Scandinavian mile
The Scandinavian mile (occasionally also metric mile; Norwegian and Swedish mil "mile", in Denmark svensk mil "Swedish mile") is a common but unofficial unit of length in Norway and Sweden , which corresponds to 10,000 meters . Since it is not an SI unit , only kilometers are officially used for traffic signs and distance information .
In Denmark, however, it is not common. In contrast to Sweden and Norway, where the pre-metric mile was also around 10 to 11 kilometers, the pre-metric Danish mile coincided with the German and was "only" around 7½ kilometers. The mile is rarely used in Finland.
history
Until 1649, every Swedish landscape had its own unit of mile , the lengths of which differed significantly. From this point in time, the mile of the Uppland landscape was introduced, which at 10,673 meters was slightly longer than today's mile.
From 1814 Sweden and Norway were united in a personal union. Prior to the introduction of the metric mile, the 36,000 foot “land mile” was also the official unit of length in Norway, but the actual length was 11,295 m in Norway and 10,688 m in Sweden due to the different definitions of the foot.
The metric mile of 10,000 m was introduced in Sweden-Norway in 1889 as part of the switch to the metric system.
Usage today
In Sweden, the unit is often used for longer distances, especially in connection with automobiles and car journeys. For example, the mileage of cars is usually given in miles, and the fuel consumption of cars is usually given in liters per mile. However, road signs and speed limits in Sweden and the speedometers of Swedish cars are in kilometers.
The mile is also used in popular sports. In long-distance running , the mile is a common distance (such as the 10-mile solo relay between Gothenburg and Karlstad ), and numerous runs also have the mile in their name (e.g. the Tjejmilen women's run in Stockholm).
On the border between Dalarna and Värmland lies the Tiomilaskog , the ten-mile forest , a wooded area of around one hundred kilometers.
In Norway, the mile is more colloquial and has little use in writing.
Predecessor units
Denmark
Danish mile
Finland
Finnish mile, originally identical to the Swedish mile
- 1 Finnish mile = 10,670 meters
Norway
Norwegian mile from 1818
- 1 Norwegian mile = 18,000 Norwegian cubits = 36,000 Norwegian feet = 11,286 meters (previously 11,295 meters)
Sweden
Swedish mile
- 1 Swedish mile = 6,000 Swedish fathoms ( fathoms ; Swedish famnar ) = 36,000 Swedish feet = 10,689 meters (which means 10.3778 miles to 1 equatorial degree)
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Brockhaus' Konversations-Lexikon. 14th, completely revised edition. Volume 11: Liver - More. Brockhaus, Leipzig / Vienna 1894, p. 737.
- ↑ Arild Stubhaug: A flashing lightning bolt: Niels Henrik Abel and his time. Springer DE, 1996, ISBN 978-3-64255-840-5 , p. 534.