View source for Warsaw meridian

{{additional citations|date=July 2021}}
{{Short description|Meridian line in Poland}}
{{coord|52|14|37.9|N|21|00|32.76|E|type:landmark|display=title}}

[[File:POL Warsaw Południk warszawski1.jpg|thumb|Warsaw meridian]]
[[File:Warsaw meridian.JPG|thumb|Description plate of the Warsaw meridian]]

The '''Warsaw meridian''' ({{langx|pl|południk warszawski}}) is a [[meridian (geography)|meridian line]] running through [[Warsaw]]. The [[local mean time]] at the meridian was known as '''Warsaw Mean Time'''. It corresponds to an [[UTC offset|offset from UTC]] of [[UTC+01:24|+01:24]].

It is marked as being located at {{coord|52|14|40|N|21|00|42|E}} (in accordance with the [[geographic coordinate system|coordinate system]] used at that time). Coordinate values of the meridian which are engraved on a plate on the sidewalk differ from the current ones, the actual coordinates are {{coord|52|14|38.302963|N|21|00|33.036621|E}}.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Meus|first=Mariusz|title=POŁUDNIK WARSZAWSKI: REWIZJA INFORMACJI DOTYCZĄCYCH KOLUMNY NA PLACU TEATRALNYM W WARSZAWIE ORAZ JEJ ZWIĄZKÓW Z POMIARAMI GEODEZYJNYMI W XIX WIEKU|date=January 2019 |url=https://www.academia.edu/41818483}}</ref> The column also contains information in Russian.

==History==

In 1880, in the [[Theatre Square (Warsaw)|Theatre Square]] in front of the [[Jabłonowski Palace]] (then the city hall), a stone pillar was erected surrounded by an iron railing with a sign indicating the geographical location and the height above sea level and the level of [[Vistula]]. The Warsaw meridian passes through the top of the pillar and top of the clock tower of the Jabłonowski Palace, which served as point measurements. The plate on the sidewalk was constructed much later, in 1965.

Four years after the construction of the column in Warsaw, [[Greenwich Mean Time]] effectively became the international standard for time calculation around the world based on the [[Prime meridian (Greenwich)|Prime meridian]] at [[Greenwich]] in [[London]].

The Meridian is featured in the 1965 film [[Pingwin (film)|Pingwin]] (''Penguin'') starring [[Zbigniew Cybulski]].

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:1880 works]]
[[Category:1880 in Poland]]
[[Category:1880 establishments in the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Warsaw]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Warsaw]]
[[Category:Named meridians]]
[[Category:Prime meridians]]
[[Category:Time in Poland]]
{{Public art in Warsaw}}
{{Warsaw-struct-stub}}
{{Poland-geo-stub}}