Knock lighthouse
| Knock lighthouse | ||
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| Place: | At the knock | |
| Location: | In the far west of Emden | |
| Geographical location: | 53 ° 20 '19.3 " N , 7 ° 1' 25.2" E | |
| Fire carrier height : | 55 m | |
| Fire height : | 28 m | |
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| Identifier : | F.WRG. | |
| Construction time: | 1970-1971 | |
| Operating time: | Since 1972 | |
| International ordinal number: | B 1010 | |
The Knock lighthouse is located in the far west of Emden on the Knock , which is a change of course for all shipping on the Unterems . The tower, which looks unusual as a lighthouse, has several functions: it serves as a beacon , a radar and directional radio tower and as an Ems traffic control center for monitoring shipping on the Ems .
history
A simple beacon was built on the Knock as early as 1859 because of its special location on the shipping route from the North Sea to Emden. A six-meter-high wooden frame with a rapeseed oil lamp and a small Fresnel lens apparatus was built on a protruding corner of the dike . In addition to the old lighthouse Borkum on the offshore island of Borkum , the "lantern on the Knock" was the second beacon on the Ems. It was maintained by its own lighthouse keeper. The old wooden frame was replaced by a small iron lighthouse in 1888. The tower initially received a petroleum light and from 1924 a gas light. In 1952 it was connected to the power grid and in 1961 moved a few hundred meters further west.
In the 1960s, a radar chain with area radio was set up to continuously monitor shipping traffic in the Lower Ems. The Emden waterways and shipping authority responsible for this area built the 55 m high gray square concrete tower in the years 1970–1972 right next to the sewer and pumping station Knock . The tower has five levels. The operating floor with the actual traffic control center is located on the lowest level . On the roof of the traffic control center there is the cross- branding light of the tower and a radar antenna at a height of around 28 m . Further levels above served as platforms for directional radio and radar antennas. In 1996 the tower was rebuilt and expanded in such a way that its appearance changed significantly. The formerly open platforms 3 and 4 were converted into a new operating floor by means of side walls, in which another antenna was housed. The top platform 5 was equipped with a white, spherical radome ; it replaced the platform 5 that had been placed up until then with normal antennas. In the radome there is a 4.20 meter parabolic mirror that is used for the northwest weather radar of the German Meteorological Service.
Web links
- Wasser- und Schifffahrtsamt Emden: The building
- Wasser- und Schifffahrtsamt Emden: The Knock
- Knock lighthouse on www.leuchttuerme.net
Individual evidence
- ↑ Wasser- und Schifffahrtsamt Emden: The story , accessed on July 2, 2011