Google Street View in Europe
In Europe, Google Street View began on July 2, 2008 with the route of Tour de France being covered in parts of France and Italy. The service has since expanded to 15 European countries, while at the same time has been controversial in some countries due to laws and privacy concerns.
Development
Early on, soon following the original introduction of Street View in the United States, there was talk of bringing the feature to Europe as well. But there were concerns over the legality of the feature due to stricter laws in most European countries than those of the United States regarding photography.[1]
The first views anywhere outside the United States were introduced on July 2, 2008, when the Tour de France route was added. Nineteen camera icons, each indicating part of a French city or town and Cuneo, Italy, were included.
On October 14, 2008, camera icons were introduced in six French cities, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Paris and Toulouse. At the same time, all other icons that had been introduced in France on July 2, as well as the one of Cuneo, Italy, were removed, representing the first time in Street View's history that a camera icon that once marked a place was removed. But the amount of coverage that France had since July 2 was not diminished.
On October 27, 2008, four Spanish metropolitan areas were added to the list of growing street view locations in Europe: Madrid, Barcelona, Seville and Valencia, Spain.
On October 29, 2008, Italy received four camera icons for the localities of Florence, Milan, Rome and Lake Como.
On March 18, 2009, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands were added. In the case of Great Britain, only major centres were uploaded and even coverage of those city centers was incomplete. For example, Edinburgh was missing Street View images of two of its key thoroughfares: Princes Street and the Royal Mile (although portions of both were visible from adjoining streets that had been imaged).
In May 2009, Google Germany released a list of German cities that were to be scanned or rescanned in May and June 2009.[2]
On August 18, 2009, Switzerland and Portugal were added.[3]
On October 7, 2009, the Czech Republic was added.
On November 9, 2009, more locations in the Netherlands and Spain were added.
On December 2, 2009, more locations in France and Italy were added as well as various tourist sites in England.
On January 20, 2010, Sweden and Denmark were added, as well as more locations in the United Kingdom, Italy (7 regions are full covered), Portugal, the Czech Republic (mostly Prague) and the Netherlands.
On February 9, 2010, Norway and Finland were added, with coverage of much of southern Norway and most of Finland. Imagery was updated for parts of the UK as well.
On March 11, 2010, 95% of the United Kingdom's roads, both rural and urban, covering a total of approximately 238,000 miles, were added. More locations in the Netherlands were added too.
On April 15, 2010, some major UK theme parks were added including Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures, Legoland Windsor and also the Sea Life Centre in Weymouth.
In May 2010, Google Street View Cars and Trikes were seen in Croatian places like Pula, Split, Dubrovnik, and the capital Zagreb.[citation needed]
In August 2010, Google Street View Cars were photographing Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney as well as Slovakia.[4] Also, ten Street View cars were delivered to the Latvian capital Riga.[5]
On September 30, 2010, the Republic of Ireland was added.
On December 8, 2010, Romania was added. More locations in The Netherlands, Denmark and Norway were added.
On February 1, 2011, Street Views were added of several art museums across Europe, including the Palace of Versailles, the State Hermitage Museum, the Uffizi Gallery and Tate Britain.[6]
In October 2011, the Bernina Railway between St. Moritz and Tirano was photographed and shall be added to Street View in early 2012.[7] Bernina Railway is part of the Rhaetian Railway and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
On November 23, 2011, Street View became available for almost all of Belgium. While Street View content was recorded earlier, privacy issues kept Google from making it available to the public.[8]
Timeline of introductions
Note: Bold indicates locations available in newer high quality view, and italic bold indicates locations partially available in high quality view.
Areas included
Belgium
Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads
| Region | Major cities/areas |
|---|---|
| Prague, the Capital City | Prague |
| Central Bohemian | Benešov, Beroun, Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav, Mělník, Příbram, Poděbrady, Říčany |
| South Bohemian | Český Krumlov |
| Moravia | Brno , Olomouc |
| Moravian–Silesian Region | Ostrava |
Denmark
| Region | Major cities/areas |
|---|---|
| Capital Region of Denmark | Copenhagen and metropolitan area |
| Central Denmark Region | Aarhus |
| North Denmark Region | Aalborg |
| Region of Southern Denmark | Esbjerg |
| Region Zealand | Roskilde |
Finland
| Region | Major cities/areas |
|---|---|
| Finland Proper | Turku |
| Lapland | Rovaniemi |
| Northern Ostrobothnia | Oulu |
| Pirkanmaa | Tampere |
| Uusimaa | Helsinki and metropolitan area |
France
| Region | Major cities/areas |
|---|---|
| Alsace | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Aquitaine | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Auvergne | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Brittany | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Centre | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Languedoc-Roussillon | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Midi-Pyrénées | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Nord-Pas-de-Calais | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Île-de-France | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Lorraine | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Pays-de-la-Loire | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Rhône-Alpes | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
Germany
| State | Major cities/areas |
|---|---|
| Baden-Württemberg | Stuttgart, Freiburg im Breisgau (Badenova-Stadion only), Mannheim |
| Bavaria | Munich, Oberstaufen, Nuremberg |
| Berlin | Berlin |
| Bremen | Bremen |
| Hamburg | Hamburg |
| Hesse | Frankfurt |
| Lower-Saxony | Hanover |
| Northrhine-Westphalia | Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen (Veltins-Arena only), Cologne, Düsseldorf, Essen, Wuppertal, Bielefeld, Bochum, Bonn, Duisburg |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | Kaiserslautern (Fritz-Walter-Stadion only) |
| Saxony | Dresden, Leipzig |
| Region | Major cities/areas |
|---|---|
| Border | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Dublin | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Mid-East | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Mid-West | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Midlands | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| South-East | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| South-West | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| West | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
Italy
| Region | Major cities/areas |
|---|---|
| Aosta Valley | Aosta |
| Abruzzo | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Apulia | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Basilicata | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Calabria | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Campania | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Emilia-Romagna | Parma, Bologna |
| Friuli-Venezia Giulia | Udine, Grado, Codroipo, Palmanova |
| Lazio | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Liguria | Camogli, Chiavari, Genoa, Portofino, Rapallo, Recco, Santa Margherita Ligure, Sestri Levante |
| Lombardy | Bellagio, Bellano, Busto Arsizio, Cernobbio, Colico, Como, Lake Como, Lecco, Malgrate, Mandello del Lario, Milan, Varenna |
| Marche | Pesaro, Fano |
| Molise | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Piedmont | Cuneo, Turin, Asti, Domodossola |
| Sardinia | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Sicily | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Tuscany | Arezzo, Florence, Livorno, Siena, San Gimignano |
| Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol | Mals |
| Umbria | Perugia |
| Veneto | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
Monaco
| Municipality | Major cities/areas |
|---|---|
| Monaco | Whole country |
Netherlands
| Province | Major cities/areas |
|---|---|
| Drenthe | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Flevoland | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Friesland | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Gelderland | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Groningen | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Limburg | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| North Brabant | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| North Holland | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Overijssel | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| South Holland | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Utrecht | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Zeeland | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
Norway
| County | Major cities/areas |
|---|---|
| Hordaland | Bergen |
| Oslo | Oslo and metropolitan area |
| Rogaland | Stavanger |
| Sør-Trøndelag | Trondheim |
| Troms | Tromsø |
| Vest-Agder | Kristiansand |
Portugal
| Region | Major cities/areas |
|---|---|
| Lisboa | Lisbon, Almada, Barreiro, Loures, Montijo, Seixal |
| Norte | Porto, Matosinhos, Vila Nova de Gaia |
Romania
Spain
| Autonomous community | Major cities/areas |
|---|---|
| Andalusia | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Aragon | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Asturias | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Balearic Islands | Mallorca, Menorca |
| Basque Country | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Canary Islands | Islands of Grand Canaria, Tenerife, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura |
| Cantabria | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Castile-La Mancha | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Castile and León | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Catalonia | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Extremadura | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Galicia | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| La Rioja | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Madrid | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Murcia | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Navarre | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Valencian Community | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
Sweden
| County | Major cities/areas |
|---|---|
| Norrbotten | Luleå |
| Skåne | Malmö |
| Stockholm | Stockholm |
| Västerbotten | Skellefteå |
| Västmanland | Västerås |
| Västra Götaland | Gothenburg |
Switzerland
| Canton | Major cities/areas |
|---|---|
| Basel-Stadt | Basel |
| Bern | Bern |
| Geneva | Geneva |
| Vaud | Lausanne |
| Zürich | Winterthur, Zürich |
| Country | Major cities/areas |
|---|---|
| England | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Scotland | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Wales | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
| Northern Ireland | Most towns, cities, villages, major and rural roads |
Controversy
Street View has been controversial in different countries for various reasons.
In September 2010, Czech Republic banned any further capturing of Street View images. This occurred after more than half a year of unsuccessful negotiation between the Czech Republic and Google.[14][15] However, on June 24, 2011 the cars started driving again, with the camera holder lowered by 30 centimeters due to the privacy reasons.[16]
In November 2010, a British watchdog group said that Google broke the law by obtaining personal data from people. Britain said the company would not be fined for the breach.[17]
Future
Alderney,[4] 
Austria,[18][19] 
Croatia,[20] 
Greece,[21][22][23] 
Guernsey,[4] 
Hungary,[24][25] 
Latvia,[26] 
Luxembourg,[27] 
Poland,[28][29] 
Slovakia[30] 
Estonia[31][32]
References
- ^ "Google's Street View could be unlawful in Europe". June 5, 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
- ^ "Google Maps Street View Germany". Maps.google.de. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ (German:) Tagesanzeiger.ch/Newsnetz.ch (August 18, 2009): Google Street View in der Schweiz gestartet
- ^ a b c "Google Street View car spotted in Guernsey and Alderney". bbc.co.uk. 2010-08-12. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
- ^ "Visas 10 Opel zīmola automašīnas ir pilnīgi vienādas - Google street view automašīnas ir ieradušās Rīgā | © www.travelnews.lv". Travelnews.lv. 2010-08-15. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ "Google offers virtual tours of the world's top art museums". CNN.
- ^ Google Street View on the Rhaetian Railway, October 19th, 2011 (german)
- ^ [1], Dutch
- ^ Art Project, powered by Google
- ^ Pedaling to new places with Street View
- ^ When in Rome: New Street View imagery of historic sites in Italy and France
- ^ [2]
- ^ Le Parc du Futuroscope à 360° et en 3D sur Google Maps !
- ^ DW-world.de
- ^ Seerpress.com
- ^ Zive.cz
- ^ "British watchdog says Google 'Street View' broke law". Earth Observation. London, UK. Nov 3, 2010. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
- ^ "GoogleWatchBlog - Google Streetview Auto in Wien gesichtet". Googlewatchblog.de. 2008-07-18. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ "Google Street View Car on Flickr - Photo Sharing!". 47.784124; 13.071584: Flickr.com. Retrieved 2009-04-08.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ Radio.net (2011-07-31). "Croatia to get Google Street View". tportal.hr. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ^ "Google Street View : direction la Grèce et la République tchèque". Zorgloob.com. 2009-04-09. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ Αναρτήθηκε από The acrobats. "Στους δρόμους της Αθήνας "ξεχύνεται" τις επόμενες ημέρες το Street View της Google". GREECE-SALONIKA.blogspot. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
- ^ By nkdx Natalia Dimitris X (2009-05-07). "Google Street View in Athens - Flickr Photo". Flickr.com. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ "Budapestet is végigfotózza a Google". Index.hu. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ Alex, Alexgraphics (2009-05-05). "Flickr photo - Google Car in Budapest". Flickr.com. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ "Visas 10 Opel zīmola automašīnas ir pilnīgi vienādas - Google street view automašīnas ir ieradušās Rīgā". Travelnews.lv. 2010-08-15. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ "Luxemburger Wort, May 28, 2009". Wort.lu. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ "Google Street View : direction la Pologne". Zorgloob.com. 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ Grzegorz Miecznikowski (2009-05-04). "Google sfotografuje Warszawę będzie Street View". Miasta.gazeta.pl. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ "Google Street View, direction la Slovaquie". Zorgloob.com. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ Delfi. "Fotod: Google'i autod kaardistavadki juba Eestimaad - Forte". Uudised.ekspressauto.ee. Retrieved 2010-12-11.
- ^ "Konfliktsed Google'i autod Eestis". Epl.ee. Retrieved 2010-11-03.
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