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Zero Kilometre Stone

Zero Kilometre Stone is a 1975 sculpture by Miklós Borsos in Budapest, Hungary. It stands at Clark Ádám tér on the Buda side of the Chain Bridge and serves as the symbolic starting point for Hungarian distance measurements for major roads, with the exception of Road 8, which begins in Székesfehérvár. The sculpture is 3 metres high and made of limestone. It takes the form of a stylized zero, with the initials KM carved on its square base. Earlier monuments on the same theme stood here in 1932 and again in 1953 before being replaced by the present work.

Zero Kilometre Stone sculpture beside a bed of red flowers with buildings and streetlights in the background.
The Zero Kilometre Stone stands in a flower bed with city buildings and streetlights behind it.
September 2016 © · CC BY-SA 2.0
Zero Kilometre Stone on a paved plaza with a cafe and illuminated brick structure in the background.
Zero Kilometre Stone in Budapest, standing on a plaza near outdoor cafe seating at dusk.
February 2015 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Zero Kilometre Stone topped with snow in a snowy park, with bare trees in the background.
The Zero Kilometre Stone in winter, capped with snow and standing among snow-covered ground and bare trees.
© · CC BY-SA 3.0
Zero Kilometre Stone partially visible with the carved letters KM and a megaphone leaning against it.
The Zero Kilometre Stone, shown here with the carved KM letters and a megaphone resting beside it.
July 2025 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Snow-covered funicular railway descending between brick walls on Buda Castle Hill.
A snowy view of the Budapest funicular descending through the castle hill area.
2016 © · CC BY-SA 3.0

Identification

TitleZero Kilometre Stone
Original-language nameZerowy kilometr
Original-language nameКамень нулевого километра
Original-language nameКамінь нульового кілометра
TypeSculpture

Historical context

Year created1975

Creator

ArtistMiklós Borsos

Discovery and provenance

Original locationAt the threshold of the Buda Royal Palace
Relocation to current siteMoved to near the Széchenyi Chain Bridge in 1849 when the bridge crossing was completed
Predecessor monuments at the siteA marble Madonna statue by Jenő Körmendi-Frim stood there from 1932 and was destroyed in World War II; it was followed in 1953 by a worker sculpture by László Molnár, later moved in 1974 to Rákoshegy railway stop in District XVII

Physical characteristics

BaseQuadrangular pedestal
Base height80 cm
ShapeA stylized zero
Height3 m

Materials

MaterialLimestone

Appearance

InscriptionKM on the pedestal, an abbreviation for kilometre
Depicted subjectThe digit 0

Iconography and meaning

FunctionZero-kilometre reference point from which road distances in Hungary to Budapest are measured
Symbolic meaningSymbol of Hungarian distance measurement; the starting point for Hungarian main roads, with exceptions including Road 1 and Road 8

Location and ownership

LocationClark Ádám tér, Budapest, Hungary, near the Buda end of the Chain Bridge
Unveiled4 April 1975

History and restoration

2011 artwork based on the monumentIn 2011, András Csüllög made a 1.5-minute film and a styrofoam installation called ZERO, a copy of the monument, which was shown in multiple places and exhibitions

Significance

Comparable monumentsSimilar zero-kilometre markers exist in other cities, including Kecskemét, Kyiv, Minsk, Moscow, and Washington, D.C.; the best-known ancient example is the Milliarium Aureum in the Roman Forum under Octavian Augustus