Geographical centre 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.

Some claimants

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;
* Polotsk in Belarus;
* and a few others which seem nevertheless less justified.

Historical measurements

Austria-Hungary

*Modern day Ukraine: In 1887, geographers from the Austro-Hungarian Empire set up a historical marker and a large stone in what is today a part of Ukraine, believed to mark the geographic centre of Europe. 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

In 2000 Belarusian scientists Alexey Solomonov and Valery Anoshko published a report that stated the geographic centre of Europe was located near Lake Sho (coord|55|10|55|N|28|15|30|E; _be. Шо) in Vitsebsk Voblast. [cite web |url=http://belarus-magazine.by/en.php?subaction=showfull&id=1178358210&archive=1183809402&start_from=&ucat=4&do=archives |publisher=Belarus Magazine |title=. ]

Scientists from Russian Central research institute of geodesy, aerial survey and cartography ( _ru. ЦНИИГАиК) confirmed calculations of Belarusian geodesists that the geographical centre of Europe is located in Polotsk. A small monument to the Geographical Centre of Europe was set up in Polotsk on May 31, 2008. [ [http://www.belta.by/ru/main_news_other?id=213117 Российские геодезисты подтвердили нахождение центра Европы в Полоцке - Главные новости - БЕЛТА - новости, события, факты, комментарии ] ]

Possibly mistaken claims

Certain peoplewho|date=April 2008 mistakenly take two notions: "geographical centre of Europe" and "geographical centre of a country lying (approximately) in the centre of Europe" to be synonymous. Such seems the genesis of the claims that the centre of Europe lies in the following places.

* Číhošť near Ledeč nad Sázavou, Czech Republic - place of the geometrical centre of the Czech Republic [cite web |url=http://www.geoportal.kvalitne.cz |title=Stránky Miroslava Červeného ] . Nothing more specific is known about this claim.
* Piątek in the centre of Poland. [cite web |url=http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi%C4%85tek_%28wojew%C3%B3dztwo_%C5%82%C3%B3dzkie%29 |title=Piątek (województwo łódzkie) |publisher=Wikipedia |language=Polish ]
* 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.fact|date=March 2008

Other calculations

Based on distance calculations to the extreme points of Europe (Franz Josef Land in the Northeast, the border between the Russian Federation and the states of Georgia 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 coord|60|00|N|07|30|E| 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 coord|53|00|N|16|45|E| 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 because 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

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, 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 still exists 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 coord|50|00|33|N|4|39|59|E|region:BE_type:landmark|name=Viroinval (15 members), 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 coord|50|31|31|N|7|35|50|E|region:DE_type:landmark|name=Kleinmaischeid (25 members), 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 coord|50|10|21|N|9|9|0|E|region:DE_type:landmark|name=Gelnhausen (27 members) [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.

ee also

*Geography of Europe
*Extreme points of Europe
*Extreme points of the European Union
*Central Europe
*Centroid

Further reading

* cite journal
last = Gardner
first = N
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Pivotal points: defining Europe's centre
journal = Hidden Europe
volume =
issue = 5
pages = 20–21
publisher =
month = November | year = 2005
url = http://www.hiddeneurope.co.uk/article_info.php?articles_id=123
doi =
id =
accessdate = 2007-01-11 Useful short English language article that considers the claims of various localities to be the geographical centre of Europe.

A film about the "Centre of Europe"

The Polish-German documentary production of 2004, "Die Mitte" ("Środek Europy", "The Centre"), screenplay written and directed by Stanisław Mucha, has shown more than a dozen of different locations. [cite web |url=http://www.strandfilm.com/Projekte/Die%20Mitte/sf_Mitte_engl.htm |title=The Center (Die Mitte) |publisher=strandfilm ]

References