Falsterbo Lighthouse
Falsterbo Lighthouse
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 Sweden
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| Location |
Falsterbo Skåne Sweden |
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| Coordinates | 55°23′02″N 12°48′59″E / 55.383796°N 12.816399°ECoordinates: 55°23′02″N 12°48′59″E / 55.383796°N 12.816399°E |
| Year first constructed | 1796 |
| Deactivated | 1990-1993 |
| Construction | brick tower |
| Tower shape | cylindrical tower on a 2-storey building with balcony and lantern |
| Markings / pattern | unpainted tower with black band, red lantern roof |
| Height | 25 m (82 ft) |
| Focal height | 24 m (79 ft) |
| Original lens | Second order Fresnel |
| Intensity | 4,000 cd |
| Characteristic | Oc W 5s. |
| Admiralty number | C2416 |
| NGA number | 5556 |
| ARLHS number | SWE-008 |
| Sweden number | SV-6648 |
| Managing agent | Sjofartsverket |
Falsterbo Lighthouse (Swedish: Falsterbo fyr) lies near the site of the oldest known beacon in Scandinavia. To the north-east of the lighthouse is the city of Skanör-Falsterbo, to the south-east of the lighthouse are some of the finest sandy beaches in Sweden and surrounding the lighthouse is the golf course of the Falsterbo Golf Club.
The sea route past the Falsterbo Headland has always been dangerous, because of the moving sand banks hidden under the sea. The first beacon was lit by German monks back in the 13th century. At that time Falsterbo was an important trading centre in Denmark. The beacon was placed at the then outermost point. When the trading became less important (16th century) there were periods without any beacon at Falsterbo. This caused a great loss of ships off the coast of Falsterbo.
In the 1630s the open fires were replaced by a lever light. An iron basket full of burning coal was hoisted up and down by a balanced bar. Hence the light was moving and easier to detect. The coal fire was intensely red and could not be mistaken for a star or ship lantern. The remains of the beacon are still visible as a small hillock of ashes and coal, "Coal Hill" (Swedish: Kolabacken). Towards the end of the 18th century the lever light was moved to the site of the present lighthouse, closer to the new shoreline.
The lighthouse was built in 1793-96 and the "light" was a coal fire at the top. In 1842-43 the uppermost crenellated parts were replaced with the present lantern. Coal was replaced with rapeseed oil. The oil was very inflammable and the lighthouse keepers had to watch the lamp all night. To make a periodic light; a screen was moved around the lantern by heavy weights. Around 1850 a house for the keeper was built next to the lighthouse. At the end of the 19th century another house was built for the assistants to the lighthouse keeper.
Also when the oil was replaced with paraffin and, later gas, the screen still had to be moved around. When electric light was installed in 1935 the screen was removed and so were most of the staff. Only one lighthouse keeper remained. In 1972 the lighthouse was automated and the last keeper retired.
The lighthouse is 25 metres (82 ft) high and 12 metres (39 ft) broad. Nowadays it has no importance as a navigation mark and therefore the light is not very strong (ca. 4000 candela). It was totally turned off 1990-93. The interval of the light is intermittent: 4 seconds on, 1 second off, repeated.
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Wikipedia