Old weights and measures (Saxony)

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The pre-metric Saxon weights and measures were standardized for the Electorate of Saxony at the beginning of the 18th century under Elector Friedrich August the Strong .

Otherwise - also due to the long fragmentation of the Duchy of Saxony - different dimensions applied in the different parts of the country. In the Electorate of Saxony , and then also in the Kingdom of Saxony , some local measurements were held in part until the 19th century and the general introduction of the metric system in the German Empire in 1871 , despite the principle of uniform legislation. As early as 1840, the Saxon postal mile that had been in force since 1722 was replaced by a metric Post mile has been replaced.

Transition to the metric system

The Kingdom of Saxony was one of those German states that undertook early and very intensive efforts to standardize measurements / weights with pioneering steps within the German Customs Union to approximate the metric system. In 1856, the mathematician and director of the Royal Polytechnic School in Dresden, Julius Ambrosius Hülße , was commissioned with preliminary conceptual work.

The law of March 12, 1858 No. 18 .: Law, the introduction of a general national weight and some provisions on the measurement and weight system in general . It came into force on November 1, 1858.

The organizational basis for these extensive changes was formed by a Royal Normalaichungscommission to be created for this purpose , the constitution and tasks of which are described in more detail in the implementing ordinance of March 12, 1858 for this law. With these ordinances issued by King Johann , old units of measurement and weight were officially confirmed, but their calibration was converted to the basis of the French metric system. The law stipulated the valid pound of duty at five hundred French grams (§ 1). It was also determined in which way the Saxon weight standard measures were to be carried out. These normal weights were made as two-pound pieces in platinum and brass (§ 2). Paragraph 5 stipulated that the division of the pound should move in purely decimal increments ... in the case of coinage and money-weighing as well as for public administration, in which the decimal system had already been introduced.
The law confirms the laugh, which is a unit of length in mining, and defines it as two French meters (§ 8).

The use of incorrect measures and weights was fined 1 to 50 thalers in the first case and a prison sentence of eight days to four weeks in the repeat case (Section 11).

The Royal Normalaichungscommission in Dresden , created to implement the reforms , took the lead in the technical bodies, as numerous Aichämter (term: calibration ) had to be created for the specific implementation . It included the chairman, his deputy, at least one theoretically trained technical member and a practical mechanic . Its members worked as public servants on the oath of office according to the ordinance of November 2, 1837. The Aichämter were established at the expense of the municipalities. With the announcement No. 80 of October 19, 1858 by the royal Saxon Minister of the Interior, Freiherr Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust , the Aichämter began their work in the following cities:

  • in the Dresden district team
    • Dresden, Grossenhain, Meißen, Freiberg
  • in the district team in Leipzig
    • Leipzig, Borna, Pegau, Oschatz, Döbeln, Rochlitz
  • in the district main team Zwickau
    • Zwickau, Chemnitz, Annaberg, Reichenbach, Plauen
  • in the district head office Budissin
    • Bautzen, Löbau, Zittau

For the interests of the Saxon mining industry, a royal mining office was set up in Freiberg , which was under the supervision of the upper mining office .

It was the responsibility of the Royal Normalaichungscommission to keep the original weights and to have the necessary weight sets made for the Aichämter under their control. The established standard measures were:

  • a foot measurement (the Leipzig foot to 0.28319 French meters or 125.537 old Parisian lines )
  • a jug ( equal to 71.186 cubic inches or 1.8683 pounds of distilled water at +15 degrees Réaumur )
  • a quarter of a bushel measure (a Dresden bushel equals 7900 cubic inches ),

which according to the law of 1858 had to have sizes or dimensional accuracy (see information in brackets).

With regard to unavoidable deviations, Paragraph 4 of the Aichordnung and Instruction for the Normalaichungscommission and the Aichämter of March 12, 1858 determined the following tolerances: The Normalaichungscommission guarantees the correctness of the normal weight items it issues and the thousand-part weight sets for coins, jewels and precious metals except for 0.01 percent of their weight, the normal length measurements up to 0.05 percent of their length and the normal hollow measurements up to 0.1 percent of their content, always in comparison with the original weights and original measurements stored with it.

Parallel to the implementation of metrically defined weights and measures in the Kingdom of Saxony, Julius Ambrosius Hülße and his superior, the Ministerial Director and Secret Council Albert Christian Weinlig , both of whom have been close friends since their youth, worked together in the committees of the North German Confederation to create a uniform system. In addition, the progress and knowledge of Saxony formed an important conceptual basis. At the meeting of June 23, 1868, the Federal Council finally adopted the coin, measure and weight system based on Weinlig's proposals, which were largely based on the Saxon institutions and regulations.

The legislative transition from the previously applicable Saxon weights and measures to the unified metric system of the North German Confederation was created by Ordinance No. 40 of May 7, 1869 in the Law and Ordinance Gazette for the Kingdom of Saxony from 1869. The Saxon Interior Minister Hermann von Nostitz-Wallwitz determined this the entry into force of the imperial dimensions with effect from January 1, 1872, the same point in time at which, in accordance with Article 21 of the Order of Measures and Weight for the North German Confederation of August 17, 1868, they became binding throughout the entire German Empire . In recognition of his special merits combined with high public recognition, Julius Ambrosius Hülße was appointed chairman of the Saxon Ober-Eichung-Commission in 1874 . Because of his official representation for the Kingdom of Saxony in the Expert Commission for German Weights and Measures at the North German Confederation, since 1860 he was offered the task of leading the imperial institution, which he did not take on, however, with reference to extensive obligations in Saxony.

Length measurements

 units Fathoms Rod Cubit foot inch line meter
 Roads route     2 ⅔    4th 8th    16    192    2304   4,531 04  
 Arable rod    2    3 6th    12    144    1728   3.398 28  
 Fathoms    1    1 ½ 3    6th    72    864   1.699 14  
 Rod      1 2    4th    48    576   1,132 76  
 Cubit     1    2    24    288   0.566 38  
 foot       1    12    144   0.283 19  
 inch         1    12   ≈ 0.023 60  
 line           1   ≈ 0.001 97  
  •  Until 1840:  Saxon Post Mile  = 2 hours walk. = 2000 road rods = 9062.08 meters
  •  From 1840:  German Post Mile     = 7500 meters.
  •  From 1843:  Geographic mile      = 7412.665 meters. Application e.g. B. in the construction of the Görlitz – Dresden railway line
  • 1 Camburger field rod = 10 Saxon feet = 2.8319 meters.
  • 1 Saxon surveyor's rod = 15 feet 2 inches = 182 inches ≈ 4,295 meters.

The laugh was the measure of length used in mining. It was seven Saxon feet = 1.98233 m.
From 1830, this value was rounded up to exactly two meters in the Saxon mining industry.

From 1871 onwards, the decimal metric system became the basis for length measurements throughout Germany.
The centimeter afterwards is sometimes called "Neuzoll", the millimeter "dash" and the decameter "chain".

Area dimensions

 units Square
cubit 		Square
feet 		Square
inches 		Square
line 		square meters
 Square rod 64     256     36 864    5,308,416   ≈ 20.5303
 Square arable rod 36     144     20 736    2,985,984   ≈ 11.5483
 Squarelle 1     4th     576    82 944   ≈ 00.3208
 Square feet   1     144    20 736   ≈ 00.080197
 Square inches     1    144   ≈ 00.00055692
 Square line       1   ≈ 00.0000038675
  • 1 Saxon field knife square rod = 33124 square inches ≈ 18.447 m² (rod of 182 inches)
  • 1 Saxon field = 2 Saxon mornings = 300 square field knife rod ≈ 5534.232 m² (rod of 182 inches)
  • 1 Saxon morning = 150 square field knife rod ≈ 2767.116 m² (rod of 182 inches)

Other field dimensions:

  • 1 small Leipzig morning = 160 square arable rods = 5760 square cells ≈ 1847.73 m² (rod of 144 inches)
  • 1 large Leipziger Morgen = 160 square rods = 10240 square cells ≈ 3284.85 m² (rod of 192 inches)
  • 1 Camburg field = 20,000 square cells ≈ 6415.726 m²

Room dimensions

  • 1 cubic cell = 8 cubic feet = 13824 cubic inches = 181.686 947 086 072 dm³ ≈ 181.687 liters
  • 1 cubic foot = 1728 cubic inches = 22.710 868 385 759 dm³ ≈ 22.711 liters
    1 cubic foot = 13 1973 ⁄ 1975 measure ≈ 13.998987 measure ≈ 14 measure (dry measure)
  • 1 cubic inch ≈ 13.142864 cm³

Dry measure

  Cubic inches liter
1 wispel = 2 Malter = 24 Dresden bushels = 96 quarters = 384 Metzen = 1536 Mäßchen = 189600 ≈ 2491.887
1 old Pirna bushel = 16.5 Dresdner Metzen = 66 Mäßchen = 8146 7 ⁄ 8 ≈ 107.073
1 Dresden bushel = 4 quarters = 16 stitches = 64 stitches = 7900 (definition) ≈ 103.829
1 quarter = 4 stitches = 16 stitches = 1975 ≈ 25.957
1 bitch = 4 gauges = 493 3 ⁄ 4 ≈ 6.4893
1 measure = 123 7 ⁄ 16 ≈ 1.6223

Measure of capacity (wet)

  Cubic inches liter
1 bucket = 3 trousers = 72 jugs = 144 nosels = 5125.392 ≈ 67.3623
1 pair of pants = 24 pots = 48 pots = 1708.484 ≈ 22.4541
1 pot = 2 noses = 71.186 (definition) ≈ 0.9356
1 nosel = 35.593 ≈ 0.4678
 
1 load of wine = 2 barrels of wine = 12 buckets = 36 pants = 864 cans = 61504.704 ≈ 808.348
1 barrel of beer = 4 tons of beer = 420 cans = 29898.12 ≈ 392.947

There is no connection between the dry dimensions and the dimensions of the volume (wet) because, as is so often the case, the dry dimensions and the dimensions of the volume were developed independently. 87 cubic feet are roughly equal to 88 pants. 1 pair of trousers and thus 24 cans are therefore not to be equated with one cubic foot, because the deviation is more than one percent and is thus far outside the measurement tolerance.

The conversion between the room dimensions, dry dimensions and hollow dimensions is accordingly complicated.

  • A relatively good approximation is: 1 cube ≈ 194 cans , the deviation is a little more than one per mille.
  • Even better is the approximation: 1 jug ≈ 15 / 26 Mäßchen (deviation about 0.4 per mil) - The exact ratio here is: 1 jug = 142372 / 246875 Mäßchen
  • The approximation of 1 cubic foot ≈ 14 square meters is very precise - Exact ratio: 1 cubic foot = 13 1973 ⁄ 1975 square meter ≈ 13.998987 square meter (deviation less than 0.1 per mille)

Mass measurements

Until 1839 (trade)

  • 1 quintals = 5 stones = 110 pounds ( grocer's weight) ≈ 51.392 kilograms
  • 1 pound (grocer's weight) = 16 ounces = 32 plumb bob = 128 quents ≈ 467.2 grams
  • 1 pound (pharmacist weight ) = 12 ounces = 24 lot = 96 quents ≈ 350.4 grams
  • 3 pounds (grocer weight) = 4 pounds (pharmacist weight)
  • 1 ounce = 2 lot = 8 quents ≈ 29.2 grams
  • 1 lot = 4 quents ≈ 14.6 grams
  • 1 ounce ≈ 3.65 grams

Until 1839 (mining)

A slightly heavier pound was used in mining. In addition, there was a hundredweight 112 instead of 110 pounds.

  • 1 quintals = 8 stones = 112 pounds = 3584 plumb bob ≈ 52.37 kilograms
  • 1 stone = 14 pounds = 448 plumb bobs ≈ 6.546 kilograms
  • 1 pound = 32 lots ≈ 467.589 grams
  • 1 lot ≈ 14.612 grams

In addition, the load was used as a unit of weight in mining, v. a. used in iron ore mining. The weight of a fudder varied depending on the iron content. In 1829 it was in

Berggießhübel : about 22 quintals (112 pounds each) or 2464 pounds ≈ 1152 kilograms
Johanngeorgenstadt : Depending on the mine, between 16 quintals 7 stone 5 pounds and 25 quintals 5 stone 7½ pounds or 1895 to 2877½ pounds   ≈ 886 to 1345 kilograms
Schwarzenberg : Depending on the mine, between 16 quintals 7 stone and 24 quintals 3 stone 8¾ pounds or 1890 to 2738¾ pounds ≈ 884 to 1281 kilograms
Eibenstock : depending on the mine between 16 quintals 2 stone 10 pounds and 26 quintals 1 stone 11¼ pounds    or 1830 to 2937¼ pounds ≈ 856 to 1373 kilograms

From 1840

The ordinance of December 9, 1839 introduced the metrized inch pound on January 1, 1840, which was defined as exactly 500 grams. It replaced the previously lighter Saxon pound.

  • 1 inch pound = 100 inch pounds = 50 kilograms
  • 1 inch pound = 32 lot = 500 grams
  • 1 lot = 15.625 grams

from November 1, 1858:

  • 1 inch pound = 100 inch pounds = 50 kilograms
  • 1 inch pound = 30 lot = 500 grams
  • 1 lot ≈ 16.667 grams

From 1868 the kilogram was the legal unit of weight:

  • 1 kilogram = 2 inch pounds = 1000 grams

partly still widespread today:

  • 1 quintal = 2 quintals = 100 kilograms
  • 1 quintals = 50 kg (mostly used in connection with bagged goods)
  • 1 pound = 500 g

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Paul Domsch: Albert Christian Weinlig. A picture of life based on family papers and files . Chemnitz (JCF Pickenhahn & Sohn) 1912, p. 83
  2. ↑ State Handbook for the Kingdom of Saxony 1875, Dresden, p. 325
  3. ^ Railway map Dresden - Bautzen