Years go by. Time obliterates the memory of people and
events that they initiated or inspired. Events, being fruits of
efforts made by individuals, frequently driven by fascination,
necessity or even chance, build the history of different spheres
of social life, and in the case which is of interest to us – of the
discipline which is now known as remote sensing.
This sketch aims to outline the origin of remote sensing
in Poland and the milestones in its development during the
past five decades. It does not intend to offer a detailed substantive
analysis of various studies, directions of research or
numerous practical applications. In the sketch’s final part, the
programme of training specialists in geinformatics and remote
sensing offered at the University of Warsaw is shortly discussed.
In 2009, 45 years passed since the conference of geographers
and specialists in aerial photographs interpretation
which was held in Warsaw, at the Institute of Geography,
Faculty of Biology and Earth Sciences of the University of
Warsaw. The conference was organised by the Laboratory of
Aerial Photographs Interpretation at the Chair of Regional
Geography of the Institute of Geography. The aim of the meeting
– which took place in May 1964 – was to familiarise the
participants with the findings of research and didactic work
at academic centres abroad and at home, in order to develop
a new and uniform curriculum for all geography specialisations
in Poland. In addition to that, directions of research work
conducted by individual laboratories of aerial photograph interpretation
were also discussed.
The first classes in remote sensing were conducted at
geographical studies at the University of Warsaw, specialisation
of regional geography, as early as the academic year
1960/1961. Similar classes were also held at the University
of Wrocław, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and Maria
Curie Skłodowska University in Lublin.
In Poland, aerial photography started to be in use from
the very first years of independence. In 1921-1924, photoplans
on the scale of 1:10 000 covering an area of 3000 km² were
made for the Polish-Soviet border areas. 1930 saw the setting
up of a specialised enterprise, FOTOLOT. The establishment
of the Polish Photogrammetic Society in 1930 was a momentous
event as its activity played an important role in the development
of photogrammetric methods based on aerial
photographs, catering to different needs of the national
economy.
The most significant achievements in the years 1920-1939
included: a 1931 study by Roman Gryglaszewski, which described
the methodology of taking and interpreting aerial
photographs for land improvement works on the rivers of the
Polesie region, and a 1935 study by Roman Feliński on the
analysis of cities, villages and spas in the settlement organisation
of the country, in which he highlighted the role of
aerial photographs in studies on the country’s spatial development.
In 1937-1939, aerial photographs were used in land
classification and forestry. We should also mention the work
of the Polish geologist Stanisław Zuber, who conducted geological
surveys on the Caspian Sea and was a pioneer of using
aerial photographs in geology and geotectonic research.
In the inter-war period, the Lvov Polytechnic Professor
Kasper Weigl, organiser of aerial photography courses, was
the most eminent personality in the teaching of remote
sensing.
Some aerial photographs taken by the German army survived
until today from the times of the Second World War;
one of such photographs is an aerial photograph of Warsaw taken on 5 August 1944, at the very beginning of the Warsaw
Uprising. In it, one can see areas engulfed by fi res and military
operations, and the area of the ghetto, razed to the
ground, in the form of a light tone.
The first aerial photographs after the Second World War
were taken already in 1945. The first years after the War, and
later, until the end of the 1950s, were not easy for the development
of remote sensing in Polish geography despite the
systematic character of aerial photography of Poland at the
time.
In 1957, Bogodar Winid set a long-term plan for himself
to change the neutral to negative approach of the geographers’
community to a new research methodology – interpretation of
aerial photographs. The plan included familiarisation with
the theoretical foundations of photointerpretation, development
of materials for this type of classes, gradual training of
specialists, gradual introduction of classes in interpretation
of aerial photographs for students specialising in regional geography,
and later in other specialisations and disciplines,
conducting research in this field, and starting cooperation with
state bodies and institutions to familiarise them with the socalled
“aeromethods”. Looking at this programme fifty years
later, we can say that – probably mostly owing to Bogodar
Winid’s outstanding drive and energy – this programme was
implemented in full.
In 1966, interpretation of aerial photographs was made
a compulsory subject in geographical studies.
To coordinate the development of photointerpretation, on
23 October 1964 a specialised body, the Photointerpretation
Committee, was set up as part of the Polish Geographical
Society (PTG).
A specialised series entitled Fotointerpretacja w geografii
[Photointerpretation in geography] was initiated for scientific
exchange purposes; currently, it is known as the Teledetekcja
Środowiska [Remote sensing] series. By the end of 2008, a total
of 40 volumes with 480 papers was published.
The Photointerpretation Committee, later transformed
into the Remote Sensing Club of the Polish Geographical Society,
in the years 1964-2009 organised 19 nation-wide conferences
on issues of photointerpretation and remote sensing.
The range of remote sensing applications was expanded
to other areas ane institutions owing to cooperation with government
institutions, as a result of which OPOLIS, the Centre
for Processing Aerial Photographs and Satellite Images,
was set up as a part of the Institute of Geodesy and
Cartography.
