04 April 2016

#1051 Chișinău, Moldova


The Struve Geodetic Arc is a chain of survey triangulations stretching from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea, through ten countries and over 2,820 km, which yielded the first accurate measurement of a meridian.

The chain was established and used by the German-born Russian scientist Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve in the years 1816 to 1855 to establish the exact size and shape of the earth. At that time, the chain passed merely through two countries: Union of Sweden-Norway and the Russian Empire. The Arc's first point is located in Tartu Observatory in Estonia, where Struve conducted much of his research.

In 2005, the chain was inscribed on the World Heritage List as a memorable ensemble of the chain made up of 34 commemorative plaques or built obelisks out of the original 265 main station points which are marked by drilled holes in rock, iron crosses, cairns, others.

Measurement of the triangulation chain comprises 258 main triangles and 265 geodetic vertices. The northernmost point is located near Hammerfest in Norway and the southernmost point near the Black Sea in Ukraine. This inscription is located in ten countries, the most of any UNESCO World Heritage.

The Rudi Geodetic Point (RomanianPunctul Geodezic Rudi) is a point of the Struve Geodetic Arc in RudiMoldova. There is also an obelisk.

Rudi Geodetic Point was set up in 1847 and is a World Heritage Site (2005). The obelisk was opened on June 17, 2006.


Date of Inscription on the List of UNESCO WHS: 2005



Thank you, Mihnea !

Sent on: March 29, 2016
Received on: April 4, 2016

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