Obsolete German units of measurement

The obsolete units of measurement of German-speaking countries consist of a variety of units, with varying local standard definitions. Some of these units are still used in everyday speech and even in stores and on street markets as shorthand for similar amounts in the metric system. For example, some customers ask for one pound (ein Pfund) of something when they want (exactly) 500 grams.

The metric system became compulsory on January 1, 1872, in Germany and on January 1, 1876, in Austria.^[1]

Some obsolete German units have names similar to units that were traditionally used in other countries, and that are still used in the United Kingdom (imperial units) and the United States (United States customary units).

German system

Before the introduction of the metric system in German, almost every town had its own definitions of the units shown below. Often towns posted local definitions on a wall of the city hall. For example, the front wall of the old city hall of Rudolstädt (still standing) has two marks which show the "Rudolstädter Elle", the proper length of the Elle in that city. Supposedly by 1810, in Baden alone, there were 112 different standards for the Elle around Germany.

Length

Meile (mile)

A German geographic mile (geographische Meile) is defined as  ¹⁄₁₅ equatorial degrees, equal to 7,420.54 m (24,345.6 ft). A common German mile, land mile, or post mile (Gemeine deutsche Meile, Landmeile, Postmeile) was defined in various ways at different places and different times. After the introduction of the metric system in the 19th century, the Landmeile was generally fixed at 7,500 m (24,606 ft) (the Reichsmeile), but before then there were many local and regional variants (of which some are shown below):

Rute (rod)

A standard at the City Hall in Münster, Germany from 1816; the bar shown is one "Prussian half rod" long.

The Rute or Ruthe is of Carolingian origin, and was used as a land measure. Many different kinds of Ruthe were used at various times in various parts of the German-speaking world. They were subdivided into differing numbers of local Fuß, and were of many different lengths. One source from 1830^[2] lists the following:

Wegstunde

One hour's travel, used up to the 18th century. In Germany  ¹⁄₂ Meile or 3.71 km (2.31 mi), in Switzerland 16,000 ft or 4.88 km.

Klafter (fathom)

Originally 6 feet, after introduction of the metric system 10 feet. Regional variants from 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) in Baden to 3 m (9 ft 10 in) in Switzerland.

Lachter

The Lachter was the most common unit of length used in mining in German-speaking areas. Its exact length varied from place to place but was roughly between 1.9 and 2.1 metres (6 ft 3 in and 6 ft 11 in).

Elle (ell)

Distance between elbow and fingertip. In the North, often 2 feet, In Prussia  ¹⁷⁄₈ feet, in the South variable, often  2 ¹⁄₂ feet. The smallest known German Elle is 402.8 mm (15.86 in), the longest 811 mm (31.9 in).

Fuß (foot)

The Fuß or German foot varied widely from place to place in the German-speaking world, and also with time. In some places, more than one type of Fuß was in use. One source from 1830^[2] gives the following values:

Zoll (inch)

Usually  ¹⁄₁₂ foot, but also  ¹⁄₁₁ and  ¹⁄₁₀.

Linie

Usually  ¹⁄₁₂ inch, but also  ¹⁄₁₀.

Volume

Klafter

For firewood, 2.905 m³ (102.6 cu ft)

Nösel

In general, the Nösel was a measure of liquid volume equal to half a Kanne ("jar," "jug," "bottle," "can"). Actual volumes so measured, however, varied from one state or even one city to another. Within Saxony, for example, the "Dresden jar" held approximately 1 US quart or 0.95 litres or 0.83 imperial quarts, so a nösel in Dresden was about 1 US pint (0.47 L; 0.83 imp pt). The full volume of a "Leipzig jar" measured 1.2 liters (1.3 U.S. qt; 1.1 imp qt); the Leipzig nösel was therefore 0.6 liters (0.63 U.S. qt; 0.53 imp qt).

The nösel was used in minor commerce, as well as in the household to measure meal, grain, and such. These units of measure were officially valid in Saxony until 1868, when the metric system was introduced. Nevertheless, the old measures have continued in private use for decades.

One interesting modification was introduced in Thuringia. There, the nösel was, by extension, also a measure of area; namely, the area of land which could be sown with one nösel of seed — or about 19.36 square yards (16.19 m²; 0.00400 acres)

See also

• Historical weights and measures
• List of obsolete units of measurement
• SI
• Weights and measures

References

Bibliography

• François Cardarelli: Encyclopedia of Scientific Units, Weights and Measures. Their SI Equivalences and Origins. Springer, Berlin 2003. ISBN 1-85233-682-X
• Helmut Kahnt, Bernd Knorr: Alte Masse, Münzen und Gewichte. . Bibliographisches Institut Mannheim/Wien/Zürich 1987. (Lizenzausgabe von VEB Bibliographisches Institut Leipzig 1986) (German)
• Wolfgang Trapp: Kleines Handbuch der Maße, Zahlen Gewichte und der Zeitrechnung. Von . Reclam Stuttgart, 2. Auflage 1996. ISBN 3-15-008737-6 (German)
• Günther Scholz, Klaus Vogelsang: Kleines Lexikon: Einheiten, Formelzeichen. Fachbuchverlag, Leipzig 1991 ISBN 3-343-00500-2 (German)
• Johann Christian Nelkenbrechers Taschenbuch eines Banquiers und Kaufmanns: enthaltend eine Erklärung aller ein- und ausländischen Münzen, des Wechsel-Courses, Usos, Respect-Tage und anderer zur Handlung gehörigen Dinge; mit einer genauen Vergleichung des Ellen-Maaßes, Handels-, Gold- und Silber-Gewichts, auch Maaße von Getreide und flüssigen Sachen derer fürnehmsten europäischen Handels-Plätze. Nachdruck der Ausgabe 1769: VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, Düsseldorf 2004. ISBN 3-936755-58-2 (German)

External links

• Projekt zur Erschliessung historisch wertvoller Altkartenbestände (German)
• Amtliche Maßeinheiten in Europa 1842 (German)