The traditional Polish units of measurement included two uniform yet distinct systems of

weights and measures A unit of measurement is a definite magnitude of a quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law, that is used as a standard for measurement of the same kind of quantity. Any other quantity of that kind can be expressed as a mul ...

, as well as a number of related systems borrowed from neighbouring states. The first attempt at

standardisation Standardization or standardisation is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that include firms, users, interest groups, standards organizations and governments. Standardization ...

came with the introduction of the Old Polish measurement ystem'', also dubbed the Warsaw system, introduced by a royal decree of December 6, 1764. The system was later replaced by the New Polish measurement ystem'' introduced on January 1, 1819. The traditional Polish systems of weights and measures were later replaced with those of surrounding nations (due to the Partitions of Poland), only to be replaced with

metric system The metric system is a system of measurement that succeeded the decimalised system based on the metre that had been introduced in France in the 1790s. The historical development of these systems culminated in the definition of the Intern ...

by the end of the 19th century (between 1872 and 1876).

History

Historic weights and measures

The first recorded weights and measures used in Poland were related to dimensions of human body, hence the most basic measures in use were ''sążeń'' ( fathom), ''łokieć'' (

ell An ell (from Proto-Germanic *''alinō'', cognate with Latin ''ulna'') is a northwestern European unit of measurement, originally understood as a cubit (the combined length of the forearm and extended hand). The word literally means "arm", and ...

), ''piędź'' (

span Span may refer to: Science, technology and engineering * Span (unit), the width of a human hand * Span (engineering), a section between two intermediate supports * Wingspan, the distance between the wingtips of a bird or aircraft * Sorbitan es ...

), ''stopa'' (

foot The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg mad ...

) and ''skok'' (

jump Jumping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jump or Jumping also may refer to: Places * Jump, Kentucky or Jump S ...

). With time trade relations with the neighbouring nations brought to use additional units, with names often borrowed from

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

. From Middle Ages until the 18th century, there was no single system of measurement used in all of Poland. Traditional units like ''stopa'' (

) or ''łokieć'' (

) were used throughout the country, but their meaning differed from region to region. Most major cities in the area used their own systems of measurement, which were used in the surrounding areas as well. Among the commonly used systems were Austrian, Galician, Danzig,

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 159 ...

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and Breslau. The matter was further complicated by the fact that Austrian or German systems were hardly uniform either and differed from town to town. Furthermore, the systems tended to evolve over time: in the 13th century the Kraków's

was equivalent to 64.66

centimetre 330px, Different lengths as in respect to the Electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the Metre and its deriveds scales. The Microwave are in-between 1 meter to 1 millimeter. A centimetre (international spelling) or centimeter (American spellin ...

s, a century later it was equivalent to 62.5 cm, then in the 16th century it shrunk to 58.6 cm and finally was equalled to standard "old Polish ell" of 59.6 cm only in 1836. To add to the confusion, various goods were traditionally measured with different units, often incompatible or difficult to convert. For instance,

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cer ...

was sold in units named '' achtel'' (0.5 of

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...

, that is 62 Kraków

gallon The gallon is a unit of volume in imperial units and United States customary units. Three different versions are in current use: *the imperial gallon (imp gal), defined as , which is or was used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Aus ...

s of 2.75

litre The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3 ...

s each). However honey and mead were recorded for tax purposes in units named ''rączka'' (slightly more than 10 Kraków gallons). As the weights and measures were important in everyday life of merchants, in 1420 the royal decree allowed each

voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the ...

to create and maintain a single system used in his

voivodeship A voivodeship is the area administered by a voivode (Governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in western medieval ...

. This law was later confirmed by a

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...

act of 1565. Steel or copper rods used as local standard of

(basic unit of length) were created in a voivode's capital and then dispatched to all nearby towns, where they were further duplicated for everyday use. One bar was to be stored in the

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually house ...

for comparison, while additional rods were stored in the gatehouses or toll points to be borrowed by merchants as needed. Damaging or losing a rod was punishable by law.

Measuring time

Outside of this set of systems was the measurement of time. As

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another build ...

s only started to appear in late Middle Ages, and their usability was limited to within a small radius, some basic substitutes for modern minutes and hours were developed, based on Christian prayers. The ''pacierz'' (or ''paternoster'') was a non-standard unit of time comprising some 25 seconds, that is enough time to recite the

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

. Similarly, ''zdrowaśka'' (from ''Zdrowaś Mario'', the first words of the

Hail Mary The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's ...

) was used, as was the

Rosary The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or ...

(''różaniec'') that is the time needed to recite Hail Mary 50 times (roughly 16 minutes). Those units were never strictly defined, but is used in rural areas of Poland even today.

Early attempts at standardisation

While this system introduced some level of standardisation throughout the country, the systems used in various voivodeships still differed from one another. To counter this problem the

ell and

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

ell were made equal in 1507. The same applied to ells used in Lwów and Lublin, which however were different from those in Kraków and Poznań. In 1532 the

Płock Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to th ...

ell was aligned with the Kraków ell, which in 1565 was declared an official ell to be used in all of the

Crown of Poland The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Korona Królestwa Polskiego; Latin: ''Corona Regni Poloniae''), known also as the Polish Crown, is the common name for the historic Late Middle Ages territorial possessions of the King of Poland, includi ...

. The system used by Warsaw was adopted in

and all of

Masovia Mazovia or Masovia ( pl, Mazowsze) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the unofficial capital and largest city. Throughout the centuri ...

in 1569. In 1613 additional systems were created for

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...

and

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Tra ...

. The standardisation of other units of measurement also made some progress since the 15th century, but at a different pace. In the end this created even more confusion, as two towns could use the same units of length, but two different units of weight, although using the same terms.

1764 reform - the Old Polish system

As until then not only different units varied from town to town but also their relation to one another, in 1764 a major overhaul of the measurement system was prepared. By a royal decree of December 6, 1764 all units of measurement were to be converted to a new system, common to all of Poland and its dependencies. The system relied on previously used units, but introduced a common, unified system of relations between them. It had no official name and it was not until the 19th century when it started to be called the Old Polish system (''miary staropolskie'', or ''Old-Polish measures''), in contrast to the ''new'' system introduced then. The basic unit of length - the

or łokieć in Polish - was set to 0.5955

metre The metre ( British spelling) or meter ( American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its p ...

s. For trade and everyday use it was further subdivided into the

(''stopa'', ≈29.78

centimetres 330px, Different lengths as in respect to the Electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the Metre and its deriveds scales. The Microwave are in-between 1 meter to 1 millimeter. A centimetre (international spelling) or centimeter (American spellin ...

); '' sztych'' (≈19.86cm); quarter (''ćwierć'', ≈14.89cm);

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (b ...

(''dłoń'', ≈7.44cm); and

inch Measuring tape with inches The inch (symbol: in or ″) is a unit of length in the British imperial and the United States customary systems of measurement. It is equal to yard or of a foot. Derived from the Roman uncia ("twelft ...

(''cal'', ≈2.48 centimetres), or gathered into the fathom (''sążeń'', 3 ells or 1.787 metres in length), such that:

1 ell = 2 feet = 3 sztychs = 4 quarters = 8 palms = 24 inches ( = ⅓ of a fathom ).

A different system of units, although complementary and interchangeable, was used in measuring lengths for agrarian purposes. The basic unit was a step (''krok''), equalling 3.75 of standard ell, or 2.2333 metres. Two steps made a

rod Rod, Ror, Ród, Rőd, Rød, Röd, ROD, or R.O.D. may refer to: Devices * Birch rod, made out of twigs from birch or other trees for corporal punishment * Ceremonial rod, used to indicate a position of authority * Connecting rod, main, coupling, ...

(''pręt'', 4.4665 metres), 2 rods made a stick (''laska''), and five sticks were equal to a cable (''sznur'' of 44.665 metres). Finally 3 cables made up a

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use i ...

(''staje'') of roughly 134 metres. In measuring the distance between cities, the basic unit was ''staje'', although it was different from the ''staje'' mentioned before and had the length of roughly 893 metres. Eight ''staje'' made up a Polish mile of 7144 metres. The weights were based on the (''funt'' of 0.4052 kg) composed of two '' grzywnas'', each in turn comprising 16

lot Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to: Common meanings Areas * Land lot, an area of land * Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *Lot number, in batch production *Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...

s (''łut'' of 0.0127 kg). For heavier goods the basic units were a

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

(''kamień'', 32 pounds or 12.976 kg) and

Hundredweight The hundredweight (abbreviation: cwt), formerly also known as the centum weight or quintal, is a British imperial and US customary unit of weight or mass. Its value differs between the US and British imperial systems. The two values are distin ...

(''cetnar'', five stones or 64.80 kg). There were two sets of units of volume: one for fluids and the other for

dry goods Dry goods is a historic term describing the type of product line a store carries, which differs by region. The term comes from the textile trade, and the shops appear to have spread with the mercantile trade across the British Empire (and form ...

. Both used the

(''garniec'') of 3.7689

s as the basic unit. This was subdivided into 4

quart The quart (symbol: qt) is an English unit of volume equal to a quarter gallon. Three kinds of quarts are currently used: the liquid quart and dry quart of the US customary system and the of the British imperial system. All are roughly e ...

s (') of 0.9422 L or 16 '. For dry goods four gallons comprised a measure ('), 2 measures comprised a quarter ('), 4 quarters comprised a

bushel A bushel (abbreviation: bsh. or bu.) is an imperial and US customary unit of volume based upon an earlier measure of dry capacity. The old bushel is equal to 2 kennings (obsolete), 4 pecks, or 8 dry gallons, and was used mostly for agri ...

(') of 120.6 L, and 30 bushels comprised a

last A last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot. It is used by shoemakers and cordwainers in the manufacture and repair of shoes. Lasts typically come in pairs and have been made from various materials, including hardwoods, cast iron, and ...

(') of 3618 L. For fluids, 5 gallons comprised a ''konew'' of 18.8445 L and 14.4 ''konew'' made up a

of 271.36 L.

Current use

Though the traditional systems were officially abandoned in the 19th century, traces of their use, especially in rural areas, were found by

ethnographers Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

as late as 1969.

Length

* Krok ( :pl:Krok (miara)) * Ławka ( :pl:Ławka (jednostka długości)) * Łokieć ( :pl:Łokieć (miara)) * Piędź ( :pl:Piędź) * Staje ( :pl:Staje) * Stopa ( :pl:Stopa (miara))

Area

* Łan ( :pl:Łan (miara powierzchni)) * Morga ( :pl:Morga) * Staje ( :pl:Staje) *

Włóka Volok ( lt, valakas, pl, włóka) was a late medieval unit of land measurement in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Kingdom of Poland and later, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was equal, on average, to in Lithuania or to in Poland. It was s ...

( :pl:Włóka (miara powierzchni)) * Źreb ( :pl:Źreb)

Volume

* Garniec ( :pl:Garniec) *

Korzec Korets (, russian: link=no, Корец, , yi, קאריץ ''Koritz'') is a city in Rivne Oblast in Ukraine. The city is located on the Korchyk river, 66 kilometers to the east of Rivne. It is administrative center of Korets Raion. Population: ...

( :pl:Korzec) *

Łaszt The last was a Dutch unit of mass, volume, and number, and a large English unit of weight, mass, volume, and number. It referred to standardized amounts of ships' lading and varied by commodity and over time. Name The term derives from Old Engli ...

( :pl:Łaszt)

Mass and monetary units

* Grzywna ( :pl:Grzywna (ekonomia); :pl:Grzywna (jednostka miar)) * Kamień ( :pl:Kamień (miara)) *

Kwarta The kwarta ( lt, 'kvarta') or quarter tax was a tax in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on all incomes from crown estates in ''królewszczyzna'' (crown lands). It was established in 1563.Norman Davies, ''God's Playground ''God's Playground: A H ...

( :pl:Kwarta (jednostka wagowa)) * Kwartnik ( :pl:Kwartnik) *

Łut The traditional Polish units of measurement included two uniform yet distinct systems of weights and measures, as well as a number of related systems borrowed from neighbouring states. The first attempt at standardisation came with the introducti ...

( :pl:Łut) *

Skojec Skojec was a medieval central European unit of account as well as a unit of mass. It was also used as a unit of currency. 1 skojec was equal to 1/24 of a grzywna. 1 skojec = 30 pfennigs 1 wiardunek = 6 skojecs 1 skojec = 2 groschen The etymology ...

( :pl:Skojec) *

Wiardunek The Wiardunek (also referred to as wiardunk, czwartak or ferton; german: viertel, la, ferto) was a Mediaeval Central European unit of mass most widely used in Poland and Germany. Wiardunek was also used as a unit of account, and as a such as comm ...

( :pl:Wiardunek)

Time

* Pacierz ( :pl:Pacierz) * Zdrowaśka ( :pl:Zdrowaśka)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obsolete Polish Units Of Measurement

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

1760s establishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Science and technology in Poland Polish culture

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

1810s establishments in Poland