Kiipsaare Lighthouse

Kiipsaare Lightouses

Kiipsaare Lighthouse in 2013
Estonia
Location	Saaremaa Estonia
Coordinates	58°29′45″N 21°50′28″E / 58.49583°N 21.84111°ECoordinates: 58°29′45″N 21°50′28″E / 58.49583°N 21.84111°E
Year first constructed	1879 (first)
Year first lit	1933 (second)
Deactivated	1933 (first) 1992 (second)
Foundation	concrete
Construction	concrete tower
Tower shape	cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markings / pattern	white and black horizontal bands
Height	25 feet (7.6 m)
Focal height	85 feet (26 m)
Range	15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi)
Characteristic	Fl W 4s.
Admiralty number	C3716
ARLHS number	EST-077
Estonia number	EVA 921[1]

Kiipsaare Lighthouse is located on the tip of Harilaid Peninsula in 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 between 100 to 150 metres (330 to 490 ft) inland, but due to erosion it is now a few meters offshore. A lack of supporting ground has caused the lighthouse to lean.^[2]

Kiipsaare Lighthouse at sunset (2013)

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.^[3]

See also

• List of lighthouses in Estonia

References

1. Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Southwestern Estonia". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
2. Eesti Loodus, Kiipsaare rannad ja tuletorn, K. Orviku, H. Tõnisson 2009. 5: 6–13.
3. Eesti Post, Stamps, Kiipsaare Lighthouse

External links

• Estonian lighthouses list Maritime Administration (in Estonian)