Lachter

The ''lachter'' (also ''Berglachter'') was a common unit of length used in the mining industry in Europe, usually to measure depth, tunnel driving and the size of mining fields; it was also used for contract work. In most German-speaking mining fields it was the most important unit of length.

A ''lachter'' was roughly equal to the amount which a man could contain within his outstretched arms. It was thus similar to the ''klafter'' (ca. ), but was usually rather larger.

The lachter was - with regional differences - subdivided into ''Achtel'' (also called a ''Spann'', ''Gräpel'' or ''Gröbel''), (''Lachter)Zoll'', ''Primen'' (or ''Prinen'') and ''Sekunden'':

* 1 ''lachter'' = 8 ''Spann'' = 80 (''Lachter)Zoll'' = 800 ''Primen'' = 8,000 ''Sekunden''

In the 19th century a decimal system of subdivision was established:

* 1 ''lachter'' = 10 ''Lachterfuß'' = 100 ''Lachterzoll'' = 1,000 ''Lachterlinien''

Like other units of measure, the ''lachter'' varied in length depending on the region, but there could also be differences in length within the same region. In addition there could also be differences between various mining fields within a territory. The specification and use of conversion tables only makes sense if it is known for certain, where and at which times the values were valid. Some examples:

{| class="wikitable sortable" |- class="hintergrundfarbe5" !colspan="3"|Some kinds of ''Lachter'' |- ! Region ! Length of 1 ''Lachter''
in m (ft) ! Remarks |- | Altenberg (Ore Mountains) | style="text-align: center" | | |- | Anhalt-Köthen | style="text-align: center" | | Harzgerode ''Lachter'' |- | Annaberg | style="text-align: center" | | |- | Baden (to 1827) | style="text-align: center" | |= 7.5 old Baden feet (''Fuß'') |- | Baden (from 1827) | style="text-align: center" | |= 10 new Baden feet |- | Bavaria | style="text-align: center" | | |- | Bayreuth | style="text-align: center" | | equal to 80 Bayreuth inches (''Zoll'') |- | Berchtesgaden | style="text-align: center" | | equalt to 6 feet |- | Bohemia | style="text-align: center" | | equal to 4 ells (''Ellen'') |- | Brunswick | style="text-align: center" | | |- | Clausthal | style="text-align: center" | | |- | Eisleben | style="text-align: center" | | |- | Freiberg | style="text-align: center" | | Old Freiberg ''Lachter'' |- | Hanover | style="text-align: center" | | |- | Idrija (Carniola) | style="text-align: center" | | 6 Idrian feet |- | Joachimsthal (today: Jáchymov) | style="text-align: center" | | |- | Johanngeorgenstadt | style="text-align: center" | | |- | Kronach | style="text-align: center" | | equal to 7 Nuremberg feet |- | Lippe-Detmold | style="text-align: center" | | |- | Marienberg | style="text-align: center" | | |- | Nassau | style="text-align: center" | | |- | Austria | style="text-align: center" | | 1 ''Berglachter'' = 6 shoes (''Schuh'') |- | Prussia | style="text-align: center" | | 80 Prussian inches (''Zoll'') |- | Saxony | style="text-align: center" |
| until 1830: 7 Dresden or Saxon feet
from 1830: defined to be exactly . |- | Schemnitz (today: Banská Štiavnica) | style="text-align: center" | | |- | Silesia | style="text-align: center" | | |- | Tyrol (1769-1809 and after 1815) | style="text-align: center" | |= Viennese ''Klafter'' |- | Tyrol: Innsbruck (before 1769) | style="text-align: center" | |= 6 Tyrolean feet = 72 Tyrolean inches |- | Tyrol: Kitzbühl (1747) | style="text-align: center" | |= 64 Tyrolean inches |- | Tyrol: Schwaz | style="text-align: center" | |= 63 Tyrolean inches |- | Württemberg | style="text-align: center" | |= 7 Württemberg feet |}

A ''Lachterschnur'' was an oiled, 10–12 ''Lachter'' long cord, used as a measuring device. Provided by Wikipedia