Consider this Wegweiser-Distanzstein a silent storyteller. It stands here marking time and distance in Dresden. This stone is more than just a marker. It is a piece of history. It is a guide from a different era.
The Wegweiser-Distanzstein belongs to a family of stones. These stones dot the landscape across Germany. They are called Distanzsteine. These stones show the distance to various places. Many are old. They are considered worthy of preservation. Many Distanzsteine are under historical preservation protection.
Since ancient times, people have used distance markers. The Chinese, Greeks, and Romans used them. Availability of stone determined their construction. Wood was used in wooded areas. Stone was used where durability mattered. Stone was more expensive. It needed a stone mason. A government usually commissioned them. Road widening and rerouting often meant moving them. These heavy stones sometimes lasted only decades. Today, Distanzsteine mainly serve tourists. These modern stones are usually not protected.
The erection of Distanzsteine often coincided with road construction. However, this is not true for all types. It can even distinguish them. They appear mainly near roads. But they can also be found by rivers and railways. The main types include milestones. There are also post mile markers. Kilometer stones, hour stones and signposts exist. There are regional variations too.
The oldest Distanzsteine in Germany are Roman milestones. They are over 1,500 years old. Roman milestones are found where excavations rediscovered them. They show distance in Roman miles. A Roman mile is about 1.5 kilometers. Leugen stones were widely installed from the second century. Only a few survive. They are mostly in museums today. About 50 have been rediscovered in Germany. Half are in Bavaria. The others are in other regions. Some have disappeared again.
Around 1,500 years later, Germany saw another Distanzsteine system. For centuries, people used tree markings and wooden signs. These did not last long. Better solutions were needed. These stones were also legal monuments. They were erected by the state. They bore the territory’s coat of arms. This marked the area. That is why many were threatened after regime changes. Only fragments of the original number exist today.
Augustus the Strong initiated the first major project in Saxony in 1722. He had Adam Friedrich Zürner survey postal roads. Then he erected Saxon post mile columns along them. There were two types. First, there were the actual distance stones. These were placed every quarter mile. They had three subcategories. These are full mile columns and half mile columns. There are also quarter mile stones. Second, there were distance columns. These were to be placed before each city gate. They showed distances to other places on that road. They are also called market columns. They are also called city columns. They were mainly erected in smaller towns. This was to avoid burdening the towns with several columns. The Saxon-Polish double coat of arms was another special feature.
These distance columns differ from milestones. They show distance in hours. This is sometimes in fractions. It is not a direct time. It is a measure of length. Two hours equaled one post mile. The Saxon post mile was 9.062 kilometers. One hour was 4.531 kilometers. An eighth of an hour was 566 meters.
In 1815, the stock was reduced dramatically. Prussia ordered the removal of post mile columns in acquired Saxon areas. Post mile columns are still found in Saxony today. They are also in Brandenburg. Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt also have some. The research group Kursächsische Postmeilensäulen e. V. researches and maintains them. They also restore them. Now there are over 200 again. Eighty percent of all preserved or restored stones are in Saxony. Half of all preserved Saxon post mile columns are distance columns.
This Wegweiser-Distanzstein stands as a reminder. It shows how people measured their world. It also how they connected with each other.