Geographical Centre Of Europe

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An ongoing debate concerns where the geographical centre of Europe is to be found. Different opinions are based on differing measurements, on the definition of the boundaries and extreme points of Europe, and on different ways of calculating the final result.

Locations currently vying for the distinction of being the centre of Europe include:

Bernotai, or Purnuškės near Vilnius in Lithuania;
a point on the island of Saaremaa in Estonia;
the village of Krahule, near Kremnica in central Slovakia;
the small town of Rakhiv, or the village of Dilove near Rakhiv, in western Ukraine;
Suchowola, north of Białystok, in north-eastern Poland; and Toruń in the northern part of central Poland;
Babruysk or Vitebsk in Belarus;
and a few others which seem nevertheless less justified.

Historical measurements Early measurements Poland In 1775 the Polish Astronomer Royal Szymon Antoni Sobiekrajski published a report in which he stated that the geographic centre of Europe was located at the town of Suchowola (now in the county (Polish: powiat) of Sokółka). The methodology he used was to calculate the four furthest points (the corners) of the continent and to ascertain where the lines crossed. The town of Suchowola, situated at , has a monument erected declaring this spot to be the geometrical centre of Europe.

Slovakia Another possible center of Europe is the Central Slovak town of Krahule, near the mining town of Kremnica, now a famous centre for winter sports. There is now a stone commemorating the point at as well as a hotel and a recreation centre called "Centre of Europe".

Ukraine The village of Dilove located on the Tisza river, close to the Romanian border, in the county of Rakhiv in the Transcarpathian region contains a historical marker and a large stone believed to mark the geographic centre of Europe as measured in 1887 by geographers from the Austria-Hungary. The township today is a part of Ukraine. The interpretation of the worn Latin inscription on the monument is debated, with some claiming that the marker is merely one of a number of fixed triangulation points for surveying purposes established around the territory of the former Empire. The external borders of Europe taken into account during the calculations are not known. According to the description, the methodology used for the calculation is that of the geometrical middle point of the extreme latitudes and longitudes of Europe, so the stone was located at . However, the actual location of the monument seems rather and not the coordinates to which they relate (see: Talk:Geographical centre of Europe).

German measurements The Germany did their own geographic analysis at the beginning of the 1900s and concluded that the Austrian measurements were incorrect. The German scientists stated that the true geographic centre of Europe was in the Saxony capital city of Dresden, near the "Dresden Frauenkirche" church. The Nazis capitalised on this claim by proclaiming that Germany was the "heart of Europe".

Measurements done after World War II by Soviet Union scientists contradicted the German claim, however, and again proclaimed Rakhiv and Dilove (in Russian: Rakhov and Dyelovoye) 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.

Current measurements Poland It is frequently quoted on the Internet that current analysis, using a combination of latitude and longitude measurements from the "geographic extremes" of Europe, places the centre in the northern part of central Poland. This is supported by calculations based on the Center of mass method, which uses a combination of population and area analysis, placing the geographic centre of Europe near the city of Toruń, about 350 km east of the border with Germany, 150 km south of Gdańsk and 200 km north-west of the Polish capital, Warsaw. Unfortunately the author of this claim, as well as the date it was made is unknown.

Lithuania

After a re-estimation of the boundaries of the continent of Europe in 1989, Jean-George Affholder, a scientist at the Institut géographique national (France) (French National Geographic Institute) determined that the Geographic Centre of Europe is located at . http://geosite.jankrogh.com/other.htm The method used for calculating this point was that of the centre of gravity of the geometry of Europe.This point is located in Lithuania, specifically 26 kilometres (16 miles) north of its capital city, Vilnius, near the village of Purnuškės. A monument, composed by the sculptor Gediminas Jokūbonis and consisting of a column of white granite surmounted by a crown of stars, was erected at the location in 2004. An area of woods and fields surrounding the geographic centre point and including Lake Girija, Bernotai Hill, and an old burial ground, was set aside as a reserve in 1992. The State Tourism Department at the Ministry of Economy of Lithuania has classified the Geographic Centre monument and its reserve as a tourist attraction.17 km away lies Europos Parkas, Open Air Museum of the Centre of Europe, a sculpture park containing the world's largest sculpture made of TV sets, now partially collapsed. http://www.europosparkas.lt/

Estonia If all the islands of Europe - from Azores to the Franz Joseph Land and from Crete to Iceland are taken into consideration, it is claimed that the centre of Europe lies on the island of Saaremaa in western Estonia, on its southernmost peninsular of Sõrve, north of the town of Torgu at . Again, no author and no method of calculation was disclosed.

Belarus Recently a new claim has been made that Vitebsk in the north-east of Belarus, or alternatively Babruysk in the western part of the province of Mahilyow of the eastern Belarus, is the centre of Europe.

In 2000 Belarusian scientists Alexey Solomonov and Valery Anoshko published a report in which they stated that the geographic centre of Europe was located near lake Sho (; ) in Vitsebsk Voblast.

Possibly mistaken claims Certain people mistakenly take two notions: "geographical centre of Europe" and "geographical centre of a country lying (approximatively) in the centre of Europe" to be synonymous. Such seems the genesis of the claims that the centre of Europe lies in:

Cihost near Ledec nad Sazavou, Czech Republic - place of the geometrical centre of the Czech Republic; http://www.geoportal.kvalitne.cz. Nothing more specific is known about this claim.
Piatek in the centre of Poland http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi%C4%85tek_%28wojew%C3%B3dztwo_%C5%82%C3%B3dzkie%29.
Maybe the genesis of Babruysk's claim is also similar - it is located close to the geographical centre of Belarus.
Braunau am Inn in Austria, in the province of Upper Austria (Oberösterreich), on the border with Germany - was declared the centre of Europe supposedly by Napoleon Bonaparte himself - certainly not for purely geographical but for political reasons.

Other calculations Based on distance calculations to the extreme points of Europe (Franz Josef Land in the Northeast, the border between the Russia and the states of Georgia (country) and Azerbaijan at the Caspian Sea in the Southeast, Crete in the South and the Azores in the Southwest) the centre of Europe will surprisingly be found in Southern Norway near in the Telemark region.

If only continental Europe is of interest and outlying islands like Iceland, Franz Josef Land and the Azores are being disregarded, thus having the extreme points in Northern Norway, Gibraltar and again in Crete and the Caucasus region, and again based on distances, the centre of Europe would actually be in Poland, somewhere near somewhat North of the city of Poznań.

(Note: Though further East by longitude than the Caucasus region, the Ural mountains can be disregarded as an extreme point since they are actually closer to the centre of Europe.)

Geographic centre of the European Union Other locations have claimed the title of geographic centre of Europe on the basis of calculations taking into account only the territory of those states which are members of the European Union (or formerly - European Community).

IGN calculations (15-member-EU) (25-member-EU)As the European Union has been growing the last 50 years, the geographical centre shifted with each expansion.

The calculations of a geographical centre were made by the French Institut Géographique National (IGN) since at least 1987.

12 members: In 1987 the centre of the European Community of the 12 members was declared to be in the middle of France, in the village of Saint-André-le-Coq (63310), département of Puy-de-Dôme (63), région of Auvergne (region), and next was shifted after the reunification of Germany in 1990 some 25 km north-eastward, to the place called Noireterre in the village of Saint-Clément (03250), département of Allier (03), the same région of Auvergne. A small monument commemorating the latter discovery is still existing in Saint Clément.
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 , and a monument there records that finding.
25 members: The 25-member Union (2004-2007), has a centre calculated by the IGN to be situated at , in the village of Kleinmaischeid, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
27 members: On January 1, 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 Hesse, 115 km east of the previous marker, at http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070105-1040-centerofeurope.html 5 January 2007.

Other calculations The geographical point 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. Most of them are located now in Germany.

See also