The Kilometre Pole () is a structure in Warsaw, Poland, denoting the national kilometre zero, used to calculate distances on road signs. It is placed at the Parade Square, next to the Dmowski Roundabout at the intersection of Jerusalem Avenue and Marshal Street, within the neighbourhood of South Downtown. The monument takes a form of a granite cuboid with the heigh of 2.5 m, with a square base with wight of 1.5 m. The monument denotes the national kilometre zero, used to calculate distances on road signs. Its side walls are decorated with inscriptions, denoting the distances to the capital cities of various European countries and the contemporary voivodeships of Poland in the 1950s. The monument was placed at its location sometime between 1952 and 1955 during the development of the Parade Square.

History The structure was placed next to the intersection of Jerusalem Avenue and Marshal Street, during the construction of the Parade Square. It was used to denote the national kilometre zero, used to calculate distances on road signs. It was made from granite blocks, and decorated with Its side walls are decorated with inscriptions, denoting the distances to the capital cities of various European countries and the contemporary voivodeships of Poland in the 1950s.Henryk Janczewski: Warszawa. Geneza i rozwój inżynierii miejskiej. Warsaw: Arkady, 1971, p. 223. (in Polish) It was designed to evoke the style of the historic road signs in Poland.Henryk Janczewski: Całe życie z Warszawą. Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1986, p. 211. ISBN 83-06-01409-X. (in Polish) In April 1971, following the opening of the Dmowski Roundabout at the road intersection, the structure was moved several metres closer to it."Kronika wydarzeń w Warszawie 1 III−31 V 1971", [in:] Kronika Warszawy, no. 4/8, p. 131, 1971. (in Polish)

Characteristics The structure has a form of a tall cuboid, with the heigh of 2.5 m, with a square base with wight of 1.5 m. It is placed at the Parade Square, next to the Dmowski Roundabout at the intersection of Jerusalem Avenue and Marshal Street. It is made from polished granite blocks. It denotes the national kilometre zero, used to calculate distances on road signs. Its side walls are decorated with inscriptions, denoting the distances to the capital cities of various European countries and the contemporary voivodeships of Poland in the 1950s. Its design is meant to evoke the style of the historic road signs in Poland.

+ Northern wall; cities to the east City Country Distance Notes English name Polish name Km Miles Moscow MoskwaRussia 1,122 697.18 Capital of Russia

+ Northern wall; cities to the west City Country Distance Notes English name Polish name Km Miles Berlin BerlinGermany 518 321.87 Capital of GermanyBernBernoSwitzerland 1,126 699.66Capital of SwitzerlandBrusselsBrukselaBelgium 1,122 697.18Capital of BelgiumDublinDublinIreland1,8241,133.38Capital of IrelandThe HagueHagaNetherlands1,138707.12Capital of the NetherlandsLisbonLizbona Portugal 2,633 1,636.07Capital of PortugalLondonLondynUnited Kingdom 1,444 897.26Capital of the United KingdomLuxembourgLuksemburg Luxembourg 1,080 671.08 Capital of Luxembourg Madrid Madryt Spain 2,287 1,421.08 Capital of Spain Paris Paryż France 1,365 848.17 Capital of France

+ Eastern wall City Country Distance Notes Km Miles Bydgoszcz Poland 280 173.98 Former capital of the Bydgoszcz Voivodeship; current co-capital of the Kuyavian–Pomeranian Voivodeship Gdańsk Poland 345 214.37 Former capital of the Gdańsk Voivodeship; current capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship Koszalin Poland 437 271.54 Former capital of the Koszalin Voivodeship Łódź Poland 134 83.26 Former capital of the Łódź Voivodeship; current capital of the Łódź Voivodeship Olsztyn Poland 226 140.43 Former capital of the Olsztyn Voivodeship; current capital of the Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship Poznań Poland 303 188.28 former capital of the Poznań Voivodeship; current capital of the Greater Poland Voivodeship Szczecin Poland 537 333.68 Former capital of the Szczecin Voivodeship; current capital of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship Wrocław Poland 350 217.48 Former capital of the Wrocław Voivodeship; current capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Zielona Góra Poland 435 270.3 Former capital of the Zielona Góra Voivodeship; current co-capital of the Lubusz Voivodeship

+ Southern wall City Country Distance Notes Białystok Poland 185 114.95 Former capital of the Białystok Voivodeship Lublin Poland 165 102.52 Former capital of the Lublin Voivodeship; current capital of the Lublin Voivodeship Kielce Poland 180 111.85 Former capital of the Kielce Voivodeship; current capital of the Holy Cross Voivodeship Kraków Poland 300 186.41 Former capital of the Kraków Voivodeship; current capital of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship Opole Poland 320 198.84 Former capital of the Opole Voivodeship; current capital of the Opole Voivodeship Rzeszów Poland 295 183.3 Former capital of the Rzeszów Voivodeship; current capital of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship Katowice Poland 298 185.17 Former capital of the Katowice Voivodeship; current capital of the Silesian Voivodeship

+ Western wall; cities to the west City Country Distance Notes English name Polish name Km Miles Helsinki Helsinki Finland 945 587.2 Capital of Finland Copenhagen Kopenhaga Denmark 647 402.03 Capital of DenmarkOsloOsloNorway 1,065 661.76 Capital of Norway Reykjavík Reykjawik Iceland 2,771 1,721.82 Capital of Iceland Stockholm Sztokholm Sweden 808 502.07 Capital of Sweden

+ Western wall; cities to the east City Country Distance Notes English name Polish name Km Miles Athens Ateny Greece 1,606 997.92 Capital of Greece Belgrade Belgrad Serbia 826 513.25 Capital of Serbia Budapest Budapeszt Hungary 545 338.64 Capital of Hungary Bucharest Bukareszt Romania 948 589.06 Capital of Romania Rome Rzym Italy 1,318 818.97 Capital of Italy Sofia Sofia Bulgaria 1,073 666.73 Capital of Bulgaria Prague Praga Czechia 518 321.87 Capital of Czechia Tirana Tirana Albania 1,213 753.72 Capital of Albania Vienna Wiedeń Austria 665 413.21 Capital of Austria

References