diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 82a3c8b04fc..80969ff6afa 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -126,6 +126,12 @@ SET (PEDANTIC TRUE CACHE BOOL "Determines if we should compile in pedantic mode.
 # whether unit tests should be build
 SET (ENABLE_TESTS TRUE CACHE BOOL "Build unit tests?")
 
+# whether coverage tests should be performed
+SET (ENABLE_COVERAGE FALSE CACHE BOOL "Perform coverage tests?")
+
+# whether coverage documentation should be generated
+SET (GENERATE_COVERAGE_DOCS FALSE CACHE BOOL "Generate coverage docs (requires lcov)?")
+
 # hide this variable because building of python bindings might fail
 # if set to other directory than expected
 MARK_AS_ADVANCED(LIBRARY_OUTPUT_PATH)
@@ -399,6 +405,16 @@ IF(MSVC)
   ADD_DEFINITIONS(-DNOMINMAX)
 ENDIF(MSVC)
 
+IF(ENABLE_COVERAGE)
+  INCLUDE("cmake/modules/coverage/CodeCoverage.cmake")
+  SET(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS} -g -O0 -fprofile-arcs -ftest-coverage")
+  SET(CMAKE_C_FLAGS "${CMAKE_C_FLAGS} -g -O0 -fprofile-arcs -ftest-coverage")
+  SET(CMAKE_SHARED_LINKER_FLAGS "${CMAKE_SHARED_LINKER_FLAGS} -g -O0 -fprofile-arcs -ftest-coverage")
+  SET(CMAKE_MODULE_LINKER_FLAGS "${CMAKE_MODULE_LINKER_FLAGS} -g -O0 -fprofile-arcs -ftest-coverage")
+  SET(CMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS "${CMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS} -g -O0 -fprofile-arcs -ftest-coverage")
+  SETUP_TARGET_FOR_COVERAGE(qgis_coverage ctest coverage)
+ENDIF(ENABLE_COVERAGE)
+
 #############################################################
 # platform specific stuff
 
diff --git a/cmake/modules/coverage/CodeCoverage.cmake b/cmake/modules/coverage/CodeCoverage.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e0b69e76ff5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmake/modules/coverage/CodeCoverage.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,173 @@
+#
+# 2012-01-31, Lars Bilke
+# - Enable Code Coverage
+#
+# 2013-09-17, Joakim Söderberg
+# - Added support for Clang.
+# - Some additional usage instructions.
+#
+# USAGE:
+
+# 0. (Mac only) If you use Xcode 5.1 make sure to patch geninfo as described here:
+#      http://stackoverflow.com/a/22404544/80480
+#
+# 1. Copy this file into your cmake modules path.
+#
+# 2. Add the following line to your CMakeLists.txt:
+#      INCLUDE(CodeCoverage)
+#
+# 3. Set compiler flags to turn off optimization and enable coverage: 
+#    SET(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS "-g -O0 -fprofile-arcs -ftest-coverage")
+#	 SET(CMAKE_C_FLAGS "-g -O0 -fprofile-arcs -ftest-coverage")
+#  
+# 3. Use the function SETUP_TARGET_FOR_COVERAGE to create a custom make target
+#    which runs your test executable and produces a lcov code coverage report:
+#    Example:
+#	 SETUP_TARGET_FOR_COVERAGE(
+#				my_coverage_target  # Name for custom target.
+#				test_driver         # Name of the test driver executable that runs the tests.
+#									# NOTE! This should always have a ZERO as exit code
+#									# otherwise the coverage generation will not complete.
+#				coverage            # Name of output directory.
+#				)
+#
+# 4. Build a Debug build:
+#	 cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug ..
+#	 make
+#	 make my_coverage_target
+#
+#
+
+# Check prereqs
+FIND_PROGRAM( GCOV_PATH gcov )
+IF(GENERATE_COVERAGE_DOCS)
+	FIND_PROGRAM( LCOV_PATH lcov )
+	FIND_PROGRAM( GENHTML_PATH genhtml )
+ENDIF()
+FIND_PROGRAM( GCOVR_PATH gcovr PATHS ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/tests)
+
+IF(NOT GCOV_PATH)
+	MESSAGE(FATAL_ERROR "gcov not found! Aborting...")
+ENDIF() # NOT GCOV_PATH
+
+IF(NOT CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCXX)
+	# Clang version 3.0.0 and greater now supports gcov as well.
+	MESSAGE(WARNING "Compiler is not GNU gcc! Clang Version 3.0.0 and greater supports gcov as well, but older versions don't.")
+	
+	IF(NOT "${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID}" STREQUAL "Clang")
+		MESSAGE(FATAL_ERROR "Compiler is not GNU gcc! Aborting...")
+	ENDIF()
+ENDIF() # NOT CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCXX
+
+SET(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_COVERAGE
+    "-g -O0 --coverage -fprofile-arcs -ftest-coverage"
+    CACHE STRING "Flags used by the C++ compiler during coverage builds."
+    FORCE )
+SET(CMAKE_C_FLAGS_COVERAGE
+    "-g -O0 --coverage -fprofile-arcs -ftest-coverage"
+    CACHE STRING "Flags used by the C compiler during coverage builds."
+    FORCE )
+SET(CMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS_COVERAGE
+    ""
+    CACHE STRING "Flags used for linking binaries during coverage builds."
+    FORCE )
+SET(CMAKE_SHARED_LINKER_FLAGS_COVERAGE
+    ""
+    CACHE STRING "Flags used by the shared libraries linker during coverage builds."
+    FORCE )
+MARK_AS_ADVANCED(
+    CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_COVERAGE
+    CMAKE_C_FLAGS_COVERAGE
+    CMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS_COVERAGE
+    CMAKE_SHARED_LINKER_FLAGS_COVERAGE )
+
+IF ( NOT (CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE STREQUAL "Debug" OR CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE STREQUAL "Coverage"))
+  MESSAGE( WARNING "Code coverage results with an optimized (non-Debug) build may be misleading" )
+ENDIF() # NOT CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE STREQUAL "Debug"
+
+
+# Param _targetname     The name of new the custom make target
+# Param _testrunner     The name of the target which runs the tests.
+#						MUST return ZERO always, even on errors. 
+#						If not, no coverage report will be created!
+# Param _outputname     lcov output is generated as _outputname.info
+#                       HTML report is generated in _outputname/index.html
+# Optional fourth parameter is passed as arguments to _testrunner
+#   Pass them in list form, e.g.: "-j;2" for -j 2
+FUNCTION(SETUP_TARGET_FOR_COVERAGE _targetname _testrunner _outputname)
+
+	IF(GENERATE_COVERAGE_DOCS AND NOT LCOV_PATH)
+		MESSAGE(FATAL_ERROR "lcov not found! Aborting...")
+	ENDIF() # NOT LCOV_PATH
+
+	IF(GENERATE_COVERAGE_DOCS AND NOT GENHTML_PATH)
+		MESSAGE(FATAL_ERROR "genhtml not found! Aborting...")
+	ENDIF() # NOT GENHTML_PATH
+
+	# Setup target
+	IF(GENERATE_COVERAGE_DOCS)
+		ADD_CUSTOM_TARGET(${_targetname}
+	
+			# Cleanup lcov
+			${LCOV_PATH} --directory . --zerocounters
+		
+			# Run tests
+			COMMAND ${_testrunner} \${CMD_ARGS}
+		
+			# Capturing lcov counters and generating report
+			COMMAND ${LCOV_PATH} --rc lcov_branch_coverage=1 --directory . --capture --output-file ${_outputname}.info
+			COMMAND ${LCOV_PATH} --rc lcov_branch_coverage=1 --remove ${_outputname}.info 'tests/*' '/usr/*' '*.cxx' '*.sip' 'sip_*' 'ui_*' --output-file ${_outputname}.info.cleaned
+			COMMAND ${GENHTML_PATH} --branch-coverage --rc lcov_branch_coverage=1 -o ${_outputname} ${_outputname}.info.cleaned
+			COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E remove ${_outputname}.info.cleaned
+			COMMENT "Resetting code coverage counters to zero.\nProcessing code coverage counters and generating report."
+
+			WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}
+		)
+		# Show info where to find the report
+		ADD_CUSTOM_COMMAND(TARGET ${_targetname} POST_BUILD
+			COMMAND ;
+			COMMENT "Open ./${_outputname}/index.html in your browser to view the coverage report."
+		)
+	ELSE(GENERATE_COVERAGE_DOCS)
+		ADD_CUSTOM_TARGET(${_targetname}
+			# Run tests
+			COMMAND ${_testrunner} \${CMD_ARGS}
+			WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}
+		)
+	ENDIF()
+
+ENDFUNCTION() # SETUP_TARGET_FOR_COVERAGE
+
+# Param _targetname     The name of new the custom make target
+# Param _testrunner     The name of the target which runs the tests
+# Param _outputname     cobertura output is generated as _outputname.xml
+# Optional fourth parameter is passed as arguments to _testrunner
+#   Pass them in list form, e.g.: "-j;2" for -j 2
+FUNCTION(SETUP_TARGET_FOR_COVERAGE_COBERTURA _targetname _testrunner _outputname)
+
+	IF(NOT PYTHON_EXECUTABLE)
+		MESSAGE(FATAL_ERROR "Python not found! Aborting...")
+	ENDIF() # NOT PYTHON_EXECUTABLE
+
+	IF(NOT GCOVR_PATH)
+		MESSAGE(FATAL_ERROR "gcovr not found! Aborting...")
+	ENDIF() # NOT GCOVR_PATH
+
+	ADD_CUSTOM_TARGET(${_targetname}
+
+		# Run tests
+		${_testrunner} ${ARGV3}
+
+		# Running gcovr
+		COMMAND ${GCOVR_PATH} -x -r ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR} -e '${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/tests/'  -o ${_outputname}.xml
+		WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}
+		COMMENT "Running gcovr to produce Cobertura code coverage report."
+	)
+
+	# Show info where to find the report
+	ADD_CUSTOM_COMMAND(TARGET ${_targetname} POST_BUILD
+		COMMAND ;
+		COMMENT "Cobertura code coverage report saved in ${_outputname}.xml."
+	)
+
+ENDFUNCTION() # SETUP_TARGET_FOR_COVERAGE_COBERTURA
diff --git a/cmake/modules/coverage/LICENSE_1_0.txt b/cmake/modules/coverage/LICENSE_1_0.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..36b7cd93cdf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmake/modules/coverage/LICENSE_1_0.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+Boost Software License - Version 1.0 - August 17th, 2003
+
+Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person or organization
+obtaining a copy of the software and accompanying documentation covered by
+this license (the "Software") to use, reproduce, display, distribute,
+execute, and transmit the Software, and to prepare derivative works of the
+Software, and to permit third-parties to whom the Software is furnished to
+do so, all subject to the following:
+
+The copyright notices in the Software and this entire statement, including
+the above license grant, this restriction and the following disclaimer,
+must be included in all copies of the Software, in whole or in part, and
+all derivative works of the Software, unless such copies or derivative
+works are solely in the form of machine-executable object code generated by
+a source language processor.
+
+THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT
+SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS OR ANYONE DISTRIBUTING THE SOFTWARE BE LIABLE
+FOR ANY DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE,
+ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER
+DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.