“Can you imagine a time before kilometers?” I ask. The Königlich sächsischer Meilenstein before us stands silent. Yet it whispers tales of a bygone era.
This isn’t just a stone. This Königlich sächsischer Meilenstein is a piece of Saxon history. It’s one of many erected between 1859 and 1866. The Kingdom of Saxony had switched to a new mile length in 1840. This was 7.5 kilometers. The new milestones marked this change.
The Saxon Finance Ministry ordered a new survey of the roads. These new distance markers followed. They were called Königlich sächsische Meilensteine. Station stones like this one marked the starting point of a survey. Some were even three-sided. This was for special occasions. Mile and half-mile stones were placed at specific intervals along roads. When a secondary road branched off a main road they were used. This especially happened if the secondary road was a postal route. Boundary stones marked the borders of Saxony.
They were made from Cotta sandstone. The stones were placed from 1859 to 1866. Each type of stone had differently sized cast iron crowns. These crowns were painted sandstone color.
In 1875 the metric system became official in the German Empire. This made the milestones obsolete. Many milestones were changed. Their inscriptions were altered. These mid-19th-century stones are quite simple compared to earlier postal mileposts. This lack of ornamentation led to many milestones not being preserved as monuments.
In Saxony however the Königlich sächsische Meilensteine are protected. This includes original replicas and remaining parts. This milestone here in Freiberg is a testament to that protection. It silently records the kingdom’s past. It marks a specific point on a long forgotten road. This seemingly unassuming stone carries the weight of history. It reflects the transition from an older system of measurement to our modern one. The Königlich sächsischer Meilenstein stands as a reminder. It reminds us of the meticulous work that went into mapping Saxony’s roads. Each milestone is a silent witness to the kingdom’s past.