Ever wondered about Warsaw’s own special line. It is not as famous as Greenwich but significant. We are standing at the Warszawski Południk Zerowy Pavement plaque. This spot marks a unique place in Warsaw’s history.
The Warszawski Południk Zerowy Pavement plaque commemorates the Warsaw meridian. This meridian was once the local mean time for Warsaw. It had an offset of +01:24 from UTC.
In 1880 a stone pillar was erected in Theatre Square. This pillar was in front of the Jabłonowski Palace. The palace then served as the city hall. The pillar indicated the geographical location. It also showed the height above sea level. The Warszawski Południk Zerowy passed through the pillar’s top. It also passed through the clock tower of Jabłonowski Palace. This served as a measurement point.
Interestingly the plate on the sidewalk came much later. It was constructed in 1965. Four years after the column’s construction Greenwich Mean Time became the international standard. This standard was for time calculation around the world. It was based on the Prime meridian in Greenwich London.
Coordinate values engraved on the sidewalk plate differ from current ones. The actual coordinates are 52°14′38.302963″N 21°00′33.036621″E. The column also contains information in Russian.
The Warszawski Południk Zerowy is featured in the 1965 film “Pingwin”. Zbigniew Cybulski starred in this movie.
In 1872 a marble column was erected. It stood in Theatre Square near Jabłonowski Palace. This palace was then the seat of city authorities. A metal top was placed on the column. It was protected by a glass frame. Geographic coordinates were written on it. The height above sea level and the Vistula zero point were noted. Lines of latitude and longitude crossed at right angles. These lines passed through the spire of the town hall tower. This tower functioned as a basic triangulation point in Warsaw.
The column served as a station for geodetic and magnetic measurements. It was a coordinate transfer point. This transferred coordinates from the triangulation point on the town hall tower. Copper strips were placed on the walls of the town hall and Grand Theatre. They calibrated geodetic measuring instruments. These instruments measured the north/south direction. Azimuths were calculated from this. Observations of magnetic declination were made. This showed changes in the magnetic north’s deviation. It deviated from the geographic north. Rails were embedded in the square’s surface. They marked the course of the town hall tower’s meridian.
In 1873 the column was surrounded by an iron railing. This was commissioned by the governor of the Kingdom of Poland. Count Fiodor Berg a Russian surveyor ordered it. The column survived World War II undamaged.
During the reconstruction of Theatre Square in 1965 a plaque was placed. It incorrectly named it the “Warsaw Meridian”. It also gave the incorrect date of 1880. After archaeological work in 2013 the plaque was removed.
In September 2022 the column was renovated. An information board was installed in Polish and English. On September 14 2022 the column was unveiled after renovation. It was officially recognized as a monument to European Geodesy. This was in connection with the FIG International Geodetic Congress in Warsaw.
The Warszawski Południk Zerowy is not linked to the column in Theatre Square. It passes through a transit instrument in the Astronomical Observatory building. It was determined in 1825 by founder Franciszek Armiński. It was used in cartographic work for the Quartermaster Map of 1839. Geographical longitudes are given relative to this meridian. Currently this meridian has a geodetic longitude of 21° 01′ 39.259″ E.
The column’s position does not correspond to the 21°E meridian either. This is sometimes called the “Warsaw Meridian”. It runs through the center of Warsaw. So the Warszawski Południk Zerowy Pavement plaque we see here is a marker of history. It represents Warsaw’s role in the world of time and measurement.