, this early period of atlas and regional cartography was followed by map series of topographical surveys, which - as they were produced due to the need for an administrative aid - are of particular interest today mainly for historico-cultural work because of their informative legends.

One particularly valuable holding is that of around 100 early maps (16th-18th century) from the Reklaitis Lithuanian archive. They document the area of the grand principality of Lithuania linked with the Kingdom of Poland from the union of 1386 up until the division of the dual state at the end of the 18th century, under which the entire grand principality of Lithuania was annexed to the Russian Empire.

One special collection is the 6,300 vertical aerial photographs of East Central Europe taken by the German Luftwaffe between 1942 and 1945 in photographic flights over broad regions of Brandenburg, Pomerania, East Prussia and Silesia, as well as the voivodeships of Poznan (poznańskie), Pomerelia (pomorskie) and Bialystok (białostockie). In today's unified Europe, these unique items are a valuable resource, primarily for historico-cultural research on Poland and the Kaliningrad area. Furthermore, they are also used in particular for questions on the history of towns and settlements, as well as for local urban, spatial and environmental planning matters.

The regional distribution of vertical aerial photographs: