The zero kilometer ( English Kilometre Zero (km 0) , French point zéro ) is the starting point of reference for road distances. In many countries of the world, zero kilometer is marked with a special sign in the center of the capital and in other cities outside the capital - for roads that do not pass through the capital. Zero kilometer is marked with a sign or sign depicted on the ground, and sometimes with a statue or stele, even a historical landmark: a palace, a tower, a bridge, or maybe just a residential building. For historical reasons, the zero kilometer often falls on the main post office of the city. In some countries, the “zero kilometer” is called the “zero point”.
Content
History
In ancient times, the famous column “ Milliarium Aureum ” (Golden Milestone) of ancient Rome served as a symbol of the starting point, part of which has survived to our time, which served as the occasion for the famous expression “All roads lead to Rome”. Today, “zero kilometers” can be seen both in European capitals and cities, as well as outside of Europe. A similar reference point marks the zero kilometer of the “Freedom Road” in the city of Saint-Mer Eglise in Normandy, next to which the 82nd US Airborne Division was disembarked during World War II.
In different countries
Belarus
In 1998, a memorial sign “ Zero kilometer ” was installed on October Square in Minsk .
Hungary
Greece
In Greece, there is no special sign of a reference point, such a place on the mainland is the central area of cities: in Athens it is Omonia, and in Thessaloniki is the Republic Square. As for island cities, the central mooring of ports is considered a starting point, from where the counting of distances within a given settlement begins.
Israel
From Roman times on the square in the Old City of Jerusalem there was subsequently a demolished column, from which the distance to other cities began to count. In the 20th century, zero kilometer ended up in Jerusalem near the Jaffa Gate . In 1898, a sign was installed in the wall in honor of the German Emperor Wilhelm II. He was removed during the British mandate on Palestine, and now there are no marks about zero kilometer.
Russia
In Russia, the bronze sign of zero kilometer is located in the very center of Moscow , in the Voskresensky Gate , which connects Red Square with Manezhnaya ; called " Zero kilometer of roads of the Russian Federation ." It was established in 1996 by the project of the architect I.N. Voskresensky , with a sculptural image of the work of the sculptor A.I. Rukavishnikov . The sign was made in the mid-1980s, and the installation location was selected from the proposed 14 different points in Moscow [1] . Initially, it was thought to place the sign on Red Square in the middle of the line connecting the Lenin Mausoleum and the GUM [2] [3] . The established zero kilometer sign, in accordance with the federal law adopted in 2007 (Article 9) [4] , is taken as the conditional starting point of reference for the length of roads that begin in the capital of the Russian Federation.
From the 1920s to 1959, the building of the Central Telegraph was the official reference point for distances along roads, and since 1959, the mausoleum on Red Square [1] .
Since 1714, milestone deductions on Russian roads came from the city main post office of St. Petersburg ( Pochtamtskaya street , 9), where a marble pillar with a zero mile is located. Some milestones can still be found on the Peterhof road and the Kiev highway of St. Petersburg .
A unique sign of zero kilometer is established in the resort city of Sochi - it is not an official reference point for distances along the roads, but indicates the founding place of Fort Alexandria , which served as the beginning of the development of the future city.
Slovakia
In Bratislava, the zero kilometer is the historical name “ Bratislava Meridian ”.
Thailand
In Thailand, the zero kilometer is the Democracy Monument in Bangkok .
Ukraine
In Ukraine, zero kilometer is located in Kiev on Independence Square ( Independence Square ).
France
- In Paris, the zero kilometer is in front of Notre Dame de Paris , this is the zero point (as the French say) of French roads.
- In Marseille, the zero kilometer was designated in 1926 on the corner of the streets of Canebière and Belsunce
Gallery
- Russia
Zero kilometer in Barnaul
Zero kilometer in Vologda
Zero kilometer in Yekaterinburg
Zero kilometer in Kemerovo
Zero kilometer in Ufa
Zero kilometer in Cheboksary
- Other countries
Zero kilometer in Minsk
Cuban zero kilometer
Japanese zero kilometer on Nihonbashi bridge
Spanish zero kilometer
Zero kilometer in Bishkek
See also
- Rose of Wind
- Milestone
- Milepost
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 From where the mileage of Russian routes counted . www.avtovzglyad.ru. Date of appeal September 22, 2018.
- ↑ Rukavishnikov A. I. The sign “Zero kilometer” (bronze, 1996, Moscow, FSUE Central Research Institute “Comet”)
- ↑ Aleksandrov Yu. Red Square. Soviet period . Date of treatment June 16, 2017.
- ↑ On Roads and Road Activities in the Russian Federation and on Amending Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation (as amended on August 3, 2018), Federal Law No. 257-FZ of November 08, 2007 . docs.cntd.ru. Date of appeal September 23, 2018.
Links
- Moscow, zero kilometer of roads - impressions and photos
- Photo Zero kilometer in Kiev . FotoLoad. Date of treatment March 9, 2019.