Indo-European Telegraph

The main telegraph lines in 1891

The Indo-European Telegraph is a telegraph line laid in the 19th century between the countries of Europe and India . The line passed through Germany , the western provinces of Russia , Crimea , the Caucasus and Persia .

The construction, which was conducted by Siemens and Halske , began in 1867 . In the Caucasus section, the cable was originally laid along the seabed along the coast. However, shortly after completion of work, the cable broke in several places due to the earthquake. This accident put the telegraph deadline in jeopardy. Then it was decided to move the line and lay it along the shore, on poles. To transfer the line at the right time required a lot of workers. To do this, Karl Siemens raised the builders' salaries, and also paid the composers Ganske and Volhaber large fees to write "The Telegraph March". In the shortest possible time, this march became popular in Austria-Hungary , which made it possible to recruit the necessary workers ^[1] .

The first telegraph message from London to Calcutta was transmitted on April 12 (according to other sources - January 18 ^[2] ) in 1870 . This message transmitted the British anthem and the payroll of telegraph operators. The telegraph line was officially closed in 1931 ^[3] .

To date, in the Crimea and the Caucasus, the individual pillars of the Indo-European telegraph, delivered in the 1860s, have been preserved, and the buildings of the telegraph have been preserved in Simferopol and Sukhum.