Strabon
Strabon is a free, self-hosted spatiotemporal RDF store for linked geospatial data that changes over time.
What Strabon is
Strabon is a free, self-hosted spatiotemporal RDF store for linked geospatial data that changes over time. It stores thematic, spatial, and temporal information in a backend relational database and queries it through extensions of SPARQL. stSPARQL handles data represented in stRDF, while GeoSPARQL support covers a subset for static geospatial RDF data; the project says other GeoSPARQL components are being implemented. Spatial features include datatypes, selections, joins, functions, multiple Coordinate Reference Systems, and geometric objects serialized as OGC WKT or GML. Temporal capabilities include valid time on triples, temporal functions, and models for events and changing facts. Strabon extends Sesame, now RDF4J, supports SPARQL 1.1 and reasoning, and is released under the Mozilla Public License. Linux and Windows are listed platforms. Installation materials describe PostgreSQL 12, PostGIS 3.0, Maven, and Tomcat deployment. Tutorials, references, and separate user and developer mailing lists are provided.
Good
- Spatial and temporal RDF querying
- stSPARQL and partial GeoSPARQL support
- Multiple coordinate reference systems
- SPARQL 1.1 and reasoning
- Mozilla Public License
Watch out
- Self-hosted deployment required
- GeoSPARQL implementation is incomplete
- PostgreSQL and PostGIS setup is specified
Who it suits
Strabon suits developers and data teams needing self-hosted linked geospatial storage with spatial and temporal querying. It is relevant to applications handling changing geographic information.
Verdict
Strabon provides free infrastructure for querying geospatial RDF alongside time-aware data. Its self-hosted deployment and partial GeoSPARQL scope should be considered when planning an implementation.
The facts
Each one read from Strabon's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Backend
- Strabon extends RDF4J components to manage thematic, spatial, and temporal data stored in a backend relational database.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Deployment
- The repository installation instructions describe setting up Strabon with PostgreSQL 12 and PostGIS 3.0, building it with Maven, and deploying an endpoint on Tomcat.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Documentation
- The download page links to an stRDF and stSPARQL tutorial and provides an stSPARQL reference describing spatial and temporal extension functions.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Download
- The download page directs users to the project's GitHub repository for the latest version.checked 7 Oct 2026
- GeoSPARQL scope
- The site says implementation of the other GeoSPARQL components is underway.checked 7 Oct 2026
- License
- Strabon is released under the Mozilla Public License.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Maintainer
- The project site credits the KRR&A Team and links to the Department of Informatics and Telecommunications at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Product
- Strabon is a spatiotemporal RDF store for storing linked geospatial data that changes over time and querying it with extensions of SPARQL.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Query languages
- Strabon supports stSPARQL for querying data represented in stRDF, and a subset of GeoSPARQL for static geospatial RDF data.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Spatial data
- It supports spatial datatypes and serializes geometric objects in OGC WKT and GML formats.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Spatial queries
- It offers spatial selections and joins, spatial functions, and support for multiple Coordinate Reference Systems.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Support
- The project lists separate mailing lists for users and developers; the developers channel also receives check-in messages.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Technology
- Strabon extends Sesame, now called RDF4J, and uses its components to manage thematic, spatial, and temporal data stored in a backend RDBMS.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Temporal data
- It supports valid time for triples, temporal functions, and modeling temporal domains and concepts such as events and facts that change over time.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Use case
- The site describes Strabon being used to store and query timeseries data in a MELODIES use case.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Use cases
- The project history describes use in applications including precision farming, greenhouse-gas inventories, sea-quality assessment, hazard information services, and groundwater modeling.checked 7 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Platforms
- Repository instructions cover installation on Ubuntu 20.04 and Windows; the page says some listed PostgreSQL tuning options do not work on Windows.checked 7 Oct 2026
Alternatives to Strabon
- 1
Virtuoso Universal Server
Open sourceWebAPILinuxmacOS7.9From $99.99 a year - 2
RDFox
Free planWebAPILinuxmacOS7.8Free plan - 3
Stardog
Free planAndroidiOSWebAPI7.7Free plan - 4
Eclipse RDF4J
Free planOpen sourceWebAPILinuxmacOS7.6Free plan - 5
Apache Jena Fuseki
Free planOpen sourceWebAPILinuxSelf-hosted7.5Free plan - 6
GraphDB
Free planWebAPILinuxmacOS6.6Free plan