72RW+P6 Tyupishki, Belarus
Geographical location of the Struve geodetic arc stations "TUPISHKI," "LOPATI," "OSSOVNITSA," "CHEKUTSK," and "LESKOVICHI" was confirmed by recent special works carried out in 2002. They were obtained as a result of satellite measurements in the coordinate system of the Republic of Belarus and calculated using measurement values taken from the published work of Struve "Arc du méridien de 25º 20' entre le Danube et la Mer Glaciale mésure depuis 1816 jusqu’en 1855" and the "Catalog of first-class triangulation points, compiled by the Corps of Military Topographers on the territory of European Russia and the Caucasus from 1816 to 1910 and corrected by the military topographer K.V. Sharngorst commission" (1926). As a result, when recalculated into a unified system, the results practically coincided.
The TUPISHKI station is located in the Grodno region of the Republic of Belarus on agricultural land near the village of Tyupishki, five kilometers from the town of Holshany, on an elevated wooded hill more than three hundred meters above sea level. In a solemn ceremony, the geodetic point Tupishki of the Struve Arc was opened. The place is easily accessible by road. All stations are included in the Russian part of the Struve geodetic arc, measured by Tenner, which was not only the longest but also the most complex. In Belarus, it passed through forests and swamps, including the Pinsk marshes, which were considered impassable. The stations are important positions on the Struve geodetic arc because the initiator of the Lithuanian arc measurement, Tenner, took direct part in the observations.
At the same time, Struve conducted triangulation measurements in former Livonia. In 1828, the measurements of Struve and Tenner were linked. The central point of the station on the ground is marked by stone foundations, most of which have survived to this day. To ensure visibility between stations, tall wooden towers were built. Despite this, the quality of the measurements is not inferior to the works carried out by Bessel 30 years later.
In 1815, Tenner was tasked with conducting triangulation in the Vilna Governorate, and later in the Courland, Grodno, and Minsk Governorates of Russia. During his work in the Vilna Governorate, he on his own initiative began triangulation measurements along the meridian of the Vilna astronomical observatory, which was extended southward. According to his assumption, these measurements were connected with Struve's measurements. Under Tenner's leadership, the southern part of the Arc between the Danube and the Dvina was measured. The Struve arc stations located in Belarus, including Tupishki and Lopati, Ossovnitza, Chekutsk, and Leskovichi, were part of the provincial triangulations of Russia and later included in the geodetic system of the USSR and the Republic of Belarus.
The center of the TUPISHKI station is marked by a brick vertically embedded in a foundation of rough stone and bonded with lime. Currently, at this place stands a black stele about 1.5 meters high with a sphere — a symbol of the Earth — bearing the outline of Belarus.
The Struve Arc, once known as the "Russian" and later the "Russo-Scandinavian Meridian Arc," is one of UNESCO's World Heritage monuments. The arc consists of 265 triangulation points, along which measurements were conducted from 1816 to 1852, allowing the precise determination of the Earth's size and shape.
The reference points of this triangulation network were marked on the ground in various ways: hollows carved into rocks, iron crosses, stone pyramids, or specially installed obelisks. Often they were marked with sandstone bricks laid at the bottom of a pit; sometimes it was a granite cube with a cavity filled with lead, placed in a pit with cobblestones.
During the 8-year project to include the Struve Arc in the UNESCO list, special search and geodetic works were undertaken in each country to locate the original points. All information from all the countries of the Struve Arc was collected, structured, and standardized.
Not all original points were found during the special search and geodetic works carried out in recent years with active cooperation of scientists from interested countries, and many were found to be heavily damaged. Therefore, only the best-preserved points — a total of 34 — were included in the World Heritage site.
Sources:
http://www.gototrip.com/publications/geodezicheskaya-duga-struve
https://eurogeographics.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/1187.pdf
