coordinate system - What is the ideal equal-area projection to map Germany, Switzerland and Austria (DACH)?

I am wondering if there is a standard projection if you want to map the neighboring countries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria (known as "DACH" in equal-area?

For Europe there is EPSG:3035 which seems centered on Germany. Would that be the best choice?

Answer

Short answer: YES

Long answer:

The LAEA projection EPSG:3035 is based on +lat_0=52 +lon_0=10. You get equal areas everywhere across Europe, but distortion of distance and shape increase from the center point. The DACH region is centered about 50°N 11°E, so you could set up a custom CRS like this:

+proj=laea +lat_0=50 +lon_0=11 +x_0=5000000 +y_0=3200000 +ellps=GRS80 +towgs84=0,0,0,0,0,0,0 +units=m +no_defs

Using predefined EPSG codes is however a bit easier.