Broad-scale distributions of element concentrations in soils are presented in geochemical soil atlases (e.g. Reimann et al., 2014). So far no highly-resolved nationwide geochemical soil atlas existed for Switzerland. Our atlas will fill this gap by presenting the concentration range and spatial distribution of 20 elements in topsoils across Switzerland. The selection of elements includes both, essential (trace) elements as well as known contaminants. Our aim was to present ‘ambient background’ concentrations, which are defined as the sum of the natural background of an element with diffusive input in the past or present without anthropogenic point sources. Based on the modeled maps, regions with potential deficiencies or soil contaminations can be assessed.