Illumination of the Unter-Ems
The lighting of the sub-Ems was the title of a Prussian - Dutch hydraulic engineering project to build the first beacon system for the lower Ems . For the first time, it made it possible to travel safely on the Unterems from Borkum to Emden at night, which was not possible until then due to the many meandering waters of the Unterems. Operations officially started in October 1891.
history
On March 1, 1883, sea mark experts from the Prussian and Dutch governments met for a conference in Emden. The so-called Emskommission decided to plan a beacon system on the Unterems. Further deliberations followed until the plans were passed in the Prussian Parliament in 1887.
The plans envisaged the construction of five new lighthouses , three on the German side, two on the Dutch side. In 1890 the construction work was largely completed and a trial run followed for all the lighthouses involved, until official lighthouse operations began on October 1, 1891. At the same time, twelve-page official sailing instructions for navigating the Ems at night with a nautical chart on a scale of 1: 100,000 were published. All the beacons with their sectors and identifiers as well as the other buoys in the mouth of the Ems are shown on the nautical chart .
Construction work
As part of the construction work, five guide lights and two cross- brand lights were set up. Each of the five beacons was responsible for a specific sector on the shipping route between the North Sea and Emden . The lighthouses within the transnational construction project were:
- Lighthouse Camping , German
- Small lighthouse Borkum , German, lighthouse operation stopped in summer 2003
- Pilsumer lighthouse , German, lighthouse operation ceased in October 1919
- Watum lighthouse , Dutch, destroyed in World War II
- Delfzijl lighthouse , Dutch, destroyed in World War II
In addition, two cross-brand fires were set up on the Randzelplate:
- Leuchtbake Fischerbalje, German
- Leuchtbake Binnenrandzel, German
Consequences of war
As a result of the fighting over the Dutch city of Delfzijl , the Watum and Delfzijl lighthouses were destroyed.
Web links
- Gregor Ulsamer: The small lighthouse Borkum has been decommissioned. Historical review on: wsv.de
Individual evidence
- ^ The conference in Emden on March 1, 1883. from: pilsumer-leuchtturm.de , accessed on June 25, 2011.
- ↑ a b c The principle: The "lighting of the Unter-Ems". on: pilsumer-leuchtturm.de , accessed on June 25, 2011.