Klafter

The ''klafter'' is an historical unit of length, volume and area that was used in Central Europe.

Unit of length

As a unit of length, the ''klafter'' was derived from the span of a man's outstretched arms and was traditionally about 1.80 metres (m). In Austria, its length was, for example, 1.8965 m, in Prussia 1.88 m. In Bavaria, however, a ''klafter'' was only 1.751155 m, in Hesse it was significantly larger at 2.50 m. The Viennese or Lower Austrian ''klafter'' was fixed by Rudolf II as a measure of length as of 19 August 1588. When, in 1835, the Swiss units were defined using the metric system, 1 Swiss ''klafter'' (of 6  Swiss feet each of 0.30 m) corresponded exactly to 1.80 m.

In Aachen, Baden, Bavaria, Bohemia, Hamburg, Leipzig, Poland, Trier and Zurich the ''klafter'' was exactly six feet, but in the Canton of Fribourg it measured 10 feet.

In nautical units of depth, the ''klafter'' corresponds to the fathom.

Baseline

The survey of Austria-Hungary began in 1762 with the construction of the Vienna Neustadt Baseline (''Wiener Neustädter Grundlinie'') which was 6,410, later 5,000, ''klafters'' long, represented by 5 measuring rods of 1 ''klafter'' in length made of varnished wood.

Unit of volume

The old unit of dry volume for split firewood, or ''Scheitholz'', was based on this unit of length. A ''klafter'' of wood corresponded to a stack of wood with a length and height of one ''klafter''; the depth of this pile corresponded to the length of the log but, as a rule was 3 feet long, that is 0.5 ''klafters''. The volume of a pile of logs was therefore only 0.5 cubic ''klafters''. This in turn corresponded, depending on the area, to 3 to 4 steres or approximately 2 to 3 m³ of wood. The old Prussian ''klafter'' corresponded to 3.339 m³; in Austria, a ''klafter'' was equivalent to 3.386 m³. By comparison the North American cord, used to measure firewood and pulpwood, is slightly larger at 3.62 m³.

In Switzerland, Werdenfelser Land and parts of Lower Franconia, a ''klafter'' of logs corresponds to 3.0 m³ (steres) of stacked firewood since the introduction of the metric system. Usually the logs are 1 m long. One ''klafter'' of firewood is thus equivalent to about 2.2 m³.

Hay was also sometimes measured in ''klafters'' in the 19th century.'Swiss Idiotikon' Vol. III, Col. 633, articl
''Chlāfter''

The cubic ''klafter'' was not standardised as the length of a foot varied depending on the region. The cubic ''klafter'' used for wood could also differ. Here is an example of the Austrian units.
* 1 foot (Viennese) = 140.131 Paris lines = 0.3161 metres
* 1 cubic ''klafter'' (Viennese) = 216 cubic feet = 6.8224 cubic metres
The cubic foot generally had 1,728 cubic inches, each with 1,728 cubic lines, each with 1,728 cubic points.
* 1 cubic ''klafter'' (Viennese) = 6 cubic ''klafter'' feet of 12 cubic ''klafter'' inches of 12 cubic ''klafter'' lines of 12 cubic ''klafter'' points
* 216 cubic feet of 1,728 cubic inches of 1,728 cubic lines etc.
* 1 Viennese cubic ''klafter'' = 6.82234457176 cubic metres
* 1 cubic ''klafter'' foot = 1.1370574286 cubic metres
* 1 cubic-''klafter'' -inch = 94754785.7 cubic millimetres
* 1 cubic-''klafter'' line = 7896232.1 cubic millimetre
* 1 cubic ''klafter'' point = 658019.3 cubic millimetre
* 1 cubic foot = 0.0315749412 cubic metres
* 1 cubic inch = 18249.3 cubic millimetres
* 1 cubic line = 10.56 cubic millimetres
The ''Rahmklafter'', as the unit of timber measurement was called in Austria, was defined for long and short firewood as follows:
* 1 ''Rahmklafter''of long firewood = 6 feet long and 6 feet high, 1 1/4 ells of log length, about 111 cubic feet
* 1 ''Rahmklafter''of short firewood = 6 feet long and 6 feet high, 1 ell of log length, about 90 cubic feet
Two ''klafters'' were counted for one '' Stoß'' or livestock unit.

Unit of area

In Austria, 1 yoke (''Joch'', with which the size of fields was measured) comprised 1,600 square ''klafters'' with sides measuring 8 by 200 ''klafters'', thus about 5,754 m² and 0.575 ha, respectively. 1 square ''klafter'' (Viennese) was equivalent to 3.5979 square metres.

In Croatia, the square ''klafter'' was used as unit of area and equalled 3.596652 m². It is sometimes still used today.

In the Swiss Chur Rhine Valley and the Prättigau, the meadowland was measured in ''klafters''.

In the adjoining Principality of Liechtenstein, the square ''klafter'' is still used today for the measurement of land areas. 1 m² equals 0.27804 square ''klafters'', 1 square ''klafter'' equals 3.59665 m². The ''klafter'' as a unit of length was consequently about 1.8965 metres long.

In Darmstadt, 1 square ''klafter'' = 100 square feet = 10,000 square inches = 6.25 square metres.Christian Noback, Friedrich Eduard Noback: ''Vollständiges Taschenbuch der Münz-, Maass- und Gewichtsverhältnisse, der Staatspapiere, des Wechsel- und Bankwesens und der Usancen aller Länder und Handelsplätze.'' Vol. 1, FA Brockhaus, Leipzig, 1851, pp. 215, 463.

Similar units in other countries

Conversion table of 1838Gesellschaft Gelehrter und praktischer Kaufleute: ''Allgemeine Enzyklopädie für Kaufleute und Fabrikanten so wie für Geschäftsleute überhaupt: oder, Vollständiges Wörterbuch''. Verlag Otto Wigand, Leipzig, 1838.
* Canton of Neuchâtel, Canton of Berne (French-speaking part)
** 1 toise = 10 feet ''(pieds)''
* Canton of Valais (French-speaking part)
** 1 ''klafter'' = 6 French feet ''(pieds de roi)''
* Canton of Vaud (metric based from 1822)
** 1 toise = 10 feet ''(pieds)'' = 3.00 metres
** 1 toise carrée (square) = 100 square feet = 9.00 square metres
** 1 toise cube or toise courante (cubic) = 1,000 cubic feet = 27 cubic metres
* Canton of Ticino
** 1 = 6 feet ''(piedi)'' = 1.808 metres
** 1 tesa = 6 feet ''(piedi)'' = 1.80 metres (introduced in 1851)
* France
** 1 toise usuelle = 6 pieds = 2 metres = 1.026148 Parisian toise (old)
* Piedmont during the French reign
** 1 tesa = 5 piedi manuali = 759.17 Paris lines = 3.0826 metres
* Milan under French occupation
** 1 Cavese di Modena, Modenese ''klafter'' = 6 Modenese feet (1 foot = 281.2 Paris lines = 0.63433 m)
* Russia
** 1 sazhen = 3 arshin = 2.13356 metres
* Poland
** 1 sążeń = 8 feet
* Spain and former colonies
** 1 toesa, braza, estado = 2 varas = 6 pies
* Portugal, also Brazil (value deviating)
** 1 braça = 2 varas = 8 polegadas
* Italy, Spain, France, North Coast Africa
** 1 cañe, xanne (great ell)

See also

* Cord (unit), North American measure of timber volume
* Hoppus, British unit of timber volume
* Orders of magnitude (length)
* Toise, French six-foot unit of length
* Yoke (unit of measurement)

References

External links

{{Wiktionary

Obsolete units of measurement
Units of length
Human-based units of measurement
Obsolete Croatian units of measurement
Units of measurement of the Holy Roman Empire