Beacon keeper

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Lighthouse keeper on the US east coast, 1945

Beacon keepers have the task of keeping the beacon , which is used to secure ship traffic, bright and clear from sunset to sunrise and also to carry out minor work on the lighthouse . They used to be and are colloquially referred to as lighthouse keepers .

Since the end of the 20th century, the profession of lighthouse keeper has ceased to exist in Germany , as advances in technology have made it easier and easier to do so . Today all towers are automatically monitored by central stations ( traffic control centers ) and only serviced when necessary. Beacon keepers usually lived with their families in close proximity to the beacon to be serviced .

There are only a few manned towers around the world, especially in places where special circumstances require the presence of a person or where labor costs are very low.

Web links

Commons : Beacon Keeper  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Service instructions for the keepers of the ... lighthouses equipped with Fresnel apparatus , 1892 in: HJ Luttermann and R. Reinicke: Leuchtturm Darßer Ort , DSV-Verlag, Hamburg 1998