Swedish units of measurement
Encyclopedia
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.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, 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
Metric system
The metric system is an international decimalised system of measurement. France was first to adopt a metric system, in 1799, and a metric system is now the official system of measurement, used in almost every country in the world...
in 1889.
Length
- aln – Forearm (cf. EllEllAn ell , is a unit of measurement, approximating the length of a man's arm.Several national forms existed, with different lengths, includingthe Scottish ell ,the Flemish ell ,the French ell...
) (pl. alnar). After 1863, 59.37 cm. Before that, from 1605, 59.38 cm as defined by king Carl IX of Sweden in NorrköpingNorrköpingNorrköping is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County. The city has a population of 87,247 inhabitants in 2010, out of a municipal total of 130,050, making it Sweden's tenth largest city and eighth largest...
1604 based on Rydaholmsalnen. - famn – FathomFathomA fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems, used especially for measuring the depth of water.There are 2 yards in an imperial or U.S. fathom...
, 3 alnar. - kvarter – Quarter, 1/4 aln
- fot – Foot, 1/2 aln. Before 1863, the StockholmStockholmStockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
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 Litre pic|200px|right|thumb|One litre is equivalent to this cubeEach side is 10 cm1 litre water = 1 kilogram water The litre is a metric system unit of volume equal to 1 cubic decimetre , to 1,000 cubic centimetres , and to 1/1,000 cubic metre... |
34.56 Qt Quart The quart is a unit of volume equal to a quarter of a gallon, two pints, or four cups. Since gallons of various sizes have historically been in use, quarts of various sizes have also existed; see gallon for further discussion. Three of these kinds of quarts remain in current use, all approximately... |
| ohm | 155 pottor | 149.73 L | 131.806 Qt |
| storfavn | - | 3770 L (3.77 m³) | 3318.662 Qt (829.666 Gal Gallon The gallon is a measure of volume. Historically it has had many different definitions, but there are three definitions in current use: the imperial gallon which is used in the United Kingdom and semi-officially within Canada, the United States liquid gallon and the lesser used United States dry... ) |
| 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 Pound (mass) The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement... |
| mark | 50 ort | 212.5 g | 7.496 Oz Ounce The ounce is a unit of mass with several definitions, the most commonly used of which are equal to approximately 28 grams. The ounce is used in a number of different systems, including various systems of mass that form part of the imperial and United States customary systems... |
| 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 Nautical mile The nautical mile is a unit of length that is about one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian, but is approximately one minute of arc of longitude only at the equator... ). |
| sjömil | 4 kvartmil | 7408 m | 8101 Yd |
Monetary
- daler – From 1534, Swedish thalerThalerThe Thaler was a silver coin used throughout Europe for almost four hundred years. Its name lives on in various currencies as the dollar or tolar. Etymologically, "Thaler" is an abbreviation of "Joachimsthaler", a coin type from the city of Joachimsthal in Bohemia, where some of the first such...
. From 1873, replaced by the kronaSwedish kronaThe krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it, but especially in the past, it sometimes preceded the value...
. - 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.