Kilometre zero (or km 0), also known as zero mile marker or zero milepost, is a particular location (usually in the nation's capital city) from which traveled distances are traditionally measured, as in distance markers. Historically, they were markers where drivers could set their odometers to follow the directions in early roaming guidebooks.
One such marker is the Milliarium Aureum ("Golden Milestone") of the Roman Empire, believed to be the origin for the maxim "All roads lead to Rome".
Countries Argentina
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 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.
Australia 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. The obelisk lists the distances to various locations in New South Wales at the time. For the railway, it is at platform 1 of Central station.
The General Post Office building in Melbourne traditionally serves this purpose in Victoria.
In Western Australia, road distances are measured from "Point Zero", which is by the old Treasury Building on the corner of Cathedral Avenue and St Georges Terrace in Perth, because this building once housed the Lands and Surveys Department.
Canada
The kilometer zero marker of the eastern origin of the Trans-Canada Highway is in St. John's, Newfoundland. Coordinates: Altitude: 14.02 m (46 ft) The western terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway in Victoria, British Columbia, is on the southern end of Vancouver Island. Mile zero of the Trans Canada Trail is adjacent to the Railway Coastal Museum in St. John's, Newfoundland. Coordinates: Altitude: Mile zero for the Alaska Highway is in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. Mile zero of the Old Cariboo Road is in Lillooet, British Columbia. This was the starting point of the Cariboo Gold Rush Trail, on which the communities 93 Mile House, 100 Mile House, and 150 Mile House are located. Coordinates: Altitude: Mile zero for the Mackenzie Highway is in Grimshaw, Alberta. Coordinates:
Chile
All national distances from Santiago, the capital of Chile, originate at the Km. 0 plaque at the Plaza de Armas main square in its downtown. (Coordinates: .)
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. (Coordinates: .)
China
China Railway's kilometre zero is at the entrance to the Fengtai Yard on the Beijing–Guangzhou railway just outside its capital 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.
The kilometre zero point for highways is at Tiananmen Square, just outside the Zhengyangmen Gate. It is marked with a plaque in the ground, with the four cardinal points, four animals, and "Zero Point of Highways, China" in English and Chinese.
Cuba
Cuba's kilometre zero is in its capital Havana in El Capitolio. Embedded in the floor in the centre of the main hall is a replica diamond, which marks kilometre zero. 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. It was replaced in El Capitolio by a replica in 1973.
Denmark
Traditionally, distances to Copenhagen, Denmark's capital, were measured to the old city gates. City Hall Square (old Vesterport) is the zero point for roads from south and west such as from Korsør or Rødby. For road from north such as from Helsingør or Hillerød, point zero is Østerport located on the North side of the inner city. Nørreport was used from Frederikssund, and Amagerport from Amager. There are old monuments at these locations.Kilometersten – billedgalleri (Dansk Vejhistorisk Selskab) On railways distances are in general measured from Copenhagen Central Station.
Dominican Republic DR-1, DR-2, and DR-3 all depart from kilometre zero at Santo Domingo's Parque de Independencia.
Egypt
Kilometre zero in Cairo, Egypt is at the Attaba Square Post Office in 1st of Abdel Khaliq Sarwat Pasha Street.
Ethiopia 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. The point was designated by Emperor Haile Selassie in 1930.
Finland
Kilometre zero in Finland is at the Erottaja square in central Helsinki.
France
Point zero of the French national highways is located in the city square of Parvis Notre-Dame – Place Jean-Paul II of Paris facing the main entrance of Notre-Dame with the medallion installed in 1924. (Coordinates: ). It was established by King Louis XV in April 1769.Paris Aéroport, Paris Vous Aime Magazine, No 13, avril-may-juin 2023, p. 64
A commemorative kilometre zero for the Liberty Road was erected in Sainte-Mère-Eglise, liberated by U.S. paratroopers on 6 June 1944.
Germany
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 at Marion-Gräfin-Dönhoff-Platz. (Coordinates: .)
Great Britain
In the centre of Charing Cross in London, there is a plaque bearing the inscription:
In Scotland, distances from Edinburgh are measured from a bollard in front of the General Post Office building in Princes Street.
For most mainline railways, miles are measured from the associated London terminal station.
The 0 km point for the whole London Underground network is located at Ongar railway station which is actually no longer part of the network and is only operated as part of a heritage railway.
See also: London Stone — possibly the Roman zero point Hicks Hall — traditionally the start of the Great North Road St Mary-le-Bow — the church traditionally the zero point of the road to Lewes in Sussex. The Standard — a water pump in Cornhill which was previously used as a zero point
Greece In Ancient Greece, distances were measured from the Altar of the Twelve Gods in the ancient agora of Athens. So, that altar can be considered the first kilometre zero in human history.
Nowadays, the kilometre zero for Greek highways is the National Observatory of Athens.
Guatemala The kilometre zero is located at the National Palace in Guatemala City. The National Palace is also the residence for the Guatemalan president.
Hong Kong
Traditionally, milestones for Castle Peak Road, Tai Po Road and Clear Water Bay Road, the first three highways extending from the city centre in Kowloon to the rural areas, were all measured from the Star Ferry pier at Tsim Sha Tsui. There are still milestones preserved today but there is no Milestone 0.
However, modern highways in Hong Kong no longer use this system. Each trunk route has its own km 0 at one end.
Hungary
The Zero Kilometre Stone in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, 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.
India
In India, the Zero Mile Stone is a monument in the city of Nagpur, Maharashtra. The Zero Mile Stone was erected by the British Raj after the Great Trigonometric Survey in 1907, and consists of four horses and a pillar made of sandstone. There is no verifiable evidence that it is a monument locating the geographical center of colonial India in the city of Nagpur, or that the Zero Mile Stone was erected by the British to use this point to measure all the distances. Incidentally, the city of Nagpur lies geographically central to all the nine major metros of India, viz. Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai, Kolkata, New Delhi and Pune. Most kilometre zeroes in India are situated near churches.
In Mumbai, the zero point used to be at St. Thomas Cathedral, near Horniman Circle. The original zero-milestone has long gone missing. Today a plaque marks the exact location and narrates the history. In Chennai, kilometre zero is at the midpoint of Muthuswamy Bridge on Muthuswamy Road near the Chennai Fort railway station on the south-western side of Fort St. George. In Pune, kilometer zero is located on the boundary wall of the General Post Office (GPO). It was initially half buried under layers of concrete. In 2017, the concrete was removed and the entire zero-milestone was revealed. The street along the zero-milestone was turned into a street museum with several installations depicting the history of the Great Trigonometrical Survey. Many of the installations have been broken. In Ooty (Ootacamund or Udagamandalam), kilometer zero is located at the gate of St. Stephen's Church. Here, the zero stone and the milestone can be seen.
Indonesia The Kilometre zero of Indonesia is marked by the monument in Weh Island in Aceh, the northernmost and westernmost point of Indonesia. It was one of the rare cases where the national kilometre zero is not at the capital (in this case, Jakarta). Previously it was further north in Rondo Island. Due to access difficulties, it was decided to move it to Weh Island.
Ireland
In Ireland, distances from its capital Dublin are measured from the General Post Office on the city's main thoroughfare, O'Connell Street.
Israel In Jerusalem, its kilometre zero or zero point is at Jaffa Gate. Some say it is at The Garden Tomb. However, there is no precise marker, as of today. However, the Railway system uses a different kilometre zero point at the former Haifa East railway station.
Italy The Italian kilometre zero is on the top of the Capitoline Hill in Rome.
Japan
is on the middle of Nihonbashi bridge in Tokyo, the capital city of Japan. Tokyo Station is considered the originating point of the national railway network and has several posts and monuments indicating kilometre zero for lines originating from the station.
Kyrgyzstan
The kilometre zero in Kyrgyzstan is located in its capital Bishkek, at
Madagascar Kilometre zero for the major roads radiating from Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, is on the square in front of the Soarano Railway Station.
Malaysia
Kilometre zero for roads and highways in Peninsular Malaysia is located in front of Johor Bahru General Post Office. It is one of the rare cases where the national kilometre zero is not at the capital (in this case, Kuala Lumpur) due to the fact that the distances for three major backbone routes (Federal Routes 1, 3 and 5) are measured from Johor Bahru, where they meet. In addition, Kuala Lumpur has its own Zero Mile marker as a point of reference from the capital city.
In Sarawak, kilometre zero of Pan Borneo Highway started in Telok Melano. In Sabah, the starting point for Kota Kinabalu City's kilometre zero began in front of the Sabah Tourism Board building, which used to be a post office during the British colonial era.
Mexico Kilometre zero of Mexico is located next to the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City.
North Korea