Kullen Lighthouse

Kullen Lighthouse

Kullen Lighthouse
Sweden
Location Kullaberg
Kattegatt
Sweden
Coordinates 56°18′04.0″N 12°27′05.4″E / 56.301111°N 12.451500°E / 56.301111; 12.451500
Year first constructed 1563 (first)
1585 (second)
1749 (third)
1792 (fourth)
1843 (fifth)
Year first lit 1898-1900 (Magnus Dahlander) (current)
Automated 1979
Construction granite and brick tower
Tower shape cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern attached to a 2-storey building
Markings / pattern grey unpainted stone tower, white lantern, black lantern dome
Height 18.5 metres (61 ft)
Focal height 78.5 metres (258 ft)
Current lens 1st order clamshell Fresnel lens
Intensity 1 kW
Range 24.5 nautical miles (45 km; 28 mi)
Characteristic Fl W 5 s
Fog signal (2) 30 s
Admiralty number C2260
NGA number 5084
ARLHS number SWE-037
Sweden number SV-7146
Managing agent Kullens Fyr[1][2]

The Kullen Lighthouse (Swedish: Kullens fyr) is an operational lighthouse in Scania, located by the mouth of Öresund, at the point of Kullaberg peninsula, in Höganäs, on the south-west coast of Sweden. Kullen is one of the most prominent landmarks along the Swedish coastline, and with its 1000 Watt electric bulb in a huge lenshouse, also the most powerful lighthouse in Scandinavia, overlooking one of the world's most heavily traveled waters.

The lighthouse is 15 meters tall and its focal plane is located 78.5 meters above sea level (before a correction in 1992, the official height was 88.5 meters), making it the highest located lighthouse in Sweden. Every 5 seconds, the Kullen Lighthouse flashes white for 0.3 seconds with a range of 24.5 nautical miles (45.4 km). In times of fog, a foghorn provides an audible warning of a double signal every 30 seconds.

History

The lens assembly at the Kullen lighthouse, the most powerful lighthouse in Scandinavia.

There have been different kinds of lighthouses at Kullen for more than 1000 years, but the first conventional lighthouse was established by King Frederick II in 1561. This was a Parrot lighthouse or bascule light. In 1577, the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe became the lighthouse administrator at Kullen, a position he held until his death in 1601.[3] Apparently he was originally not very diligent about his duties. Complaints by merchant mariners led in 1585 to Brahe being explicitly ordered to better look after the lighthouse or lose his land at Kullaberg. That year Frederick II commissioned the Flemish architect Anthonis van Obbergen to replace the tower.[4]

The present lighthouse was designed by the Swedish architect Magnus Dahlander, in 1898. It is built in granite and brick and has three large lenses in a lensehouse that rotates four times per minute, hence giving twelve flashes per minute. Based on Augustin-Jean Fresnel's design, the lensehouse was constructed by the French company Barbier & Barnard and delivered in the summer of 1900. It consists of three lenses of 2.55 m in diameter, weighs 6 metric tons and rotates on a base filled with 50 liters of mercury. The Kullen lighthouse was automated in 1979 and is remote-controlled by the Swedish Maritime Administration's check at Norrköping. However, in spite of being automated, the lighthouse is one of few remaining staffed with a lighthouse keeper.

Area setting

The Kullen Lighthouse is situated within the Kullaberg Nature Reserve, a cliff and forest habitat for a variety of rare species, criss-crossed by numerous hiking trails. Approximately three kilometers to the southeast is the harbour town of Mölle.

See also


References

  1. ↑ Leuchtturm Kullen www.schwedische-leuchtfeuer.de
  2. ↑ Kullen The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved April 5, 2016
  3. ↑ Tycho Brahe's lighthouse description on www.sjofartsverket.se. (Swedish)
  4. ↑ Lighthouses in Öresund. Retrieved 31 Jan 2014.

Further reading

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