1. A method for determining an axle geometry by recording and evaluating a topographical image of a face of a wheel fitted to an axle, comprising: projecting light spread over an area with a coding spread over the area onto the face of the wheel from a projecting direction; recording the light reflected from the face of the wheel with an image converter as a topographical image, from a direction other than the light projecting direction; determining three-dimensional surface coordinates for the topographical image of the face of the wheel from the recorded light; and evaluating the topographical image in relation to a reference system.