The point from which the geodesic network of the Russian Empire and, in general, the pan-European network began to be constructed, has been discovered on a hill near the agro-town of Drysvyaty in Braslav District, BELTA correspondent reports.
The Drysvyaty Base is the first baseline measurement, one of the supporting sides in the creation of the first triangulation constructions in the western part of the Russian Empire.
As Chairman of the State Committee for Property Andriy Gaev explained, this point was discovered as a result of detailed modern measurements. Work on its search was carried out for a total of about 20 years. It all started with finding the points of the Struve Geodetic Arc, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Today, the Drysvyaty Base was excavated: at a depth of approximately 1.5 m under a layer of stones, a brick cross-shaped masonry, laid in the early 19th century, was found. After confirming the accuracy of the coordinates via satellite connection, the "expedition" participants reburied the masonry.
"Today we found the basis from which modern geodesy is built. Modern coordinate determination and high-precision navigation, which we have today, began to develop from this point. It is used not only in geodesy and land management but also in architecture, for the development of energy, and transport networks. The defence sector is based on measurements, the base of which was laid by geodesists in 1816," noted Andriy Gaev.
He emphasised that this is an example for the modern generation: how to treat labour. In difficult conditions, in any weather, without modern technologies, "people did what satellites confirm today."
"This point will be integrated into the modern geodesic network and will benefit the national economic complex," said Andriy Gaev.
The need for the first trigonometric measurements here was due to the fact that the war of 1812 showed the backwardness of the Russian Empire in creating reliable and accurate military topographic maps. It was decided to start work from the western borders of the empire, as the threat of military invasion was greatest here. New trigonometric and topographic surveys of the Vilna Governorate were created based on triangulation. Military geodesists, led by Karl Tenner, were engaged in this work.
Uladzimir Mkrtchyan, Associate Professor at the Department of Geodesy and Aerospace Technologies of the Belarusian National Technical University, formerly headed "Belaerocosmogiodesy," which was involved in the search for points of the Struve Geodetic Arc. 19 points were discovered on the territory of Belarus, 5 of which are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
"The connection between the points in this area is the southern shore of Lake Drisvyaty. The geodetic network that spread from this point extended to all Eastern European countries. Today's event is important for Belarusian geodesy. If it weren't for this point, we wouldn't have satellite navigation. Thanks to the created networks, we have transferred geodesy into outer space," emphasized Uladzimir Mkrtchyan.
The Struve Geodetic Arc was named after the Russian astronomer Vasily Yakovlevich Struve. Its main purpose was to study the shape of the Earth and refine data about its dimensions. The Struve Geodetic Arc was measured by researchers from the Dorpat (Tartu) and Pulkovo observatories from 1816 to 1855. Funding was provided by donations from Emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I personally.
The arc begins at the Fuglenes point on the coast of the Barents Sea and ends near the coast of the Black Sea in southwestern Ukraine at the Staronekrasivka point. The total length is over 2.8 thousand km. The arc passes through the territory of ten countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova. In total, there are 265 main triangulation points, of which 28 are located in Belarus. Only Ukraine (50) and Finland (84) have more.
Five of the best-preserved points on the territory of Belarus were included in the UNESCO list: Chekutsk, Leskovichi, Osovitsa in the Brest region, and Lopaty, Tupishki in the Grodno region. The reference points of this network are marked in the terrain in various ways: they are made as indentations in rocks, marked by iron crosses, stone pyramids, or specially erected obelisks.
As noted by the Chairman of the Braslav District Executive Committee, Alyaksandr Bodanin, in the future, local authorities will install a sign at the site of the baseline near Drisvyaty and a pointer to it from the road. "This is one of the points for attracting tourists. We will include this place in the routes for our guests. We will also need some kind of QR code so that tourists can use it to read about this place and its significance," said Alyaksandr Bodanin.
News of Belarus (BELTA)