Thomas Schöpf was the city physician of Bern, and his name is associated with the large map of the City-State of Bern from 1578. He was born in Breisach in 1520. The University Library of Bern, which was founded in the same decade, is marking this anniversary by commemorating the outstanding achievement of the Schöpf map with an exhibition at the Münstergasse Library starting in March 2020. The special issue of Cartographica Helvetica, published concurrently, is dedicated to biographical, cartographic, historical, linguistic, and archival aspects of the Schöpf phenomenon. More