On July 1st 2026, the INSPIRE Geoportal (the European Union's central discovery point for geospatial datasets) was officially decommissioned. For many in the geospatial community, this marked the end of a long-standing reference: a single place to find harmonised spatial data from across Europe. We saw it coming. And we decided to do something about it.
Introducing OpenDataCat
OpenDataCat is a free, open catalogue built on GeoNetwork: The same technology that powers some of Europe's most trusted national geospatial portals, including nationaalgeoregister.nl and data.bev.gv.at. It replaces the INSPIRE Geoportal as a discovery point for European geospatial datasets, and we've already harvested thousands of records from national catalogues across the continent.
But we didn't stop at replication. OpenDataCat is designed to evolve.
What's available today
- Searchable catalogue of harmonised European geospatial datasets
- OGC API Records endpoint for modern, standards-based access
- Coverage of major national INSPIRE endpoints across EU member states
- Accessible at opendatacat.net
What's coming
We're building OpenDataCat as a community resource, not just a technical mirror. Future plans include expanding beyond Europe, integrating additional national and thematic catalogues, and providing on-the-fly search across federated sources.
Why it matters
Open geospatial data is infrastructure. When the EU decommissioned INSPIRE, it didn't make the data disappear — but it did make it harder to find. OpenDataCat puts discoverability back at the centre, built on open source, maintained by people who care about the community.
If you work with European spatial data — as a developer, a government institution, a researcher, or a curious citizen — OpenDataCat is for you.
Try it: opendatacat.net Questions or ideas? Reach out to us at www.geocat.com.