# Kilometre zero



## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

I hope this is the right section to post this in. But I found this interesting topic of markings so called "kilometre zero" in many different countries. These are particular locations that measures distances of roads, highways, etc. They can also mark as the centre of a city or town.

One example would be in *Paris*. The city's kilometre zero would be in a square facing the main entrance of the world famous Notre Dame cathedral. This marking also represents the city's centre.










How bout in your city/country?


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## diz (Nov 1, 2005)

Philippines' kilometer 0 is in Manila right in front of the Rizal Monument. I think it's the flagpole though...


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## RawLee (Jul 9, 2007)

In Budapest:


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

diz said:


> Philippines' kilometer 0 is in Manila right in front of the Rizal Monument. I think it's the flagpole though...


It is the flagpole


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## -Pino- (Aug 12, 2007)

Haven't got any pictures, but the Spanish km0 would be Plaza del Sol in Madrid and in Cuba there is a similar stone in the Capitol in Havana. Not that you'll find any distance sign in Cuba, but they do have the stone


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## canadave87 (Oct 8, 2007)

In Canada, I believe that a City Hall is considered the 0-kilometre point when referring to distances between cities.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

-Pino- said:


> Haven't got any pictures, but the Spanish km0 would be Plaza del Sol in Madrid and in Cuba there is a similar stone in the Capitol in Havana. Not that you'll find any distance sign in Cuba, but they do have the stone


Hey Pino, welcome.

It's Puerta del Sol by the way, i found this pic on Wikipedia.


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

Interesting, I haven't heard of anything such in Ljubljana (Slovenia), but we have a river Kilometre Zero close to the tripoint between Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary (I took the pix):


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## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

^^
actually, each river has its zero km  i think that ex-yugoslav countries don't have it. maybe there is in Belgrade. i think that still all distances in railways in ex-yugoslav countries take Belgrade as 0 km


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

x-type said:


> ^^
> actually, each river has its zero km


Where, at its spring, or mouth perhaps? But this is just a confluence of two rivers.


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## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

mouth. (if the mouth is "ušće"  ) i found it for river Drava for instance


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

^^ Oops, yes, that confluence is of course mouth of one of the two rivers (Ledava).


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## RawLee (Jul 9, 2007)

IMO,because the delta(confluence) of rivers change constantly,only the source is a stable point...so it it IMO measured from there...


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

US rivers also have a zero kilometer. US Highways can also have an Exit 0.


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## RV (Oct 23, 2007)

Erottaja square in Helsinki (Finland).


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## mgk920 (Apr 21, 2007)

Distances to/from Washington, DC are measured from a marker in the Ellipse, by the White House.

Mike


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

RawLee said:


> IMO,because the delta(confluence) of rivers change constantly,only the source is a stable point...so it it IMO measured from there...


It can't be. That's a confluence in my pics, and certainly not a source of any river.


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## RawLee (Jul 9, 2007)

Verso said:


> It can't be. That's a confluence in my pics, and certainly not a source of any river.


What about the Danube? It gets longer each year,as it expands its delta...Maybe there are 2 different methods? Branch-rivers are measured from confluence,and major-rivers are from the source?


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## Morsue (Mar 28, 2008)

Distance on the road is in Sweden measured to a central place in each town. For example, in Stockholm it's in front of the Sheraton Hotel at Tegelbacken, just south of the main train station.











There is no "Exit 0" or such. The whole exit numbering is quite illogical and is based on a test section on the E6 in Halland that used random numbers.


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## -Pino- (Aug 12, 2007)

The Rhine is measured from Konstanz, which is the point where the Rhine becomes navigable. The mound at Hoek van Holland is at km 1036. The Danube runs the other way round, with km 0 being the mound. I'm not sure how the river's expansions in the delta are dealt with.

The German Wikipedia (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilometrierung) suggests that none of the systems really prevails. As a matter of fact, on many rivers the numbering is reset when crossing a border. Pretty much like milestones on roads ...


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

mgk920 said:


> Distances to/from Washington, DC are measured from a marker in the Ellipse, by the White House.
> 
> Mike


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## Qwert (Jun 25, 2006)

Zero kilometer in Bratislava is rigt under Michael's gate...









...and it looks like this...









...and some distances are:
























Pictures are from http://www.panoramio.com


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## bgplayer19 (Nov 25, 2007)

^^ :lol: I can see Sofia :lol:!Otherwise it's a great zero point


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## muravidék (Nov 19, 2007)

x-type said:


> ^^
> i think that still all distances in railways in ex-yugoslav countries take Belgrade as 0 km


very true


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## Sphynx (Jan 2, 2005)

Trans-Canada Hwy "Mile 0" on Canada's west coast in Victoria, BC:










Alaska Hwy "Mile 0" much, much further north in Dawson Creek, BC:










"Miles" in Canada, when it uses "km"? hmmmmmm...

And of course, many Canadian Mounties still use the traditional race horse when conducting speed traps... now that's a sight to behold:


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## Czas na Żywiec (Jan 17, 2005)

^^ Did Canada always use metric or have they use miles in the past? Since they still use miles predominantly in the UK and Canada was part of the UK originally that would explain this "Mile 0."


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## mgk920 (Apr 21, 2007)

Czas na Żywiec;20007780 said:


> ^^ Did Canada always use metric or have they use miles in the past? Since they still use miles predominantly in the UK and Canada was part of the UK originally that would explain this "Mile 0."


Canada officially converted from miles/yards/UK gallons in 1977 - all of their non-metric highway signs were changed in a 'blitz' over the Labour Day weekend.

Mike


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## Sphynx (Jan 2, 2005)

Czas na Żywiec;20007780 said:


> ^^ Did Canada always use metric or have they use miles in the past? Since they still use miles predominantly in the UK and Canada was part of the UK originally that would explain this "Mile 0."


Canada switched over to the metric system in 1977 (?) but besides km and celsius, most still use the old imperial system. Eg. buying/leasing property: square feet/acres, building materials: 2 x 4 (2 inch x 4 inch lumber), oven temperature: farenheit, etc., etc.

Still closely related to the U.S.


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## Mark19 (Mar 8, 2010)

nice thread 
this´s km zero on El Salvador CA (its on main street (calle delgado-arce) and central avenue (avenida cuscatlan y españa)


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## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

For my town it's this blue pole with golden statue on top. The statue represents Saint-Trudo, the fouder of the abby, (wich burned down ,only tower remains) where the city grew around. They say it's at the spot this blue pole stands the first stone af the abby was layed in the year 655. There is also a stone in the ground indicating km 0


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## Stainless (Jun 7, 2009)

A few I have seen this year:

Moscow, next to Red Square

Ulan Bator, in the main Square.

Beijing, in Tiananmen Square

Also saw the one in Bratislava, Good to note I was 8138km from Seoul, where I started my overland trip and only 1288km to London, which was nearly home.


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## DanielFigFoz (Mar 10, 2007)

You've been to Ulaanbataar?! Thats amazing


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## El Tiburon (Mar 21, 2010)

*Kilometer 0 of Cuba's Carretera Central (Central Highway)*

The Kilometer 0 of Cuba's Carretera Central (Central Highway) is located at the Capitol (which was the seat of the senate and house of representatives when Cuba still had a democracy before the Castro dictatorship):









The Kilometer Zero was marked by a diamond set on the floor (which has since disappeared with whereabouts unknown and has been replaced by a replica)









It's under the Capitol's dome 








in front of the Statue of the Republic (which is the third largest indoor statue in the world)









(From http://opencuba.creatuforo.com/-temas6.html)


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## El Tiburon (Mar 21, 2010)

*Mile Markers 0 of U.S. 1 in Key West, Florida and Fort Kent, Maine.*

United States Highway 1 (US 1) goes from the island of Key West, Florida (90 miles north of Havana, Cuba) to Fort Kent at the U.S.-Canada border in Maine.

Here is the Mile 0 at the intersection of Whitehead Street and Fleming Street in Key West.

Northbound beginning:









Southbound end:









(From http://knitwitchblog.blogspot.com/2009_09_01_archive.html)


These markers at the southbound Mile 0 of US 1 in Fort Kent, Maine show different lengths for the highway:










(From http://key-largo-florida-to-bar-har...05/florida-us-highway-1-key-west-florida.html)



















(From Panoramio)


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## essendon bombers (Apr 27, 2008)

I think kilometre 0 for Australian towns is at the post office; or the General Post Office (GPO) for larger towns and cities.


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

Monument of Kilometre 0 in Bucharest​
The Kilometre Zero monument located in central Bucharest, in front of Saint George's Church, was created by Constantin Baraski in 1938.

The distances from Bucharest to other cities in Romania are measured from this monument. It is divided into eight sections, each representing a Romanian historical province: Muntenia, Dobrogea, Bessarabia, Moldavia, Bucovina, Transylvania, Banat and Oltenia. Among the cities inscribed on it are also Chişinău, Orhei, Tighina, which are currently in the Republic of Moldova, as well as Silistra and Dobrich (Bazargic) in Bulgaria, which were part of Greater Romania from 1913 to 1940.









Image from ampt.ro​


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## Hezery99 (Jul 3, 2008)

Malaysia uses post offices as the kilometre zero of respective towns and cities. For example, the Kilometre Zero of Kuala Lumpur is the Kuala Lumpur General Post Office, even though the _actual_ historic kilometre zero is the Masjid Jamek Kuala Lumpur, where Gombak River (formerly Lumpur River) meets Klang River, hence KL got its name.


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## luckyluk (Oct 14, 2011)

RawLee said:


> In Budapest:


What happened here?


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## alserrod (Dec 27, 2007)

In Spain there are six arterial roads (numbered with Roman numbers): N-I Madrid-Burgos-France by Irun, N-II, Madrid-Zaragoza-Barcelona-France by La Junquera, N-III Madrid-Valencia, N-IV, Madrid-Córdoba-Sevilla-Cádiz, N-V Madrid-Badajoz-Portugal and N-VI Madrid-La Coruña

It is called that the centre of those roads is this square at Madrid (where people are looking on the street in the centre of the image)


http://maps.google.es/?ll=40.41668,...9N4n2SinM35cLrtHNA2PhA&cbp=12,180.79,,0,14.25


The km. 0 of those main roads start there


It was said that it was the centre of Spain, but it is calculated that it isn't

Considering all Spain in continental Europe (except islands near the coast, Baleares, Ceuta, Melilla and Canarias), the exact point of the centre will be at "Cerro de los Angeles", located in this image.

Take a look that there is not too many distance between km. 0 and this really centre

http://maps.google.es/?ll=40.315661,-3.675957&spn=0.143194,0.338173&t=h&z=12&vpsrc=6


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## xrtn2 (Jan 12, 2011)

next


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## xrtn2 (Jan 12, 2011)

Br 116 Brazil


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## RKC (Jun 16, 2007)

luckyluk said:


> What happened here?


here is the Budapest 0 km statue again: 

















http://www.owl.hu/owl/3gallery/gownpic2008/2008_34_95q2.jpg

Apart from this we have other roads that don't start or finish in Budapest, they have their own "0km" at their beginning (not marked specificly), I think we should make a distinction between the two, because I see pictures that are just the beginning of a single road and the 0 km/mi doesn't apply to the whole country


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## Cicerón (May 15, 2006)

The kilometre zero of the main Spanish roads is located in Madrid's Puerta del Sol. The stone was restored 2 years ago:








These six national roads were created in 1720 as paths where cavalry was stationed every few miles.

This is their route through Madrid, from the Puerta del Sol to another six Puertas (gates) of the old town:
http://g.co/maps/f3ccz


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## Hezery99 (Jul 3, 2008)

In Malaysia, the kilometre zero monument looks like this...



chumpon said:


>


(Taken from  the official Malaysian expressway thread)


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## roofromoz (May 20, 2007)

essendon bombers said:


> I think kilometre 0 for Australian towns is at the post office; or the General Post Office (GPO) for larger towns and cities.


For Sydney, it's actually from an obelisk in Macquarie Place, off Bridge Street and a couple of blocks to the north of the GPO.










However, the Sydney UBD street directory appears to use the GPO as kilometre 0 (in multiples of 2 along main roads).


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## Sky Harbor (May 4, 2008)

diz said:


> Philippines' kilometer 0 is in Manila right in front of the Rizal Monument. I think it's the flagpole though...





Manila-X said:


> It is the flagpole


Actually, this is Manila's (and the Philippines') Kilometer Zero:


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## Fabri88 (Feb 9, 2011)

In Italy there's a famous proverb saying "All roads lead to Rome".

But I think that in Rome there isn't any KM 0!


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## BND (May 31, 2007)

^^ because the roads lead _to_ Rome and not _from_ Rome


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## Penn's Woods (Apr 8, 2010)

Fabri88 said:


> In Italy there's a famous proverb saying "All roads lead to Rome".
> 
> But I think that in Rome there isn't any KM 0!


It's used in English too.


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## Luki_SL (Apr 11, 2005)

BND said:


> ^^ because the roads lead _to_ Rome and not _from_ Rome


I`m not sure For example SS1, SS2 and the other lowest "strada statale" in Italy start in Rome.

9km of SS1 in Rome:


Uploaded with ImageShack.us


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## JB1981 (May 16, 2008)

N200 near Amsterdam, negative mile marker -0,1:

http://g.co/maps/rzqfz


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## volodaaaa (Apr 9, 2013)

0,0 km on D1 in Bratislava
http://goo.gl/maps/ZGZC9


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

We don't have a kilometre zero in Slovenia, and our main railways are still measured from Belgrade.


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## italystf (Aug 2, 2011)

Italian roads that starts in Rome (SS1 to SS8) have their km 0 at Campidoglio.
Only exception is the SS2, that starts at Ponte Milvio.


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## volodaaaa (Apr 9, 2013)

Verso said:


> We don't have a kilometre zero in Slovenia, and our main railways are still measured from Belgrade.


I know that feeling :lol: Here are some primary roads measured from Prague


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## Luki_SL (Apr 11, 2005)

The beginning of the A1 (E75) Motorway, Poland (0+000km) :









https://www.google.pl/maps/@54.2454...BaHqO3HOvU6Y6OnzCqvw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=pl


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## Stavros86 (Jun 12, 2010)

Kilometre zero in Thessaloniki, Greece.


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## General Maximus (Dec 29, 2015)

The German A61 (Dutch border at Venlo to Ludwigshafen) actually goes into the minus as it approaches the Dutch border. They've extended it to connect with the Dutch A74, and I suppose it's cheaper to do it this way, rather than replacing all the posts along the entire A61...


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## xrtn2 (Jan 12, 2011)

Brazil


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