Citizen Science

A growing community – the Topotheque

There are already over 450 Topotheques in seven countries. The number of entries has risen to 1,250,000.

Most Topotheques are run by the public sector, usually by municipalities, but many institutional and private Topotheques now also make a significant contribution to safeguarding cultural heritage. The majority of the visible objects come from private sources, which can be unearthed by the local Citizen Scientists who set up the Topotheques in the municipalities.

The use of Topotheques within the framework of regional projects, such as in Lower Austria’s Weinviertel or Mühlviertel, brings digital collecting activities close and efficiently to the population and thus enjoys great popularity. In this way, a broad initiative is created that makes valuable historical sources on local and regional history usable. The easy searchability and the low-threshold maintenance process give the Topotheque a high level of acceptance among visitors and stakeholders.