Old lighthouse Borkum
| Old lighthouse Borkum | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Place: | Borkum | |
| Location: | Center of Borkum | |
| Geographical location: | 53 ° 35 '16 " N , 6 ° 40' 14" E | |
|
||
| Function: |
Landmark , lighthouse since 1817 |
|
| Construction time: | 1576 | |
| Operating time: | 1817-1879 | |
The old lighthouse Borkum is a tower on the island of Borkum .
history
The old lighthouse Borkum was built as a navigation mark in 1576 by the city of Emden on the East Frisian North Sea island of Borkum . At the same time it served as the steeple of the Reformed Church of the time . (The current church building of the Reformed community from 1896 was built around 100 meters away from the old lighthouse with its own church tower.)
In terms of shipping technology, the structure was initially just a landmark . The first beacon on Borkum was a so-called Feuerbake or Blüse , which was put on in the northwest of the island. This beacon was actually an open fire that ran on hard coal.
A beacon was only set up on the tower in 1817. The slate roof was replaced by a glazed dome made of iron girders. The lighting consisted of 27 Argand lamps , oil lamps with a parabolic mirror . This new navigation mark was visible about six nautical miles (almost eleven kilometers).
On the top floor of the tower (under the lantern) a lounge for the lighthouse keepers was set up, which could be heated with an iron peat stove. The smoke pipe was led outside through the wooden ceiling.
In 1857 the lighting system was replaced. Instead of the argand lamps, a Fresnel light apparatus of the 2nd order was installed. The new system increased the visibility of the light to around 13 nautical miles.
In February 1879 a fire broke out in the wooden ceiling between the attendant's room and the lantern. The stovepipe had rusted through over time and sparks could ignite the dried out surrounding wood. About 25 liters of oil were stored in the guards' room. When the fire broke through the ceiling and this oil ignited, the tower could no longer be saved. Finally, burning debris fell to the ground floor. There was another 2000 liters of oil stored in a pit, which now also went up in flames, so that the tower burned out completely.
The building did not regain its function as a lighthouse. Rather, the new lighthouse was immediately built on the then western outskirts of Borkum, for which planning was already in place. The Borkum local history museum and the former cemetery are right next to the old lighthouse and together form a historical ensemble. The Old Lighthouse Borkum is today the oldest existing building Borkum a landmark of the island and a cultural monument by the Lower Saxony Monument Protection Act . The tower belongs to the Heimatverein Borkum e. V., who entertains him.
The tower is currently closed to the public due to construction defects (fire protection).
literature
- Gregor Ulsamer: Borkum's great lighthouse . Ed .: Kurverwaltung Borkum. Verlag Otto G. Soltau, Norden 1979.
- Hans-Bernd Rödiger, Menno Smid : Frisian churches in Emden, Leer, Borkum, Mormerland, Uplengen, Overledingen and Reiderland , volume 3. Verlag CL Mettcker & Söhne, Jever 1980, p. 41.
- Hans Schweers: The Borkumer Kleinbahn and the ships of the AG "Ems" . Schweers + Wall, Cologne 2007, ISBN 978-3-89494-132-1 , pp. 6 .
Web links
- Beacon Old Tower Borkum . Frank Toussaint, Matthias Hünsch. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gregor Ulsamer: Borkum's great lighthouse . Verlag Otto G. Soltau, Norden 1979, p. 6 .
- ↑ Gregor Ulsamer: Borkum's great lighthouse . Verlag Otto G. Soltau, Norden 1979, p. 9 ff .
- ↑ The old lighthouse in Borkum . Heimatverein Borkum e. V .. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
- ↑ Gregor Ulsamer: Borkum's great lighthouse . Verlag Otto G. Soltau, Norden 1979, p. 19 .
- ↑ The old lighthouse . Heimatverein der Insel Borkum e. V .. Retrieved October 29, 2012.