Lecture on Struve's meridian arch

Riin Alatalu, historian and heritage conservationist, talks about the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Struve Arch, which crosses nine countries and was a significant scientific discovery of its time, and also passes through Belarus.

The work was directed by the then director of the Tartu Observatory, astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve, after whom the meridian arch was named. The aim of the triangulation method was to measure the exact shape and size of the planet Earth. It was an important step forward in the development of earth sciences and topography, and also in the collaboration of scientists from different countries in the name of science.