Klafter
The klafter is an historical unit of length, volume and area that was used in Central Europe.
Unit of length
As a unit of length, the klafter was derived from the span of a man's outstretched arms and was traditionally about 1.80 metres (m). In Austria, its length was, for example, 1.8965 m, in Prussia 1.88 m. In Bavaria, however, a klafter was only 1.751155 m, in Hesse it was significantly larger at 2.50 m. The Viennese or Lower Austrian klafter was fixed by Rudolf II as a measure of length as of 19 August 1588.[1] When, in 1835, the Switzerland units were defined using the metric system, 1 Swiss klafter (of 6 Swiss feet each of 0.30 m) corresponded exactly to 1.80 m.
In Aachen, Baden, Bavaria, Bohemia, Hamburg, Leipzig, Poland , Trier and Zurich the klafter was exactly six feet, but in the Canton of Fribourg it measured 10 feet.[2]
In nautical units of depth, the klafter corresponds to the fathom.
Baseline
The survey of Austria-Hungary began in 1762 with the construction of the Vienna Neustadt Baseline (Wiener Neustädter Grundlinie) which was 6,410, later 5,000, klafters long, represented by 5 measuring rods of 1 klafter in length made of varnished wood.
Unit of volume
The old unit of dry volume for split firewood, or Scheitholz, was based on this unit of length. A klafter of wood corresponded to a stack of wood with a length and height of one klafter; the depth of this pile corresponded to the length of the log but, as a rule was 3 feet long, that is 0.5 klafters. The volume of a pile of logs was therefore only 0.5 cubic klafters. This in turn corresponded, depending on the area, to 3 to 4 steres or approximately 2 to 3 m³ of wood. The old Prussian klafter corresponded to 3.339 m³; in Austria, a klafter was equivalent to 3.386 m³.[3] By comparison the North American cord, used to measure firewood and pulpwood, is slightly larger at 3.62 m³.[4]
In Switzerland , Werdenfelser Land and parts of Lower Franconia, a klafter of logs corresponds to 3.0 m³ (steres) of stacked firewood since the introduction of the metric system. Usually the logs are 1 m long. One klafter of firewood is thus equivalent to about 2.2 m³.
Hay was also sometimes measured in klafters in the 19th century.[5]
The cubic klafter was not standardised as the length of a foot varied depending on the region. The cubic klafter used for wood could also differ. Here is an example of the Austrian units.[6]
- 1 foot (Viennese) = 140.131 Paris lines = 0.3161 metres
- 1 cubic klafter (Viennese) = 216 cubic feet = 6.8224 cubic metres
The cubic foot generally had 1,728 cubic inches, each with 1,728 cubic lines, each with 1,728 cubic points.
- 1 cubic klafter (Viennese) = 6 cubic klafter feet of 12 cubic klafter inches of 12 cubic klafter lines of 12 cubic klafter points
- 216 cubic feet of 1,728 cubic inches of 1,728 cubic lines etc.
- 1 Viennese cubic klafter = 6.82234457176 cubic metres
- 1 cubic klafter foot = 1.1370574286 cubic metres
- 1 cubic-klafter -inch = 94754785.7 cubic millimetres
- 1 cubic-klafter line = 7896232.1 cubic millimetre
- 1 cubic klafter point = 658019.3 cubic millimetre
- 1 cubic foot = 0.0315749412 cubic metres
- 1 cubic inch = 18249.3 cubic millimetres
- 1 cubic line = 10.56 cubic millimetres
The Rahmklafter,[7] as the unit of timber measurement was called in Austria, was defined for long and short firewood as follows:
- 1 Rahmklafterof long firewood = 6 feet long and 6 feet high, 1 1/4 ells of log length, about 111 cubic feet
- 1 Rahmklafterof short firewood = 6 feet long and 6 feet high, 1 ell of log length, about 90 cubic feet
Two klafters were counted for one Stoß or livestock unit.
Unit of area
In Austria, 1 yoke (Joch, with which the size of fields was measured) comprised 1,600 square klafters with sides measuring 8 by 200 klafters, thus about 5,754 m2 and 0.575 ha, respectively. 1 square klafter (Viennese) was equivalent to 3.5979 square metres.[8]
In Croatia, the square klafter was used as unit of area and equalled 3.596652 m2. It is sometimes still used today.[9]
In the Swiss Chur Rhine Valley and the Prättigau, the meadowland was measured in klafters.[5]
In the adjoining Principality of Liechtenstein, the square klafter is still used today for the measurement of land areas. 1 m2 equals 0.27804 square klafters, 1 square klafter equals 3.59665 m2. The klafter as a unit of length was consequently about 1.8965 metres long.
In Darmstadt, 1 square klafter = 100 square feet = 10,000 square inches = 6.25 square metres.[10]
Similar units in other countries
Conversion table of 1838[11]
- Canton of Neuchâtel, Canton of Berne (French-speaking part)
- 1 toise = 10 feet (pieds)[12]
- Canton of Valais (French-speaking part)
- 1 klafter = 6 French feet (pieds de roi)[12]
- Canton of Vaud (metric based from 1822)
- 1 toise = 10 feet (pieds) = 3.00 metres
- 1 toise carrée (square) = 100 square feet = 9.00 square metres
- 1 toise cube or toise courante (cubic) = 1,000 cubic feet = 27 cubic metres
- Canton of Ticino
- 1 spazzo (de) = 6 feet (piedi) = 1.808 metres
- 1 tesa = 6 feet (piedi) = 1.80 metres (introduced in 1851)[12]
- France
- 1 toise usuelle = 6 pieds = 2 metres = 1.026148 Parisian toise (old)
- Piedmont during the French reign
- 1 tesa = 5 piedi manuali = 759.17 Paris lines = 3.0826 metres
- Milan under French occupation
- 1 Cavese di Modena, Modenese klafter = 6 Modenese feet (1 foot = 281.2 Paris lines = 0.63433 m)
- Russia
- 1 sazhen = 3 arshin = 2.13356 metres
- Poland
- 1 sążeń = 8 feet
- Spain and former colonies
- 1 toesa, braza, estado = 2 varas = 6 pies
- Portugal, also Brazil (value deviating)
- 1 braça = 2 varas = 8 polegadas
- Italy, Spain, France, North Coast Africa
- 1 cañe, xanne (great ell)
See also
- Cord (unit), North American measure of timber volume
- Hoppus, British unit of timber volume
- Orders of magnitude (length)
- Toise, French six-foot unit of length
- Yoke (unit of measurement)
References
- ↑ Joseph Jäckel: Zimmentirungslexikon für alle Handels- und Geschwerbsleute nach den österreichischen Zimmentirungsschriften. Anton Strauß, Vienna, 1824, p. 108.
- ↑ Johann Friedrich Krüger: Vollständiges Handbuch der Münzen, Maße und Gewichte aller Länder der Erde. Verlag Gottfried Basse, Quedlinburg/Leipzig, 1830, pp. 138, 219.
- ↑ Peters: Rechne, schreibe, rechne richtig! Fully revised edition. Buchgemeinschaft Donauland, Vienna, 1964, p. 456.
- ↑ British Columbia Ministry of Forests and Range. "Glossary of Forestry Terms in British Columbia". http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/glossary/Glossary.pdf. Retrieved 2008-09-04.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 'Swiss Idiotikon' Vol. III, Col. 633, article Chlāfter.
- ↑ Benjamin Scholz, Joseph Franz Jacquin: Anfangsgründe der Physik als Vorbereitung zum Studium der Chemie. Camesina Buchhandlung, Vienna, 1816, p. 133.
- ↑ Illustrierter Bürger-Calender für alle Kronländer der österreichischen Monarchie. 1852, Anton Schweiger, Vienna, 1852, p. 147.
- ↑ Johann Conrad Gernrath: Abhandlung der Bauwissenschaften oder Theoretisch-praktischer Unterricht in der gemeinen bürgerlichen Baukunst, in dem Strassenbau (etc.). J. Gastl, Brünn, 1825, p. 573.
- ↑ Herman, Ivan Goran (2 November 2020). "Subtitle: What is klafter?". Regionalni dnevnik Varaždin. https://regionalni.com/venodjalica-mekota-klafter/.
- ↑ Christian Noback, Friedrich Eduard Noback: Vollständiges Taschenbuch der Münz-, Maass- und Gewichtsverhältnisse, der Staatspapiere, des Wechsel- und Bankwesens und der Usancen aller Länder und Handelsplätze. Vol. 1, FA Brockhaus, Leipzig, 1851, pp. 215, 463.
- ↑ Gesellschaft Gelehrter und praktischer Kaufleute: Allgemeine Enzyklopädie für Kaufleute und Fabrikanten so wie für Geschäftsleute überhaupt: oder, Vollständiges Wörterbuch. Verlag Otto Wigand, Leipzig, 1838.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Template:HLS
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