![]() The lighthouse in 2006 | |
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Location | Saaremaa, Harilaid, Saaremaa Parish, Estonia |
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Coordinates | 58°29′45″N 21°50′28″E / 58.4958°N 21.8411°E |
Tower | |
Constructed | 1933 ![]() |
Construction | concrete (foundation), concrete (tower) ![]() |
Height | 25 m (82 ft) ![]() |
Shape | cylinder ![]() |
Markings | stripe (black & white, horizontal direction) ![]() |
Light | |
First lit | 1933 ![]() |
Deactivated | 1992, 2009 ![]() |
Focal height | 26 m (85 ft) ![]() |
Range | 15 nmi (28 km; 17 mi) ![]() |
Characteristic | Fl W 4s ![]() |
Estonia no. | EVA 921[1] |
Kiipsaare Lighthouse is located on the tip of the Harilaid peninsula on the island of Saaremaa, Estonia, in the territory of Vilsandi National Park.
The lighthouse was built from reinforced concrete in 1933. Its purpose was to warn mariners on the Baltic Sea about the dangers in the vicinity of the peninsula and to be of assistance in taking bearings. At that time the 25-metre-high (82 ft) lighthouse was 150 metres (490 ft) inland, but due to erosion it is now more than 50 metres (160 ft) offshore.[2] A lack of supporting ground has caused the lighthouse to lean.[3]
While in 1988 the waterline was still 11 metres (36 ft) from the lighthouse, by the early 1990s the sea had already reached the lighthouse and it started to incline. Because of this the generator was removed in 1992 and Kiipsaare Lighthouse remained in the records as a daymark until 2009.[4]
The lighthouse played a prominent role in the Estonian World War II film „Somnambuul“ from 2003.
Gallery
[edit]-
Kiipsaare Lighthouse, 2023
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Kiipsaare Lighthouse seen from South with the tip of Kiipsaare Nukk visible in the background, 2023
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Long exposure of Kiipsaare Lighthouse by moonlight, 2023
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Base of Kiipsaare Lighthouse, 2023
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Top (lantern room and cupola) of Kiipsaare Lighthouse occupied by cormorants, 2023
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Kiipsaare Lighthouse seen from North-East in the early morning sun, 2023
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Kiipsaare Lighthouse photographed from Kiipsaare Nukk, 2023
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Kiipsaare Lighthouse at sunset (2013)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Southwestern Estonia". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
- ^ Pranzini, E.; Williams, A.T. (2013). Coastal Erosion and Protection in Europe. Routledge. p. 54. ISBN 978-1-84971-339-9. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
- ^ Eesti Loodus, Kiipsaare rannad ja tuletorn Archived 8 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine, K. Orviku, H. Tõnisson 2009. 5: 6–13.
- ^ "Eesti Post, Stamps, Kiipsaare Lighthouse". Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
External links
[edit]- Estonian lighthouses list Maritime Administration (in Estonian)