Two visualizations of the "zero degree”
of PARIS in the observatory and garden

Longitude
A longitude is an imaginary line across the earth's surface from pole to pole that is perpendicular to the equator. there are 360 degrees to the globe, 180 degrees east and 180 degrees west of "0" degrees greenwich (internationally agreed on October 22, 1884)

Meridian
A meridian connects all the points where the sun is simultaneously at its highest point.

Brief history
Before 1884 there were many known zero meridians such as Cadiz, Ferro, Fulkova, Greenwich, Copenhagen, Lisbon, Naples, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Stockholm. This resulted in a conflict between the zero degrees of Paris and that of Greenwich, which therefore internationally became the marker.

The ‘Light’ meridian
has been situated on 3°7’45” East of greenwich

click **HERE** for a map online./ for your convenience, uncheck “Distance markers” when zooming in

1 • N 51°19’00” / E 3°7’45“ Blankenberge/be
(=the white mountain)
casino light tower, modernistic architecture of leon stynen (be) and van sluys & speybrouck (be)
"babies", sculptures by david cerny (cz)
northern starting point of the the light meridian art in europe

2 • N 50°55’12”/ E 3°7’45“ roeselare - zilverberg/be
THE MUZE'UM L, LIGHT & LANDSCAPE
first realized item on the light meridian
general info point of the light meridian by a private family
architect marc van schuylenbergh

3 • N 48°22’18” / E 3°7’45“ Aire de gravon/fr aire de repos / landscape art
one of the few aesthetic ‘rest stops’ at the french motorway APRR was built by the landscape achitect and sculptor gilbert weil (fr). the implantation is adapted to the existing biotope, and can be seen both from the air and on the ground. the the light meridian art line crosses this extraordinary project

4 • N 45°51’20” / E 3°7’45“ Clermont-ferrand/fr piste ladoux, michelin
the site covers 450 hectares. there are 20 test tracks for a total length of 45 km, used to perform tests of tires / michelin corporate foundation

5 • N 45°41’09” / E 3°7’45“ Le crest/fr tour de l’horloge / panorama massif central mounts

see panorama videos

6 • N 45°40’00 - N 43°14’00” / E 3°7’45“ moterway ‘la méridienne’ A 75
the Light Meridian repeatedly crosses the french toll-free A75 motorway ‘La méridienne’ A75 / E11 a specially for tourism designed toll-free and meandering autoroute from clermont-ferrand to narbonne

**7 • N 44°02’45” / E 3°7’45“ Millau/fr**

a landart monument / at 1989 the mayor of millau invited all the students of millau to plant each a black pine tree spelling out the date of the 200 years anniversary of the birth of france / it is only visible from the air / the light meridian passes through this land art project

8 • N 43°19’07” / E 3°7’45“
Montady / fr
vineyards in a solar circle
the light meridian cuts through a landscape that looks like a sun with rays of light and only visible from the sky

9 • N 42°03’18” / E 3°7’45“ montgri/es = the grey mountain
This long mountain formation looks like a sleeping bishop seen from afar. A single mountain in a flat landscape

**10. N 42°2’27” / E 3°7’45“ Torroella de montgrí**

the fundació vila casas
El Palau Solterra és el Museu de Fotografia Contemporània (Nacional / Internacional) de la Fundació Vila Casas *(photo = light)*

11 • N 42°14’56” / E 3°7’45“ Empuriabrava/es nautic tower

12 • N 41°50’30” / E 3°7’45“ Palamós/es el faro, Light tower / mediterranean reverberations / southern terminus of the Light meridian in Europe
at the solar noon, with your back to ‘el faro’, you can see how the rays of the sun are reflected in a wide band of light from north to south and out to the horizon, along the light meridian. (picture at 1.32 p.m. 14/10/2013 )

12 bis • near palamós• N 41°52’50” / E 3°6’33” The vineyard Bell-lloc/es
has a underground. wine cellar with light lines / the structure of the shadows is designed by rcr arquitectes rafael aranda, carme pigem and ramon vilalta : they are the laureates of the Pritzker Architecture Prize 2017 http://www.brugarol.com

The light meridian interconnects
intriguing starting points and termini in North Africa: Algeria / Mali / Niger / Benin / Nigeria

13 • N 36°44’31” / E 3°7’45“ Algier/dza le grand musée d’afrique // northern starting point of the light meridian in africa
on behalf of the african union (au), algeria opens soon le grand musée d’afrique with art from all african countries // the museum is set in a garden of 14 ha, with seeds from all african regions // exhibitions are highlighted taking into account the time and the position of the sun

watch on LE GRAND MUSEE

**14 • N 12°07’20” - N 09°05’47” / E 3°7’45“ République de bénin/ben**

N 6°47'60" / E1°46'60.0" = **city dogbo = sister city of roeselare**
the light meridian crosses the country on the east side / as dogbo on south-east side of bénin is a sister city of roeselare / an approuch of cooperation is considered

15 • N 06°29’04” / E 3°7’45“ Lagos/nga / integrated free zone / southern ultime terminus point of the light meridian on the three continents.

A GROWING ART-LINE (HERE)