PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
April 2019
253
by
Clifford J. Mugnier, CP, CMS, FASPRS
R
omânia is situated in central Europe, in
the northern part of the Balkan Peninsula.
Its territory is marked by the Carpathian
Mountains, the southern border is the Danube
River, and the eastern border is the Black Sea.
Bordering countries are Ukraine to the north,
Moldova to the northeast, Bulgaria to the south,
Yugoslavia to the southwest, and Hungary to the
northwest. The highest point is Moldoveanu at
2543 m (8,343 ft), the lowest point is at sea level.
Traces of human existence date back to the Lower
Paleolithic Period (approximately two million
years B.P.), and relatively stable populations in
România were found beginning with the Neolithic
Period (7000 to 8000 B.P.). Strabo, a famous
geographer and historian in the age of Emperor
Augustus, wrote that “the Dacians have the same
language as the Getae;” the basic difference is
that the former inhabited the mountains and
Transylvania, while the latter settled in the
Danube River valley. The Romanians are the only
descendants of the Eastern Roman stock, and
their language is one of the romance languages.
România has been referred to as a “Latin island in
a sea of Slavs.” România, a Republic, is composed
of the old principalities of Wallachia, Modovia,
and Transylvania. Its latest constitution is dated
December 8, 1991.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire was surveyed at a time
when topographic surveys were based partially on geom-
etry and partially on art. The topographer, more an artist
than a surveyor, proudly made the map by himself. There-
fore, the proverb: “There are plenty of surveyors, but few
topographers.” Maps are no longer produced by ingenious
topographer-artists, but by a team of specialists like those
The Grids & Datums column has completed an exploration of
every country on the Earth. For those who did not get to enjoy this
world tour the first time,
PE&RS
is reprinting prior articles from the
column. This month’s article on România was originally printed in
2001 but contains updates to their coordinate system since then.
who are members of ASPRS. The Second Topographical Sur-
vey (in România) of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was the
Franziszeische Aufnahme of 1806 to 1869 that utilized the
Cassini-Soldner Grid of Vizakna, Sibiu (Hermannstadt) Ob-
servatory for Transylvania, România. The original coordi-
nates of the Cassini Grid origin used from 1817-1904 were
φ
o
= 45° 50´ 25.430˝ North and
λ
o
= 41° 46´ 32.713˝ East of
Ferro, geodetically determined from Vienna. As per the Euro-
pean geodetic convention of the time, no false origin was em-
ployed and coordinates were computed with quadrant signs.
This Grid was cast on the von Zach 1812 ellipsoid where
a
= 6,376,385 m and
1
/
f
= 310.
While still a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Con-
stantin Barozzi (1833 to 1921) helped in the Viennese mea-
surement of the Slobozia geodetic base and in the triangula-
tion chain that connected Dobrogea to Transylvania. By 1870,
Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing
Vol. 85, No. 4, April 2019, pp. 253–255.
0099-1112/18/253–255
© 2019 American Society for Photogrammetry
and Remote Sensing
doi: 10.14358/PERS.85.4.253
