The Struve Geodetic Arc is a chain of survey triangulations that go from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea. They go through ten countries and over 2,820 kilometres (1,750 miles). It made the first accurate measurement of a meridian arc.
The chain was made and used by the German-born Russian scientist Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve in the years 1816 to 1855. He did this to find the exact size and shape of the earth. At that time, the chain passed through two countries: Union of Sweden-Norway and the Russian Empire. The Arc's first point is in Tartu Observatory. This is where Struve did much of his research.
In 2005, the chain was added on the World Heritage List. There are 34 plaques or obelisks out of the original 265.