Gas prices in Germany, Austria, Hungary and Switzerland in 1886

Dr. N. H. Schilling, director of the gas work in Munich collated in 1886 data from about 600 gas works in Germany, Austria, Hungary and Switzerland. In his preface he apologized for not having followed the request of readers to depict this information in a table. One big obstacle of course is that in these countries different currency system existed, and most of them were not decimal. For example in the South of Germany a Gulden was divided in 60 Kreuzer whereas one Gulden in Austria was divided into 100 Kreuzer. 1 Taler was divided into 30 Silbergroschen (silver coins), and in the North of Germany 1 Mark was divided into 16 Schilling. At the time the value of most coins was equivalent to their value of gold or silver, so that exchange rates were fixed to the content of gold or silver. With the birth of the German Empire a new currency was introduced, the Mark, having 100 Pfennige. I therefore converted all currencies into Mark.

Less a problem was to convert the different cubic measures from Rhineland cubic foot, Prussian cubic foot, Saxonian cubic foot, Bavarian cubic foot, Hamburg cubic foot into cubic meter. Today with a spreadsheet and some formulas this has become less a nuisance.

A problem that is impossible to solve is the quality of the town gaz. As the main purpose of most gaz works was to supply the public places with light in the night, the town administrations had obliged the gaz providers to contractual minimum requirements with regard to the brightness of the light. These requirements were expressed in comparison of candle lights with candles of various thicknesses, origins, etc. Apart form that it seems an impossible task to find adequate conversion factors, the brightness is not directly related to the heating value, which is important when gas is used as a fuel for gas engines. The prices per cubic meter therefore do not take into account that a gas engine in Berlin may have a lower or higher consumption for one horse power and hour than for the same gas engine fueled with town gas from Munich or any other location.