In many countries, Kilometre Zero (also written km 0) or similar terms in other languages, is a particular location (often in the nation's capital city), from which distances are traditionally measured. A similar notion also exists for individual roads (that is, all locations on the road have a number, depending on their distance from that location), and for individual cities (often the city's central post office is used for this).
The most famous such marker of which any part survives from ancient times 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".
Argentina marks Kilometre Zero with a monolith in Plaza Congreso in Buenos Aires. 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 honor of José de San Martín are west, and on its eastern side, the date of the decree and the name of the relevant authorities.
Highways in Australia are usually built and maintained by the states and territories. 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.[1] The obelisk lists the distances to various locations in New South Wales at the time.[2]
Origin point of the TransCanada Highway in Victoria, British Columbia, on the southern end of Vancouver Island.
All national distances from Santiago originate at the Km. 0 plaque, located at the Plaza de Armas main square in downtown Santiago.
Chile's Autopista Central - Eje Norte-Sur (the eastern portion 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.
China Railways' 0 km is located at the entrance to the Fengtai Yard on the Jingguang Line just outside of Beijing. This point was historically the start of the line; the marker is a simple concrete marker, with "0" painted on it. There is no ceremonial plaque.
Cuba's Kilometre Zero is located in its capital Havana in El Capitolio. Embedded in the floor in the centre of the main hall is a replica 25 carat (5 g) diamond, which marks Kilometre Zero for Cuba. 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 25 March 1946 and mysteriously returned to the President, Ramón Grau San Martín, on 2 June 1946. It was replaced in El Capitolio by a replica in 1973.
DR-1, DR-2, and DR-3 all depart from Kilometre Zero from Santo Domingo's Parque de Independencia.
Kilometre Zero in Ethiopia is in Menelik Square, Addis Abeba, in front of St. George's Cathedral; it is the point from which all Ethiopian highway distances are measured. The point was designated by Emperor Haile Selassie in 1930.
Kilometre Zero of French national highways, located in Paris on the square facing the main entrance of Notre Dame cathedral, and considered the official centre of the city of Paris.
The Zero Kilometre in Budapest is marked by a monument, forming the number "zero". 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 city of Kecskemét also has a Zero Kilometre Stone on Kossuth Square.
The resting place of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, in the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi (known as Raj Ghat) is the point from which all highway distances are measured. The Raj Ghat has a milestone at its entrance that reads "0 KM".
By the Roman times and Byzantion (Byzantic province), and after that stood a Roman triumph in the plaza of Damascus Gate in the Old city of Jerusalem that measure the kilometers to other cities - he showing in the Madaba Map. the triumph was demolished after the Roman times. the arabs called the Damascus Gate by the name: "The gate of the triumph".
Starting from the 20th century, mile zero of Jerusalem is in the plaza outside to develop in the wall near the Jaffa Gate. Opening in the wall was made in 1898 in honor of the German Emperor Wilhelm II. During the British Mandate for Palestine it was installed in an elevated position was a traffic cop - to develop the plaza outside the doorway wall. The stand it was the policeman was determined zero point to measure distances to Jerusalem. there is currently no indication whatever in this point today.
The Italian Kilometre Zero is located on the top of the Capitoline Hill, in Rome.
The Kilometre Zero of Japan (日本国道路元標 Nipponkoku Dōro Genpyō) is on the middle of Nihonbashi bridge in Tokyo. Tokyo Station is considered the originating point of the national railway network and has several posts and monuments indicating 0 km of lines originating from the station.
The Kilometre Zero for the major roads radiating from Antananarivo is located on the square in front of the Soarano Railway Station.
The Kilometre Zero is located in Mexico City, next to the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral.
The Panamanian Kilometre Zero is located at the Martin Sosa Bridge on the Simon Bolivar Avenue (Transisthmian Highway) in Panama City.
The marble marker designated as KM 0 fronting the Rizal Monument in Rizal Park is Kilometer Zero for road distances on the island of Luzon and the rest of the Philippines.
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.
The Kilometre Zero of Romania is marked by a monument located in front of Saint George's Church in central Bucharest.
The bronze plaque marking Russia's Kilometre Zero is located in Moscow, just in front of the Iberian Chapel, in a short passage connecting Red Square with Manege Square and flanked by the State Historical Museum and the City Duma.
Slovakia has its Kilometre Zero in Bratislava under Michael's Gate in the Michalská veža (St. Michael's tower).
Seoul, the capital city of South Korea, has its 'Doro Wonpyo' (Korean: 도로원표) in the centre of Gwanghwamun Intersection to measure all distance of both national and regional roads. The initial statue, made by Seoul Metropolitan City to commemorate in 1997, is located in front of Donghwa Duty-free shop building (near Gwanghwamun Station), 151 m far from its exact point.
Spain has its Kilometre Zero in the centre of the Puerta del Sol in Madrid (incidentally, the clock of the old Royal House of the Post Office, in front of which the plaque is located, marks the official time in Spain, according to the urban legend). The plaque that marks this point was turned around 180 degrees in 2002 because the map of Spain depicted on it was upside down in relation to the modern depiction of Spain.
The plaque was renewed in 2009, during the roadworks of the Puerta del Sol square.
In Sri Lanka, all distances from Colombo is measured from (formally in miles) the President's House. This practice began with the construction of the Colombo-Kandy road in 1830, which was the first modern highway in the island, since then most of the highways originates from Colombo.
Switzerland's Kilometer Null is located in Olten. It was made in the 19th century to mark the point from where the Swiss railway system was measured. Because of the dimension of the Swiss railway system, it is no longer used.
Thailand has two points that are declared as Kilometre Zero. The National Highway's Kilometre Zero is the Democracy Monument on Ratchadamnoen Avenue, and the Railway's Kilometre Zero is the Erawan Elephant Monument, in front of Bangkok Railway Station.
The term 'Kilometre Zero' is not used in the United Kingdom. Most distances from London are measured in miles from Charing Cross. See also, London Stone, Hicks Hall, and St Mary-le-Bow, a church from which the distance of the original London to Lewes road is measured.
The metric system is not the common system in the United States, but mile markers for roads begin at either their western or southern terminus. All such markers reset when crossing state lines.
Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the original architect of Washington, D.C., proposed an otherwise unnamed reference marker in the form of a pole to be located one mile east of the Capitol that was never built. Although not used for measurement on United States roads (outside of the city itself), the Zero Milestone near the White House was proposed in 1919 and a permanent marker placed in 1923 by the federal government, funded by the Good Roads Movement.
Uruguay has a "Kilómetro Cero" for the national routes at the La Paz Pillar, located in Plaza de Cagancha of the city of Montevideo.[3]
Also, a "Kilómetro Cero" has been established for the Uruguay River by the Treaty of Río Uruguay in 1961 on the parallel passing by the area called Punta Gorda in the Colonia Department, south of the city of Nueva Palmira.
Kilometer Zero is also the name of a literary journal once published from the famous book shop Shakespeare and Company.
The 2000 film Km. 0 was a romantic comedy set in Madrid.