Thursday 22 October 2015

The Struve Geodetic Arc (Belarus, Estonia)

The Struve Geodetic Arc runs from the Black Sea to the northern coast of Norway. It was built on the initiative of Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve between 1810 and 1865 and should measure the size and the shape of the earth. The arc is 2820 km long and is a exceptional example for the cooperation of scientists and monarchs of different countries for a scientific aim. It marked an important step in the development of earth sciences and topographic mapping. When it was built, it passed through just two countries, the Union of Sweden-Norway and the Russian Empire, but today it passes through ten countries. 

Since 2005 is the Struve Geodetic Arc a transnational UNESCO World Heritage Site in Belarus, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Ukraine.


In 2011 Estonia issued a souvenir sheet about the Struve Geodetic Arc. The two stamps in the sheet show Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve and the Tartu Observatory, the first reference point of the arc.


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