Geographical midpoint of Europe
The location of the geographical centre of Europe depends on the definition of the borders of Europe, mainly whether remote islands are included to define the extreme points of Europe, and on the method of calculating the final result. Thus, several places claim to host this hypothetical centre.
Current claimants
Locations currently vying for the distinction of being the centre of Europe include:
- the village of Kremnické Bane or the neighbouring village Krahule, near Kremnica, in central Slovakia[1]
- the small town of Rakhiv, or the village of Dilove near Rakhiv, in western Ukraine[2]
- the village of Girija, near Vilnius, in Lithuania[3][4][5]
- a point on the island of Saaremaa in Estonia[6]
- a point near Polotsk, or in Vitebsk, or near Babruysk, or near lake Sho in Belarus[7]
- a point near the town of Tállya, in north-eastern Hungary[8]
- the small historic town of Kouřim in Czech Republic
Extreme points of Europe
The picture above shows the extreme points of Europe, northern or southern. The northern, which are Ostrov Rudolfa or Rudolf Island, a Russian island, Kinnarodden, a tourist attraction in Norway, and Mys Zhelaniya or Cape Zhelaniya, the northernmost point of Severny Island, Russia. The extreme southern parts of Europe are Cabo da Roca, A historical place in Portugal, Punta de Tarifa, the southernmost point on the Spanish mainland, and Gavdos, an island in Greece under the administrative region of Crete.
History of claims
Poland
The first official declaration of the Centre of Europe was made in 1775 by the Polish royal astronomer and cartographer Szymon Antoni Sobiekrajski, who calculated it to be in the town of Suchowola[9] near Białystok in modern north-eastern Poland. The method used was that of calculating equal distances from the extreme points of Europe: the westernmost point in Portugal; the easternmost point in the Central Urals; the northernmost point in Norway; and the southernmost point in Greece (islands were not taken into consideration). There is a monument commemorating that definition in Suchowola 53°34′39″N 23°06′22″E / 53.57750°N 23.10611°E.
Slovakia
In about 1815 there was a declaration that the centre of Europe was located near the mining town of Kremnica, on a hill that forms the water division between the basins of the Baltic Sea and Black Sea, near St. John Baptist Church. The method used for calculating is unknown, but from the description given on the commemorative plaque located near the church 48°44′37″N 18°55′50″E / 48.74361°N 18.93056°E, it seems that it has been the centre of the smallest circle circumscribed on Europe (yet the limits of Europe taken into consideration are not known). The title of the "Centre of Europe" is also claimed by the neighbouring village Krahule (ancient Blaufuß), which used to belong to the same parish, now a famous centre for winter sports, with a hotel and recreation centre called "Stred Európy" ("Centre of Europe").
Transcarpathia, Ukraine
In 1887, geographers from the
Soviet measurements
Measurements done after World War II by Soviet scientists reconfirmed the Austria-Hungarian claim that Rakhiv and Dilove to be the geographical centre of Europe. The old marker in the small town was renewed, and a major campaign to convince everyone of its validity was undertaken.[citation needed]
Tillenberg/Dyleň, today in the Czech Republic/Bavaria
Austrian geographers also marked the 939-metre-high
Sweden
In 1988 using Spherical trigonometry with the three corners of Europe as Cabo de São Vincente in the west, Spitsbergen in the north and Astrakan in the east, Arne Wennberg calculated Landskrona as the midpoint of Europe.[10] A monument is built on the town square in the form of a pen stuck in stone.
Lithuania
After a re-estimation of the boundaries of the
It is the only Geographical Centre of Europe with recognition in the
Hungary
It is claimed that a 1992 survey found that the geometric centre of Europe is in the village of Tállya, Hungary 48°14′10″N 21°13′33″E / 48.23610°N 21.22574°E.[14][15] In 2000, a sculpture was erected in the village, with a table on it declaring the place the "Geometric Centre of Europe".[16]
Belarus
In 2000 Belarusian scientists Alexey Solomonov and Valery Anoshko published a report that stated the geographic centre of Europe was located near Lake Sho (55°10′55″N 28°15′30″E / 55.18194°N 28.25833°E; Belarusian: Шо) in Vitebsk Region.[17]
The scientists used a special computer program that takes Europe in a single entity – the White Sea and the Baltic Sea, Britain and Ireland were included in the program as continental zone objects. It is assumed that in the calculations to determine the center of Europe, one must take into account the inland waters of Europe and the Ural Mountains, the eastern border of Europe.
Scientists from the Russian Central Research Institute of Geodesy, Aerial Survey and Cartography (Russian: ЦНИИГАиК) confirmed the calculations of Belarusian geodesists that the geographical centre of Europe is located in Polotsk 55°30′0″N 28°48′0″E / 55.50000°N 28.80000°E. A small monument to the Geographical Centre of Europe was set up in Polotsk on 31 May 2008.[18]
Estonia
It is claimed that if all the islands of Europe – from the
Geographic centre of the European Union
The French
1987–1990
12 members: In 1987 the centre of the
1990–1995
12 members after the reunification of Germany. In 1990, the centre shifted some 25 km north-eastward, to the place called Noireterre in the village of Saint-Clément, département of Allier, the same région of Auvergne. A small monument commemorating the latter discovery still exists in Saint Clément.
1995–2004
15 members: Using the same techniques, the IGN has identified the geographic centre of the 15-member Union (1995–2004) to be in Viroinval, Belgium, at coordinates 50°00′33″N 4°39′59″E / 50.00917°N 4.66639°E, and a monument there records that finding.
2004–2007
25 members: The 25-member Union (2004–2007), had a centre calculated by the IGN to be situated at 50°31′31″N 7°35′50″E / 50.52528°N 7.59722°E, in the village of Kleinmaischeid, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
2007–2013
27 members: On 1 January 2007, with the inclusion of Romania and Bulgaria in the European Union, the geographic centre of the European Union changed to a wheat field outside of the German town Gelnhausen, in the state of Hesse, 115 km east of the previous marker, at 50°10′21″N 9°9′0″E / 50.17250°N 9.15000°E.[20]
2013–2020
28 members: On 1 July 2013, with the accession of Croatia, the geographic centre entered North-West
2020–present
27 members after Brexit: On 31 January 2020, with the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU, the geographical mid-point moved to Gadheim near Würzburg, Bavaria, at 49°50′34.8″N 9°54′07.4″E / 49.843000°N 9.902056°E.[22]
Other calculations
The geographical midpoint of the European Union is not free from disputes either. If some different extreme points of the European Union, like some Atlantic Ocean islands, are taken into consideration this point is calculated in different locations.[citation needed]
Eurozone
The original centre of the Eurozone is located in France. This location has changed with the accession of new countries into the Eurozone (e.g. Slovakia 2009).[citation needed]
See also
- Central Europe
- Centroid
- Intermediate Region
- Geography of Europe
- Extreme points of the European Union
- Geographical centre of Earth
References
- ^ "SVK: Kremnické Bane – Geographical Center Of Europe". en.infoglobe.cz.
- ^ "Geographical Centre of Europe: Monument in Rakhiv". Lonely Planet.
- ^ "The Museum of Geographical Centre of Europe". Museums of Lithuania.
- ^ http://confluence.org/confluence.php?visitid=14714 : "according to the research of the French National Geographic Institute, the one and only geographical central point of the continent is in Lithuania, a fact that even won recognition in the Guinness Book of World Records"
- ^ "Geographical centre of Europe". Retrieved 27 July 2018.
- ISBN 978-0-9765812-2-2.
- ^ Viktor Korbut (2009). "How to reach the centre of Europe". Belarus Magazine. No. 5. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ^ "Tállya". www.tortenelmi-borut.hu. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
According to topographical measurements, Tállya is the geodesic centre of [...] continental Europe
- ^ "Suchowola commune (Poland)".
In 1775 royal astronomer Szymon Antoni Sobiekrajski published a report in which he stated that Suchowola is the exact geographic centre of Europe
- ^ "Pennan kvar på Järnvägsgatan". HD (in Swedish). Retrieved 31 January 2021.
- ^ Jan S. Krogh. "Other Places of Interest: Central Europe".
- ^ "Europos Parkas: Open Air Museum of the Centre of Europe". EU PHARE 2001 Co-operation in the Baltic Sea Region Programme.
- ^ "The geographical Centre of Europe". visitlithuania.net. Archived from the original on 4 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- ^ "Tállya Online: Európa Mértani Közepe, Tállya". Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
- ISBN 91-7203-435-1.
- ^ "Tállya nevezetességei – Közterületi szobrok – Európa mértani középpontja (DSCF6249)" [Sights of Tállya – Public Sculptures – The Geometric Center of Europe (DSCF6249)] (in Hungarian). Archived from the original on 18 November 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
- ^ Igor Anisimov (2007). "Letters stamped "From the center of Europe"". No. 5. Belarus Magazine. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012.
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: Cite magazine requires|magazine=
(help) - ^ Российские геодезисты подтвердили нахождение центра Европы в Полоцке - Главные новости - БЕЛТА - новости, события, факты, комментарии[dead link]
- ^ "Kärla vald tahab Euroopa keskpunkti külalistele avada" (in Estonian). Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
- ^ Frey, George (5 January 2007). "5 January 2007". Signonsandiego.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
- ^ "OpenStreetMap".
- ^ Connolly, Kate (6 April 2017). "Gadheim – the Bavarian hamlet set to become the centre of a post-Brexit EU". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
Further reading
- Gardner, N (November 2005). "Pivotal points: defining Europe's centre". Hidden Europe (5): 20–21. Retrieved 11 January 2007. Useful short English language article that considers the claims of various localities to be the geographical centre of Europe.
A film about the "Center of Europe"
A 2004 Polish-German documentary, Środek Europy (Die Mitte, "The Center"), written and directed by Stanisław Mucha, shows over a dozen different locations.[1]
- ^ "The Center (Die Mitte)". strandfilm. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2006.