The first country wide soil map at a scale of 1:1,000,000 (BUEK1000) has been compiled on the basis of published soil maps of the former German Democratic Republic and the pre 1990 federal states of Germany. To do this, it was necessary to match the soil systems used in East and West Germany and to develop standardized descriptions of soil units. A relatively homogeneous map has resulted, which permits uniform assessment of the soils throughout Germany. The map shows 71 soil mapping units, described in the legend on the basis of the German and FAO soil systems. Each soil unit has been assigned a characteristic soil profile (Leitprofil) as an aid to map interpretation. For the first time the subdivision of the country into 12 soil regions has been represented on the map. This subdivision was coordinated with the state Geological Surveys. These soil regions will represent the highest hierarchic level of nation wide soil maps in future. The colours of soil units correspond to the standards of the 'Bodenkundliche Kartieranleitung' (KA 3; Guidelines for Soil Mapping). The various hues characterize differences in relief or soil humidity. The BUEK1000 was produced digitally. It is an important part of the spatial database integrated in the Soil Information System currently being established at the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (FISBo BGR). It can be used together with the characteristic soil profiles to derive thematic maps related to nation wide soil protection. The scale of the BUEK1000 makes it especially suitable for small scale evaluations at federal or EU level. Die BUEK1000 stellt bundesweit die Verbreitung der Boeden und deren Vergesellschaftung in einheitlicher Form auf dem Aggregierungsniveau der Leitbodenassoziationen dar. Die Kartengrafik liegt in digitaler Form vor. In der Textlegende, die 71 bodenkundliche Legendeneinheiten umfasst, sind Angaben zu Gruendigkeit, Bodenarten, Wasserverhaeltnissen, Ausgangsgestein sowie Leit- und Begleitboeden enthalten. Die Parameter der Legendenbeschreibung und der 71 Referenzprofile (mit je 6 auf Bodenformen und 19 auf Horizonte bezogenen Angaben) sind in einer relationalen Datenbank abgelegt. Die Version 2.1 basiert auf den topographischen Grundlagen der Digitalen Topographischen Karte 1:1.000.000 (DTK1000-V) des Bundesamtes für Kartographie und Geodaesie, welche von der BGR in Teilen modifiziert wurde.