Heligoland Lighthouse
Location | Heligoland, Heligoland, Germany |
---|---|
Coordinates | 54°10′55″N 7°52′57″E / 54.18183°N 7.88239°E |
Tower | |
Constructed | 1941 |
Construction | reinforced concrete (tower), brick (veneer) |
Automated | 1956 |
Height | 35 m (115 ft) |
Shape | square tower with balcony and lantern |
Markings | red (tower), white (lantern) |
Operator | Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsamt Tönning (–2021), Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsamt Elbe-Nordsee (2021–) |
Heritage | Heritage monument in Schleswig-Holstein |
Light | |
First lit | 1952 |
Focal height | 82 m (269 ft) |
Lens | rotator with 3 converging lenses |
Intensity | 35 megacandela |
Range | 28 nmi (52 km; 32 mi) |
Characteristic | Fl W 5s |
1630 tower | |
Constructed | 1630 |
Deactivated | 1637 |
1696 tower | |
Constructed | 1696 |
Power source | coal |
Deactivated | Unknown |
1811 tower | |
Constructed | 1810 |
Designed by | Daniel Asher Alexander |
Construction | stone (tower) |
Height | 18 m (59 ft) |
Operator | Trinity House (1836–) |
First lit | February 1811 |
Focal height | 67 m (220 ft) |
Lens | first order Fresnel lens (1876–) |
Range | 20 nmi (37 km; 23 mi) |
Characteristic | F W |
1902 tower | |
Constructed | 1902 |
Construction | stone (tower) |
Height | 36 m (118 ft) |
Deactivated | 1945 |
Heligoland Lighthouse (
water and shipping authority.History
17th century
In 1630 a lighthouse was established for the first time on Heligoland by the Duke of Schleswig; in return for maintaining the coal-fired light he claimed 'fire money'(German: Feuergeldern) of one Lübeck shilling per Last from ship owners in Hamburg, Bremen, Stade and the Ducal ports. The lighthouse ran at a loss for several years, and it ceased operating in 1637.[1]
In 1676 a new Heligoland lighthouse was established by the City of Hamburg. High-quality coal was imported from Scotland as fuel for the light, which initially operated only during the winter months (though from 1761 onwards it would be lit all the year round).[1]
18th century
The coal-fired lighthouse was maintained on Heligoland through 1700s. In 1705 an agreement was made between the Danish government and the City of Hamburg, which saw the latter take responsibility for maintaining the building, supplying it with coal and paying the keeper's salary (all to be financed by the levying of dues on vessels navigating the Elbe).[2] It was described as follows, shortly before its decommissioning:
On a small eminence, about two hundred yards from the houses, stands the light house, in which a large coal fire is constantly kept both summer and winter. The beacon is not high of itself, but as the rising ground on which it stands is two hundred and sixteen feet above the level of the sea, the light house may be distinguished at an immense distance, and according to the report of sea-faring men, it surpasses in this respect, most of the light-houses in the European seas.[2]
According to the same description, the lighthouse was said to have consumed 'upwards of four thousand pounds weight of coals a night, during the dark and stormy winter season'.
19th century
Not long after the
The so-called "English lighthouse" (englischer Leuchtturm) was 67 metres (220 ft) above mean sea level. It constituted an important aid to navigation in the
The English lighthouse was torn down soon after the inauguration of a new building in 1902.
20th century
The construction of the new lighthouse was ordered by the
In 1941 a square-shaped anti-aircraft tower made of heavily
Optics and characteristic
The light characteristic of the current Heligoland Lighthouse is one flash every 5 seconds (FL 5s). The range is 28 nautical miles[7][6] and is comparably high for the lighthouses of the German North Sea coast.
The English lighthouse of 1811 was equipped with 24
The 1902 lighthouse was lit by electricity. In an unusual arrangement
The optics of the current lighthouse were modernised in 1963. The device is made up of three
The Wilhelmshaven water and shipping authority uses Heligoland Lighthouse as a relay radio station to regulate ship traffic in the eastern German Bight.
See also
- List of lighthouses and lightvessels in Germany
References
- ^ a b c Ritsema, Alex (2007). Heligoland, Past and Present. Lulu. pp. 58–59.
- ^ a b "The Island of Heligoland". The Glasgow Magazine. II: 15. May 1811.
- ^ a b "Lighthouse management : the report of the Royal Commissioners on Lights, Buoys, and Beacons, 1861, examined and refuted Vol. 2". 1861. p. 106.
- ^ Walford, J. G. (1846). The Laws of the Customs. London: HMSO. p. 487.
- ^ 6 & 7 Gul. 4. Cap. 79. Sect. 35.
- ^ a b c d "Leuchtturm – Hochseeinsel Helgoland". leuchtturmwelt.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2011-08-20. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
- ^ a b c d Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Germany: North Frisia". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- ^ Haake, Gregor (13 April 2007). "Der Tag, an dem Helgoland der Megabombe trotzte" (in German). Spiegel Online. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
- ^ Chance, James Frederick (2018). A History of the Firm of Chance Brothers & Co. Sheffield, UK: Society of Glass Technology. p. 177.
- ^ Talbot, Frederick A. (1913). Lightships and Lighthouses. London: William Heinemann.
- ^ "Leuchtturm Helgoland". Unterweser maritim (in German). Top Regio Werbeagentur. Archived from the original on 2010-08-25.
External links
- Heligoland Lighthouse in Lighthouse Digest's Lighthouse Explorer Database
- Media related to Heligoland lighthouse at Wikimedia Commons