Small lighthouse Borkum
| Small lighthouse Borkum | ||
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| Place: | Borkum | |
| Location: | Lower Saxony , Germany | |
| Geographical location: | 53 ° 34 '43.5 " N , 6 ° 40' 1.3" E | |
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| Operating time: | 1891-2003 | |
| International ordinal number: | B 0972 | |
The small lighthouse Borkum (also: electric lighthouse ) is located on a ten meter high dune on the southwest side of Borkum and is one of three lighthouses on Borkum. It was built in 1888/1889 as a beacon for the two approaching channels of the Ems , Hubertgat and Westerems ( Westgat ). It officially went into operation on October 1, 1891 and was decommissioned in the summer of 2003.
German-Dutch project
The red and white lighthouse was planned as one of five beacons as part of the German-Dutch project lighting the Unter-Ems in 1883 and completed in 1890. On October 1, 1891, all five lighthouses could be put into service together. Each of the five beacons was responsible for a defined section on the shipping route between the North Sea and Emden . The small lighthouse Borkum showed with its beacon the position of the fairways of Hubertgat and Westerems ( Westgat ) in the outermost area of the Ems estuary. The other lighthouses within the transnational project were:
- Lighthouse Camping , German
- 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
Technical innovation
The small lighthouse Borkum was built as a prototype of a series of nine prefabricated lighthouses built in Germany. The lighthouse is composed of individual, 27 millimeter thick segments made of cast iron , so-called tubbings . The tower reaches a total height of 32 meters.
It was given the name "Electric Lighthouse" because it was the first lighthouse in Germany built for electrical operation. In addition, he received his own small coal-fired power plant that generated the electricity . The construction track, a siding of the Borkum small train , which initially supplied its construction, was preserved and now used, the required coal to be delivered.
Additional functions
In the course of time, the small lighthouse Borkum took on other tasks in addition to its role as a beacon for seafaring. In April 1894 a sea telegraph station was set up on Borkum , through which the shipping company could use flag signals to exchange messages with the staff of the small lighthouse , which were then forwarded by telegraph. The management of the See-Telegraphenanstalt had the Reichs-Telegraphenverwaltung, the Kingdom of Prussia provided the beacon personnel and the Imperial Navy provided the signaling equipment.
In May 1900, the world's first official coastal radio station was set up. The task of the coastal radio station Borkum was the ship reporting service, which, in connection with the lightship Borkumriff , transmitted ship reports that were posted by arriving ships to the mainland. The lighthouse keepers handled the radio service. This was the world's first radio link for commercial use.
In 1925, the water and shipping administration at the small lighthouse Borkum put a water level signaling device into operation. Since 1970, the tower has also served as an antenna carrier for the Ems traffic safety system, which is operated in a German-Dutch cooperation.
Decommissioning
At the beginning of the 1960s, the beacon for the Westerems had to be relocated to the New Borkum Lighthouse because the Westerems fairway had shifted. Since then, the lighthouse has only been used as a guide light to control the Hubertgate . In the summer of 2003 it was finally decommissioned as a lighthouse, as the fairway in Hubertgat had changed due to shifting sand.
Stamp
On July 12, 2012 , the lighthouse appeared on a stamp from the lighthouses special postage stamp series.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Waterways and Shipping Office Emden: Small lighthouse Borkum
- ↑ Trial operation and commissioning , accessed on June 24, 2011
- ↑ Principle "Illumination of the Unter-Ems" , accessed on June 24, 2011
- ↑ Memorial plaque on the lighthouse.
