Amrum lighthouse
| Amrum lighthouse | ||
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| Place: | Fog on Amrum | |
| Location: | two kilometers west of Wittdün | |
| Geographical location: | 54 ° 37 '52.2 " N , 8 ° 21' 16.9" E | |
| Fire carrier height : | 42 m | |
| Fire height : | 63 m | |
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| Identifier : | Blz. 7.5s | |
| Scope knows: | 23.3 nm (43.2 km ) | |
| Optics: | Fresnel lens , 230V / 250W metal halide lamp | |
| Operating mode: | electric | |
| Function: | Sea fire | |
| Construction time: | 1873-1874 | |
| Operating time: | since 1875 | |
| International ordinal number: | B 1686 | |
The Amrum lighthouse is in the south of the German North Sea island of Amrum , about two kilometers west of Wittdün . It belongs to the municipality of Nebel and is one of the landmarks of the island. It is open to the public in the summer months. Also on Amrum are the beacons of Norddorf and Nebel and the disused fire carriers of Wittdün . The Wriakhörn beacon was dismantled in 2016.
Data
The fire height of the lighthouse is 63 meters above the mean flood and is one of the highest on the German North Sea coast. The tower itself is 41.8 meters high and its top is 67.7 meters above sea level. The function is that of a sea fire. 197 steps lead to the viewing area. The range of the beacon is 23.3 nautical miles.
The optics consist of 16 ground lens fields. The identifier is: Blz, 7.5s (flash, i.e. a luminous phenomenon lasting less than 0.7 seconds, every 7.5 seconds). A 230V / 250W metal halide lamp is used as the light source. The international serial number of the lighthouse is B 1686.
The thickness of the masonry is 1.72 m at the foot. Below the lantern it tapers to a meter.
The lighthouse is one of the cultural monuments in the municipality of Nebel ( No. 8 on the list of monuments ).
history
An article published in the Hamburger Zeitung in 1868 about the loss of three ships near Amrum and Sylt triggered a violent and curious expert dispute about where a lighthouse should be built in this region. In 1872 the decision was made that a beacon should be erected on a 25 meter high dune on the island of Amrum. The construction of the tower began in 1873, but it became an obstacle course for everyone involved.
Construction, commissioning and subsequent changes
The work had to be interrupted after five weeks because the granite stones for the 172-step spiral staircase were missing. When these arrived, some of the construction workers went on strike and refused to enter this “barren” island. With the remaining workers and other substitute workers, the brick building was completed by November 1874 and the 16-lens optics with the associated five-wick Argand lamp were installed. The whole lens apparatus was shown at the world exhibition in Paris in 1867 . A house for three beacon keepers was built below the dune .
The Amrum Wittdün beacon was officially put into operation on January 1st, 1875 shortly before sunset, making it the first German beacon in North Friesland . The beacon was run on petroleum for a long time and electrified in 1936. Until 1952 the lighthouse was painted dark red; this year it was painted lighter red with two white rings, which is still in existence today. The last lighthouse keeper left the tower in 1984 after it was automated .
The lens apparatus
The 2.7 meter high and 2.9 tons heavy lens apparatus is very valuable. Its current value was estimated at around five million euros. Some parts have - by today's standards - an extremely long service life. The ball bearing , which carries the entire rotating optics , did not have to be replaced until 1993, i.e. 118 years after commissioning. For this purpose, the entire optics were raised a few centimeters in a very elaborate process in order to remove the old parts and install the new ones.
Postage stamps
The Amrum lighthouse was honored on two Deutsche Post stamps within three years.
photos
See also
literature
- Erich Pörksen: The landmarks of the island of Amrum . Breklumer Verlag 1987, ISBN 3-7793-1119-4 .
- Reinhard Scheiblich: Lighthouses on German coasts . Delius Klasing Verlag 2003, ISBN 3-7688-0920-X .
- Reinhard Scheiblich, Hans Helge Staack: Lighthouse Lexicon . Ellert & Richter Verlag 2001, ISBN 3-8319-0038-8 .
- Bernt Hoffmann, Nikolaus Schmidt: The most beautiful lighthouses in Germany . Heel Verlag 2003, ISBN 3-89880-221-3 .
- Uwe Schnall: Lighthouses on German coasts . Ellert & Richter Verlag 1999, ISBN 3-89234-521-X .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ The fire is out. Der Insel-Bote, sh: z of September 16, 2016, accessed on September 16, 2016
- ↑ Georg Quedens : Amrumer Sezeichen - beacons, buoys and beacons. Jens Quedens, Amrum 2000, ISBN 3-924422-64-8 , p. 36.