Westkapelle lighthouse (Oberfeuer)
The lighthouse ( Dutch vuurtoren ) of Westkapelle on the Walcheren peninsula in the Dutch province of Zeeland is one kilometer inland. The lighting system is installed on a preserved Gothic church tower at a height of around 50 m.
history
A church consecrated to St. Willibrord as a daughter church of the West Minster in Middelburg can be traced back to the eleventh century in Westkapelle . The local clergyman initially looked after a large area with pastoral care until daughter churches were gradually removed from the parish: Around 1235 West- Domburg , Meliskerke , Sint Janskerke , Boudewijnskerke and Werendijke, around 1271 Poppekerke and Zoutelande . The original Sint Willibrorduskerk had to be closed because of the advancing North Sea. So it was decided to build a new church further inland. This was built between 1458 and 1470. It was a late Gothic, three-aisled hall church . The church was badly damaged in the Eighty Years' War between Spain and Holland (1568–1648). The partial reconstruction took place in 1580.
In 1818 a coastal light was installed on the spire. That was not so absurd, because even before that, the high tower served as a landmark for the ships during the day. In 1831 there was a fire in the tower. The remaining part of the church building, the central nave , was destroyed. The tower was preserved and from then on served as a lighthouse.
The brick tower with its for the area southwest of the mouth of the Rhine typical massive buttresses has striking similarity with two other towers of brick Gothic , the one with the Belfry of Dunkirk , on the other, with the tower of Danzig Marienkirche .
technology
Today's electric lighting serves as a sea and overhead light . It dates from 1951. It is a rotating lens lamp with a focal length of 500 mm and a light intensity of 2,600,000 cd.
- The nominal range is 28 nautical miles.
- The identifier is Blz. w. 3s (a flash of 0.1 seconds every 3 seconds).
- The fire height is 54 m.
- The position is 51 ° 32.8 'N, 03 ° 26.9' E
literature
- Carel van Gestel: Van kerk naar kerk . Volume 3, Verlag Aprilis, Zaltbommel 2007. ISBN 978-90-5994-143-4
- IH Vogels-Wessels Boer: Een baken in zee, de laatgotic Willibrordkerk te Westkapelle , in: Bulletin Stichting Oude Zeeuwse Kerken 35 (1995), pp. 13-19.
Web links
- Vuurtoren Westkapelle: Website of the tourist association VVV Zeeland (Dutch, German, English)
- Homepage for the town of Westkapelle with information about the lighthouse (German)
- Homepage of the lighthouse (German)
Coordinates: 51 ° 31 ′ 45.1 ″ N , 3 ° 26 ′ 49.7 ″ E