Kilometre zero

Historically, they were markers where drivers could set their odometers to follow the directions in early roaming guide books.

[1] One such marker is the Milliarium Aureum ("Golden Milestone") of the Roman Empire, believed to be the literal origin for the maxim that "all roads lead to Rome".

The work of the brothers Máximo and José Fioravanti, the structure was placed on the north side of Plaza Lorea on October 2, 1935; it was moved to its present location on May 18, 1944.

An image of Our Lady of Luján (honored on the monolith as "the patron saint of the national road network") appears on the monolith's north face, a relief map of Argentina is on the south face, plaques in honour of José de San Martín are west, and on its eastern side, the date of the decree and the name of the relevant authorities.

In the state of New South Wales, highway distances (mileages) were traditionally measured from a sandstone obelisk in Macquarie Place in Sydney, designed by Francis Greenway in 1818.

Chile's Autopista Central – Eje Norte-Sur (the eastern segment of the Panamerican Highway that passes through Santiago) has its kilometre zero at the intersection with the Alameda del Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins, the capital's main avenue.

The original diamond, said to have belonged to Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and have been sold to the Cuban state by a Turkish merchant, was stolen on March 25, 1946, and mysteriously returned to the President, Ramón Grau San Martín, on June 2, 1946.

Kilometre zero in Egypt is at the Attaba Square Post Office in 1st of Abdel Khaliq Sarwat Pasha Street, Cairo.

Kilometre zero in Ethiopia is in Menelik II Square, Addis Ababa, in front of St. George's Cathedral; it is the point from which all Ethiopian highway distances are measured.

[8] Initially, the origin point of all Prussian roads leading to and from the capital Berlin was at Dönhoff-Platz in the city centre (1730–1875) and in 1975 a reconstructed milestone was placed in front of the Spittelkolonnaden [de] at Marion-Gräfin-Dönhoff-Platz.

The starting point was initially reckoned from the threshold of the Buda Royal Palace, but it was taken down to the Széchenyi Chain Bridge when it was built in 1849.

The Zero Mile Stone was erected by the British Raj, and consists of four horses and a pillar made of sandstone.

There is no verifiable evidence that it is a monument locating the geographical centre of colonial India in the city of Nagpur,[9] or that the Zero Mile Stone was erected by the British to use this point to measure all the distances.

In Ireland, distances from its capital Dublin are measured from the General Post Office on the city's main thoroughfare, O'Connell Street.

Kilometre zero for roads and highways in Peninsular Malaysia is located in front of Johor Bahru General Post Office.

The Panamanian kilometre zero is at the Martin Sosa Bridge on the Simon Bolivar Avenue (Transisthmian Highway) in the capital Panama City.

[20] For all the other islands, kilometre zero is located at the front of provincial capitol buildings or municipal halls, ports, town centres, or major junctions.

Warsaw, the capital of Poland, has a meeting point featuring plaques with distances from it to other major cities of the country.

It is placed on the intersection of the city's two main avenues, Aleje Jerozolimskie and Marszałkowska Street, next to the Centrum Warsaw Metro station.

It is divided into eight sections, each representing a Romanian historical province: Muntenia, Dobruja, Bessarabia, Moldavia, Bukovina, Transylvania, Banat, and Oltenia.

Among the cities inscribed on it are also Cahul, Chișinău, Orhei, and Tighina (now in Moldova), Cernăuți, Cetatea Albă, Ismail, and Storojineț (now in Ukraine), as well as Bazargic and Silistra (now in Bulgaria), which were part of Greater Romania before World War II.

On the basement floor of the hotel, there are several explanatory boards indicating the history of the General Post Office and Singapore's roads.

Seoul, the capital city of South Korea, has its doro wonpyo (Korean: 도로원표) in the centre of Gwanghwamun Intersection to measure the distances of both national and regional roads.

Spain has its kilometre zero at the Puerta del Sol in Madrid, in front of the Royal House of the Post Office.

In Sri Lanka, all distances from its capital Colombo are measured in kilometres (formerly in miles) from the Fort Clock Tower near the President's House.

For most mainline railways, kilometres are measured from the entrance door from the main hall to track 10 of the Stockholm Central Station.

Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the original architect of Washington, D.C., proposed an otherwise unnamed reference marker in the form of a pole that was never built, intended to be one mile (1.6 km) east of the Capitol.

Perhaps the most well-known 'Mile Zero' in the US, and the one that has spawned the creation of a popular bumper sticker, is in Key West, Florida, at the southern terminus of U.S. Route 1.

Uruguay has a Kilómetro Cero for the national routes at the Monument to Peace, in Plaza de Cagancha of the city of Montevideo.

The Byzantine Empire had an arched building, the Milion of Constantinople, as the starting-place for the measurement of distances for all the roads leading to the other cities.