It stands on Postal Square across from the Old Town Bridge, which serves as a border bridge over the Lusatian Neisse. It is a replica of a Polish-Saxon postal milestone. It was constructed in the first decade of the 21st century.
In 1706, King Augustus II the Strong of Poland, who was also the Elector of Saxony, issued an order to establish a postal route from Dresden to Warsaw. In 1722, construction began on stone pillars for this postal service. These included: distance pillars, mile pillars, half-mile (hour) pillars, and quarter-mile (half-hour) pillars. They varied in size and shape. The distance pillars were the largest and were placed on tall pedestals in front of city gates or in town squares. The distances to individual cities in a given direction were marked on these pillars in postal miles (Saxon miles). One postal mile is approximately 9,062.08 meters. A mail carrier on foot could cover this distance in about two hours. The columns also listed the names of towns where additional post offices were established. The distances to the borders were also indicated alongside the names of these towns.
The pillar in Zgorzelec was erected in 1725. It is a roadside pillar carved from sandstone. It has the shape of a tapering obelisk with a square base (0.5 m x 0.5 m). Including the base step and pedestal, it measures 425 cm. The upper part is decorated with three pairs of coats of arms: that of the Republic of Poland (featuring an eagle and a horseman) and that of the Duchy of Saxony (in this case, the House of Wettin). The coats of arms are placed on oval shields framed by Baroque heraldic cartouches. Above the cartouches is the Polish royal crown, and below them is the monogram “AR,” which stands for Augustus Rex (King Augustus). Below that are the names of cities in Silesia and Saxony, with distances measured in miles. At the very bottom is the date 1725 and a drawing depicting a postal horn. These inscriptions are located on three sides of the column, corresponding to the directions of the branching roads. In 1945, the column was destroyed (broken and shattered). In 1956, it was acquired by the Museum of Post and Telecommunications in Wrocław.
In 1706, King Augustus II the Strong of Poland, who was also the Elector of Saxony, issued an order to establish a postal route from Dresden to Warsaw. In 1722, construction began on stone pillars for this postal service. These included: distance pillars, mile pillars, half-mile (hour) pillars, and quarter-mile (half-hour) pillars. They varied in size and shape. The distance pillars were the largest and were placed on tall pedestals in front of city gates or in town squares. The distances to individual cities in a given direction were marked on these pillars in postal miles (Saxon miles). One postal mile is approximately 9,062.08 meters. A mail carrier on foot could cover this distance in about two hours. The columns also listed the names of towns where additional post offices were established. The distances to the borders were also indicated alongside the names of these towns.
The pillar in Zgorzelec was erected in 1725. It is a roadside pillar carved from sandstone. It has the shape of a tapering obelisk with a square base (0.5 m x 0.5 m). Including the base step and pedestal, it measures 425 cm. The upper part is decorated with three pairs of coats of arms: that of the Republic of Poland (featuring an eagle and a horseman) and that of the Duchy of Saxony (in this case, the House of Wettin). The coats of arms are placed on oval shields framed by Baroque heraldic cartouches. Above the cartouches is the Polish royal crown, and below them is the monogram “AR,” which stands for Augustus Rex (King Augustus). Below that are the names of cities in Silesia and Saxony, with distances measured in miles. At the very bottom is the date 1725 and a drawing depicting a postal horn. These inscriptions are located on three sides of the column, corresponding to the directions of the branching roads. In 1945, the column was destroyed (broken and shattered). In 1956, it was acquired by the Museum of Post and Telecommunications in Wrocław.
