mérföldeket

mérföld (plural: mérföldek) is a unit of length that has historically been used in Hungary and other parts of Central Europe. The term derives from the Latin “mille passuum,” meaning “a thousand paces,” and it traditionally represented the distance that a Roman legion could march in a day. In Hungary the mérföld was officially defined as 1,852 meters, which corresponds to one nautical mile. This definition was adopted in the 19th century during the period of standardization of measurement systems across the Austro‑Hungarian Empire.

In contemporary Hungary, the mérföld is largely obsolete in everyday life and has been replaced by the kilometre in the metric system. However, it still appears in historical documents, literature, and in the titles of older maps and atlases. The mérföld remained in official use until the early 20th century, and even after its formal replacement it continued to be used colloquially in certain regions, particularly in southeast Hungary where older generations sometimes refer to travel distances in mérföldeket.

The mérföld shares a unique conversion relationship with the nautical mile, which is internationally recognized as 1,852 metres. The kilometre, the standard unit of length in the metric system, equals 1,000 metres, making a mérföld approximately 1.852 kilometres. This conversion factor is frequently cited in discussions of historical distance measurements in Central Europe, facilitating comparison between older imperial or customary units and modern metric units.

Despite its reduced everyday usage, the mérföldiko remains of interest to historians, cartographers, and genealogists who study early 20th‑century Hungarian records. The unit is documented in various period atlases, transportation schedules, and in literary works from the 19th and early 20th centuries, serving as a cultural reference point for the era before the full adoption of the metric system.