Akraberg

Akraberg Lighthouse

Akraberg Lighthouse
Akraberg Lighthouse Faroe Islands
Location	Suðuroy, Faroe Islands Denmark
Coordinates	61°23′40″N 6°40′45″W / 61.394428°N 6.679112°W / 61.394428; -6.679112
Year first constructed	1909
Foundation	concrete basement
Construction	cast iron
Tower shape	cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markings / pattern	white tower and lantern, red lantern roof
Height	14 metres (46 ft)
Focal height	94 metres (308 ft)
Characteristic	two long (2 s) flashes every 20 s, white, red or green depending on direction
Fog signal	one blast every 60s.
Admiralty number	L4342
NGA number	17852
ARLHS number	FAR-001
Denmark number	DFL-6500

Akraberg is the southern tip of Suðuroy, 5 km south from the village Sumba, Faroe Islands. The name Akraberg derives from akur (cereal field). Five kilometres south of Akraberg is the southernmost point of The Faroe Islands, a rock called Munkurin (The Monk), also called Sumbiarsteinur, which is one of a group of six rocks. This group of rocks are called Flesjarnar. The sound between Suðuroy and Munkurin is notorious for its strong current, it is called Røstin, the poet Poul F. Joensen (born 1898, died 1970) mentioned it in one of his poems "...Røstin rísin rann...".

The waters south of Sumba are notorious for their unpredictability. Here lies a series of rocky skerries below and above sea level, and the meeting of currents, together with wind and weather, create dangerous conditions for boats and ships. The situation became more hazardous in 1884 when the high cliff "Munkurin" on the southernmost rock, Sumbiarsteinur, crashed into the sea and the seafarers lost the fixed landmark of the rocks.

In 1909, a lighthouse and some family houses were built in Akraberg. The lighthouse itself is 14m tall, it consists of a white cylindrical tower with red landtern roof. It was fitted with guy wires to withstand the wind drag on this southern headland. The focal plane is located at 94 m above sea level, a flash signal is given every 20 seconds with red, green and white sectors. If needed, a fog horn may be sounded every 60 seconds. Today, there are only two houses and a lighthouse, but there are no inhabitants. The last family who lived there was the lighthouse keeper Hans Petur Kjærbo and his family. They lived there during a terrible hurricane in December 1988, which later has been called The Christmas Hurricane. Luckily the house was very strong built and didn't get blasted away by the strong wind. But much damage had been done on their car, the soil and parts of the house; a window was blown out. Much damage happened in the Faroe Islands that night, many houses were blasted away by the hurricane. After that the lighthouse keeper and his family moved away from Akraberg, and nobody has lived there since then, except for tourists who rent one of the two houses there. The lighthouse is now automatic, but it needs attention regularly. Hans Petur Kjærbo is still a lighthouse keeper, but now he workes not only in Akraberg but also attends most of the other lighthouses in the Faroe Islands.