Swedish units of measurement
In Sweden, a common system for weights and measures was introduced by law in 1665. Before that, there were a number of local variants. The system was slightly revised in 1735. In 1855, a decimal reform was instituted that defined a new Swedish inch as 1/10 foot. Up to the middle of the 19th century there was a law allowing for the imposition of the death penalty for falsifying weights or measures. Sweden adopted the metric system in 1889.
Length
- aln – Forearm (cf. Ell) (pl. alnar). After 1863, 59.37 cm. Before that, from 1605, 59.38 cm as defined by king Carl IX of Sweden in Norrköping 1604 based on Rydaholmsalnen.
- famn – Fathom, 3 alnar.
- kvarter – Quarter, 1/4 aln
- fot – Foot, 1/2 aln. Before 1863, the Stockholm fot was the commonly accepted unit, at 29.69 cm.
- linje – Line, after 1863 1/10 tum, 2.96 mm. Before that, 1/12 tum or 2.06 mm.
- mil – Mile, also lantmil. From 1699, defined as a unity mile of 18000 aln or 10.69 km. The unified mile was meant to define the suitable distance between inns. (The current Swedish mil is exactly 10 kilometers,)
- nymil – New mile from 1889, 10 km exactly. Commonly used to this day, only referred to as mil.
- kyndemil – The distance a torch will last, approx 16 km
- skogsmil – Also rast, distance between rests in the woods, approx 5 km.
- fjärdingsväg – 1/4 mil
- stenkast – Stone's throw, approx 50 m, used to this day as an approximate measure.
- ref – 160 fot, for land measurement, was 100 fot after 1855.
- stång – 16 fot, for land measurement
- tum – Thumb (inch), after 1863 1/10 fot, 2.96 cm. Before that, 1/12 fot or 2.474 cm.
- tvärhand – Hand, 4 inches.
Area
- kannaland – 1000 fot², or 88.15 m²
- kappland – 154.3 m².
- spannland – 16 kappland
- tunnland – 2 spannland or 4937.6 m², about 1 acre
- kvadratmil – Square mil, 36 million square favnar, from 1739.
Volume
| unit |
relation to previous |
metric value |
Imperial Value |
| pot |
- |
0.966 L |
0.85 Qt |
| tunna |
2 spann |
- |
|
| ankare |
- |
39.26 L |
34.56 Qt |
| ohm |
155 pottor |
149.73 L |
131.806 Qt |
| storfavn |
- |
3770 L (3.77 m³) |
3318.662 Qt (829.666 Gal) |
| kubikkfavn |
- |
5850 L (5.85 m³) |
5149.64 Qt (1287.41 Gal) |
Weight
- mark – 1/2 skålpund. Was used from the Viking era, when it was approx 203 g.
| unit |
relation to previous |
metric value |
Imperial Value |
| skeppspund |
20 lispund |
170.03 kg |
375.426 Lb |
| bismerpund |
12 skålpund |
5.101 kg. |
11.263 Lb |
| lispund |
20 skålpund |
8.502 kg |
18.771 Lb |
| skålpund |
2 mark |
0.42507 kg |
0.937 LB |
| mark |
50 ort |
212.5 g |
7.496 Oz |
| ort |
|
4.2508 g |
65.6 Gr |
Nautical
| unit |
relation to previous |
metric value |
Imperial Value |
| kabellängd |
100 famnar |
178 m |
195 Yd |
| a distansminut |
... |
185.2m |
202.5 Yd |
| kvartmil |
... |
1852m |
2025 Yd (identical to nautical mile). |
| sjömil |
4 kvartmil |
7408 m |
8101 Yd |
Monetary
- daler – From 1534, Swedish thaler. From 1873, replaced by the krona.
- riksdaler – From 1624, 1 1/2 daler, from 1681 2 daler, from 1715 3 daler, from 1776 6 daler
- skilling – From 1776, 1/48 riksdaler
- mark – From 1534, 1/3 daler. From 1604, 1/4 daler.
- öre – From 1534, 1/8 mark. Subsequently replaced by the skilling, but from 1855 reintroduced as 1/100 riksdaler.
See also
External links