Faroese lighthouses

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On the islands of the Faroe Islands , important lighthouses were operated for the navigation of international seafaring in the North Atlantic . Most of the lighthouses and other beacons were built at the end of the 19th century.

Important lighthouses

Popular starting point for hikes in the far south of the Faroe Islands: Akraberg lighthouse

history

In 1560 the Danish King Frederick II issued an order to his feudal men to mark the fairway from Skagen to Falsterbro on the Öresund with lighthouses and barrels . Ushering in Denmark an era of world-historical importance for the maritime one.

It is true that there were lighthouses in antiquity , especially in the Mediterranean and a few north of Gibraltar ; in the Middle Ages individual primitive lighthouses are mentioned along the French , English and Flemish coasts; but with the Danish ordinance of 1560, for the first time in history an important shipping route was marked and lit in its entirety. At that time the lighthouses always had an open fire, for which wood was used, later coal.

Almost 100 years later, in 1655, Norway 's first lighthouse was built on the Lindesnæs headland . In Sweden the 1669 was followed by a beacon in the entrance to the Stockholm archipelago . In the far north, the Faroe Islands and Iceland , however, the first lighthouses were not built until the end of the 19th century.

The Ryberg lighthouse

The first historically mentioned lighthouse on the Faroe Islands is related to the Ryberg Company, a transit trading company that used Tórshavn as a transshipment point for around twenty years from 1766 . The following brief remark is made in a contemporary source:

[The company] is said to have built a kind of lighthouse for incoming ships on the island of Nólsoy in 1782.

According to tradition, this lighthouse stood on the northern tip of the island. The construction and type of fire are unknown. It can be assumed that this lighthouse only existed for a short time.

Borðan on Nólsoy

The first Faroese lighthouse in the true sense of the word was only built in 1893 and put into operation on October 1st of that year. This year no fewer than six lighthouses were built, which were an invaluable aid to the ever-growing Faroese deep-sea fishing fleet and the ever closer trade links with the surrounding countries.

The first of these six was the lighthouse on Nólsoy : Borðan , the largest in the Faroe Islands and one of the brightest lighthouses in the North Atlantic area . Borðan serves as an important navigation point when entering Tórshavn from the south. The 14 m high tower is made of basalt and granite and stands on the southeasternmost tip of Nólsoy. The lighthouse's fire can be seen at about 62 m above sea level. In the sea immediately in front of the lighthouse is the Kápulin - ( location ) cliff formation .

Mykineshólmur lighthouse

The Mykines lighthouse stands at the westernmost point of the Faroe Islands on the Mykineshólmur . It was built in 1909. It was difficult to build because a bridge to the spar in front had to be built first.

The Mykines lighthouse is made of metal and is secured against storms with steel cables. It is 14 meters high and 113 meters above sea level - ( location ).

German air raids in World War II

During the Second World War , the fires on the Faroese lighthouses were extinguished. German bombers also attacked the Faroe Islands. In 1941 the engine house, the radio beacon and the fog warning system of the lighthouse on Nólsoy were completely damaged, and the houses were badly damaged. The lighthouse on Mykines was also shot at, but there was no significant damage.

Repair and automation

Immediately after the war, all lighthouses within the Danish kingdom were repaired and repaired. This work dragged on for a long time in the Faroe Islands, as there was for a time uncertainty about the relationship between the islands and the Danish Empire in the future.

After the introduction of self-government in 1948 it was decided that the lighthouse system should be a common concern of the state, and so the urgently needed repair of the lighthouses could finally begin. The machinery on Mykines, which was supposed to provide the electrical power for the lighthouse, had to be completely replaced, and the lighthouse on the island of Groß-Dimun was about to fall into the sea after a landslide.

The three largest lighthouses - on Nólsoy, Mykines and the Akraberg lighthouse on Suðuroy ( Lage ) - received new machinery and a radio beacon for navigation in poor visibility. In the course of technical development, the lighthouses were automated over time and the staff was correspondingly reduced.

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