Phare de Tévennec
| Phare de Tévennec | ||
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| Place: | Raz de Sein, France | |
| Location: | Finistère , Brittany , France | |
| Geographical location: | 48 ° 4 '17 " N , 4 ° 47' 43" W | |
| Height of tower base: | 13 m | |
| Fire carrier height : | 11 m | |
| Fire height : | 24 m | |
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| Identifier : | red and white lightning bolts | |
| Scope knows: | 9 nm (16.7 km ) | |
| Scope red: | 9 nm (16.7 km ) | |
| Function: | Sea fire | |
| Construction time: | 1871-1875 | |
| Operating time: | March 15, 1875 | |
Phare de Tévennec is the name of a lighthouse on the open sea off the Pointe du Van , on the west coast of Brittany in the Finistère department . It illuminates the difficult passage of Sein in connection with the lighthouse Phare de la Vieille .
Securing the Raz de Sein
In 1869 the Ar Men lighthouse west of the island of Sein was commissioned to secure the Chaussee de Sein . The second bottleneck around the island of Sein - the passage Raz de Sein - was an extremely dangerous passage - especially at night - due to its powerful tides and very strong currents (Raz means 'strong current' in Breton ) . To illuminate it, the Phare de Tévennec and a little further south the Phare de la Vieille were built.
architecture
Designed in 1869 by the architect Paul Joly (who also planned Ar-Men), a square tower was planned with a side length of 2.40 m and a height of 11 m. The guards' quarters were in the house attached to the tower. This was 8.8 m long and 7.3 m wide, contained a kitchen, two small bedrooms and a loft . A stone wall was built around the complex to protect it from large waves and strong winds. A landing staircase was cut into the rock.
After five years of construction, Tévennec began its service on March 15, 1875.
history
Milestones
- The first lighting system was a fixed light that lit up at intervals in white and red.
- Changeover to gas operation on November 10, 1898
- Automation on February 7, 1910
- August 27, 1910: conversion to propane
- In 1939 the skylight dome rotating through 328 ° was erected.
- Solar panels for own power supply were installed in 1994, the range is around nine nautical miles
Mystification
Because of its location, a clear classification of Tévennec as standing on land or in the sea was difficult. However, different working conditions applied depending on the location. It is true that the tower does not stand directly in the sea like Ar Men , du Four or Kéréon , which the guards often referred to as enfer (hell); Nevertheless, Tévennec did not offer the same possibilities on its small rock as other island lighthouses (referred to as purgatoire , purgatory), let alone lighthouses on land ( paradis ). At the beginning, Tévennec was simply classified as a fanal de quatrième catégorie (4th category), whereby its lighthouse keepers were deployed there alone and for one year each, comparable to the lighthouses on land.
Around Tévennec, stories of lighthouse keepers who had gone mad or suddenly died quickly grew up. The shouts and screams of the stranded were said to be heard for nights on end. Jean-Christophe Fichou recently showed that these stories must all be relegated to the realm of fable. Divers recently discovered that the rock is criss-crossed with underwater caves . The pressure that built up in the caves due to the current escaped through cracks in the rock and generated the "mysterious calls".
working conditions
Finding a competent lighthouse keeper was difficult due to the complicated conditions on the island. In July 1876, the Ministry approved a second guard for Tévennec, but applicants were extremely rare. From 1885 the third man from the Phare de la Vieille stepped in to help out. However, the situation remained precarious.
In December 1897 it was decided that the keeper's wife should live on the island for a wage of 50 francs . At the end of the year, the Milliners moved into the lighthouse for three years. It was replaced by the Quéméré couple , who served on Tévennec for five years. This was the longest time any couple stayed on Tévennec. Ms. Quéméré, who gave birth to three children during this time, said it was the best time of her life. If the weather allowed it, food and other necessities were brought to the island every two weeks. The Quéméré family also kept some chickens, a cow and a pig. The last couple on Tévennec - the Roparts couple - spent only a few months on the island with their two children before they submitted the transfer.
Due to the difficult situation, automation was initiated in 1910.
Tévennec today
Since 1910, the year of automation, the system fell into disrepair due to the harsh conditions. The roof was swept away during a storm in 1910, the wooden furnishings and floors were in very poor condition. After 111 years of deterioration, in 2011 the lighthouse was rented for ten years to a company that committed to restore the tower and building and opened it to artists. The terrace that surrounds the house offers a 360 ° panoramic view of the Pointe du Raz , the Iroise and the island of Sein.
In 2012, the restoration project won the “Coups de Cœur” award from the Maritime Francais Cluster .