The most unusual lighthouses in Russia and the former Soviet Union. The tallest lighthouse in the world

The lighthouses not only tell stories about the place's relationship with the sea, but also about the culture of their land. architectural buildings indicate the time in which they were built, which makes them part of the art. Although they were originally built to help sailors, they are now iconic places for sea travel.

Over time, lighthouses become modern as well as more technological, but for some reason not all of them are as attractive as those built in the past. Here are 15 famous lighthouses of the world:

Start Point Lighthouse was one of 29 lighthouses designed by James Walker. Inside the tower there are cantilevered granite stairs and outside there is a wedge-shaped parapet. The keeper's station, now located outside the tower, was located inside, but this was removed in 1871.

This lighthouse is open to visitors, and the Commission on historical buildings and the monuments of England, it was approved as a building of the second level of significance.

This lighthouse was built at Cape Fanad at the request of the people of the Fanad Peninsula after in 1804 huge ship sunk in these waters. The 27-meter lighthouse was put into operation in 1818. Then, in 1909, a brighter lantern was installed, which worked on a rotating clockwork driven by weight.

This flashlight gave six flashes in fifteen seconds. And in 1975, this lamp was replaced with an electric one.

This lighthouse is unique not only because it has an aluminum top, but also because it is the only red and white striped lighthouse in the United States. It was built in 1912 and is also known as the Lake Michigan Lighthouse.

It is located near the Mackinac Bridge, because of this it was considered an excellent engineering achievement. You will have to rent a boat or seaplane to get a closer look at it.

The St. Augustine Lighthouse was the first lighthouse built in Florida and had to be built twice because the one they made first fell into the ocean. The building that currently exists was made on Anastasia Island in 1874.

In 1907, a waterworks was installed at the lighthouse, in 1936 the light became electric, and in 1955 the lighting was automated. Due to the automatic lighting, the lighthouse keepers are no longer needed and hence the keeper's house has been rented by a local resident since that time.

Lindau Lighthouse is the southernmost lighthouse in the country and is located on lake constance in Lindau. After it was built in 1856, it was located in the Mangtrum tower, which was built in 1230. The Lindau lighthouse is 33 meters high and is considered unique among all lighthouses, as it has a huge clock that can be seen from the city.

In 1936, the tower was equipped with electricity, and in the early 1990s, the lighting was automated.

Built in 1871, the Yakina Bay Light was created because there was no lighthouse in Newport. But three years later a new lighthouse was built, and this one was decommissioned. It was supposed to be destroyed in 1946, but it was saved by the Lincoln County Historical Society and the lighthouse was recognized historical monument in 1951.

This is the only lighthouse located on west coast where the lantern and cabins are in the same building. This lighthouse is believed to be haunted, so you might want to skip a visit.

In the middle national park Acadia, on the southeastern part of Desert Island Mountain, is the Bass Harbor Lighthouse. It is the private residence of one of the members of the Coast Guard and his entire family.

Since 1858, entry to the lighthouse has been restricted to the entrance to the former keeper's quarters, but it is possible to get close enough to the warning bell and light. The view that opens after climbing the wooden steps is breathtaking.

This lighthouse was built much later than other lighthouses. Its construction was completed in 1990. The height of the lighthouse reaches 130 meters. This is the tallest lighthouse in the world.

After the highest, we move on to the oldest. The Tower of Hercules is known as the Farum of Brigantium and the Lighthouse of Corunna and is thought to have been built in the second century.

Built by the Romans, this lighthouse is modeled after the Lighthouse of Alexandria. The tower, 55 meters high, is not entirely original, as it received an additional level in 1791. The lighthouse was declared an object world heritage UNESCO and he is national monument Spain.

And here is another copy in the list of "old lighthouses". This is the oldest lighthouse in North America. It was put into operation in 1758, automated in 1988. This lighthouse reaches a height of 25 meters.

The lighthouse got its name from the stone on which it was built. Bell Rock is the world's oldest surviving lighthouse that is constantly washed by the sea. The height of the tower is 35 meters. For the first time, the light of the lighthouse was lit in 1811 and reached 35 kilometers. Because of the problems encountered during construction, Bell Rock is considered one of the seven wonders of the industrial world.

Hatteras Lighthouse is located on the outer shores of Hatteras Island. The first construction of the lighthouse was completed in 1802, and after reconstruction in 1870, the height of the tower is 64 meters. Of all the brick lighthouses in the United States, this one is the tallest lighthouse and is still in operation today.

This historic beauty sits right at the entrance to Portland Harbor at Cape Elizabeth. Portland Head is the oldest lighthouse in Maine and one of the oldest in America. It was built in 1791. The height of the lighthouse is 24 meters. Initially, the lighthouse served as a defense against ship raids during the civil war.

The Cullen lighthouse is a famous landmark in Scandinavia and also one of the most powerful lighthouses, because it is equipped with a 1000 W electric lamp and illuminates one of the most passable waterways in the world. It is located at the top of the hill southwest coast Sweden in a province called Scania.

The Peggy Point Lighthouse is located in Peggy's Cove and is designated a Canadian monument. It is also a favorite place for tourists. The lighthouse began work in 1915. It is a kind of mark of the eastern entrance of St. Margaret's Bay.

Video about the three lighthouses of Primorye from maksimum1978

The reinforced concrete structure has a height of 55 meters, the diameter of the lantern is 4.5 meters, its light is visible at a distance of 22 nautical miles (40.7 km).

According to the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China, in order to improve the navigational efficiency of the lighthouse, automatic system ship recognition and VHF base stations.

According to Xinhua, the new lighthouse will "improve the safety of navigation in the waters South China Sea", as well as the ability of the PRC to conduct rescue operations at sea, prevention and mitigation natural Disasters and protection environment. The construction of the lighthouse began in October 2015.

This lighthouse has become one of the most talked about in the world, but this is more likely due to the difficult political situation in the South China Sea, the territory of which is claimed by several states at once.

However, there are much more impressive lighthouses in the world. Below are the 10 tallest lighthouses in the world.

10. Storozhensky lighthouse, Lake Ladoga, Russia - 71 meters

The Storozhensky Lighthouse is an operating lighthouse in the southeast of Lake Ladoga, in the village of Storozhno, Volkhov District, Leningrad Region.

This is the fourth lighthouse that has been built on this cape.

It is a stone tower 71 m high, to the top of which - to the gallery - leads spiral staircase in 399 steps.

The focal plane of the Storozhensky lighthouse is located at a height of 76 m.

9. Baishamen Lighthouse, Hainan, China - 72 meters

The Baishamen Lighthouse is a concrete structure located in the Hainan Province of China.

The focal plane reaches a height of 78 meters. The lantern lights up every 6 seconds.

The lighthouse itself is cylindrical and made entirely of concrete.

The lighthouse was built at the beginning of the last decade.

8. Mulantou Lighthouse, Hainan, China - 72 meters

The lighthouse stands at the northern end of the bay. It is called "the first lighthouse in Asia".

It is located at an altitude of 97.2 meters above sea level.

With a building height of 72.12 meters, the lighthouse is the tallest in China and eighth in the world.

Ships passing by can see its light for 44 km.

Translated into Russian, Mulan means "magnolia".

7. Rear gate beacon of the Sea Canal, St. Petersburg, Russia - 73 meters

The rear gate beacon of the Sea Canal, located in St. Petersburg, is considered the highest in Russia - its height reaches 73 meters.

He points the way to the ships that enter the port of the city and leave it.

The lighthouse is made of metal.

6. Lighthouse Gatville, France - 75 meters

The lighthouse is located near the town of Gatville-le-Far, Normandy, France. The height of the lighthouse is 74.85 meters.

The diameter of the lighthouse at the base is 9.25 meters, at the top - 6 meters. Wall thickness: at the base - 2.6 meters, at the top - 1 meter. In order to climb to the top of the lighthouse, you need to overcome 365 steps.

The first Gatville lighthouse was built in 1774. It was a 25-meter granite building. Today this building is not used as a lighthouse. It is occupied by the French Navy.

The construction of a new lighthouse, which is located next to the old one, took place from 1829 to 1835. The construction budget is 332,214 francs. The lighthouse was not damaged during World War II.

It is currently one of the few lighthouses in France available to the public. It offers a picturesque view of the surroundings.

On this moment The lighthouse uses two xenon lamps with a power of 1600 watts. Usually one lamp turns on, only in bad weather requires the use of two lamps at the same time.

5. Lighthouse of the Genoese port, Italy - 77 meters

La Lanterna is the main lighthouse of the port of Genoa. It is the symbol of Genoa. It is one of the oldest surviving lighthouses in the world. The height of the lighthouse reaches 77 meters, 375 steps lead to the top.

The first lighthouse on this site was built around 1128. In those days, the lighthouse was located on an important port road, known as Via de Francia, and was quite far from the city limits.

The lighthouse was damaged by American and British air attacks during World War II. In 1956 the lighthouse restoration project was completed.

4. Lighthouse on the island of Vierge, France - 82.5 meters

This is the highest stone lighthouse in Europe. It was built in 1902 and is the tallest traditional lighthouse in the world.

The lighthouse is located on the northwest coast of the province of Brittany.

It is made in the shape of a truncated cone and turns on the light every five seconds. The light is visible at a distance of 50 kilometers.

The operation of the lighthouse is fully automated, but the lighthouse has personnel in case of malfunctions.

3. Marine Tower, Yokohama, Japan - 101 meters

This is a lattice lighthouse with observation deck at an altitude of 100 meters in the Naka area, Yokohama, Japan.

The light characteristic of the beacon is to flash every twenty seconds, as a result of which the color of the emitted light changes from red to green and vice versa.

Initially, at night, the tower itself was illuminated in green and red in accordance with its markings, but now, after the renovation in May 2009, the illumination is carried out with white lights.

The lighthouse was built in 1961. In good weather and clear air, visitors can see Mount Fuji from a 100-meter observation deck.

On December 25, 2006, the lighthouse was temporarily closed for technical reasons. Then the Yokohama city government announced the restoration of the lighthouse. After repairs, the tower was reopened on May 23, 2009, just in time for the city's 150th anniversary.

2. International Memorial to Perry's Victory and Peace, Put-in-Bay, Ohio, USA - 107 meters

The Peace Memorial was created in memory of the bloody battle and victory of the American squadron over the English flotilla on Lake Erie during the Anglo-American War (1812-1814).

The International Peace Memorial was built near the place where the battle took place - in the city of Put-in-Bay.

It was built from 1912 to 1915 "to instill the lessons of peace throughout the world." Not far from the column was a monument to Oliver Perry.

The memorial symbolizes lasting peace between Britain, Canada and the United States.

1. Lighthouse Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - 133 meters

The Jeddah Lighthouse is a 133 meter high concrete and steel structure. The lighthouse was built in 1990.

It is located in the city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on north side city ​​port.

The beacon fires three flashes every 20 seconds.

The lighthouse is considered the tallest in the world.

Jeddah Light is an active beacon located in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It is 113 meters high and is now one of the tallest lighthouses in the world. Was built in 1990.

Bell Rock is a lighthouse located on Inchcape Reef near east coast Scotland (Angus region). It was built between 1807-1810 by engineer Robert Stevenson. Today it is the oldest lighthouse built on the reefs. The height of the building is 35.3 m.

Kopu Lighthouse

Kopu Lighthouse is one of the most famous symbols and tourist attractions in Estonia located on the island of Hiiumaa. It was built in 1531 and is considered the third oldest lighthouse in the world. The height of the building is 36 meters.

Slettnes Lighthouse is a lighthouse located in the municipality of Gamvik in the county of Finnmark, Norway. This 39-meter structure was built in 1903–1905.

The Tower of Hercules is a lighthouse located in northwestern Spain. The building is 55 meters high. It is considered the oldest in the world and the only used ancient Roman lighthouse. The construction dates from around the 2nd century, possibly during the reign of Emperor Trajan.

Kullen Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on a hilltop on the southwest coast of Sweden. It is one of the most famous sights of the country. The height of the lighthouse is 15 meters.

Fourth on the list of the ten most famous lighthouses in the world is the Peggys Point Lighthouse, one of the busiest tourist attractions in the world. Nova Scotia. It was built in 1914.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on Hatteras Island in the city of Buxton, North Carolina, USA. It was built in 1870. It is the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States and the world. The height of the building is 64 m.

Sambro Island Light

In Estonian, the lighthouse is called tuletorn, which means “fire tower”, “tower with fire”. And somewhere, where, but in Estonia, 1/10 of which is occupied by islands, they know a lot about lighthouses! Through one and a half thousand islands, through sharp headlands and narrow straits, trade ships of Hanseatic merchants and Swedish galleons and galleys have long gone. There are many lighthouses here, they fit perfectly into the landscape, and many of them have a very long history.

The Tallinn lighthouse is notable not for its beauty and antiquity (it was built after the war), but for its location: in the usual urban area of ​​Ülemiste, almost in the courtyard behind a high fence. You can’t see the sea from its foot, but on the other hand, from the sea, the lighthouse itself is perfectly visible and its fire sparkles among high-rise buildings.

Surupi, Harju County- in other words, the neighborhood of Tallinn. A complex of two lighthouses on a high bank and right by the water, both of which can be seen at once only from the sea. The lower lighthouse, built in the middle of the 19th century, is unique in that it is made of wood. This design, the width of which is almost equal to the height, is not at all similar to the lighthouses familiar to us - towers directed to the sky.

The lighthouse of the island of Ruhnu is notable even for its location: Ruhnu, or Rune in Swedish, is a tiny island a hundred kilometers from the Estonian coast. No other land is visible from it, but meanwhile, there is a village and the oldest in the Baltic wooden church. And the lighthouse itself high place- a metal structure reminiscent of the Martian tripods from the "War of the Worlds" by HG Wells. It only has 5 "legs", including the central one, and it was built long before the famous novel was written - in 1877. The venerable age is given out by rivets at the joints of metal sheets - then electric welding had not yet been invented either.

Tahkuna lighthouse on the island of Hiiumaa- about the same years, and also metal, but of a completely different shape: a slender tower fifty meters high. Perhaps this is the most beautifully located of the existing Estonian lighthouses - on a narrow cape, between forest and wastelands, blown north wind. Near the lighthouse there is a small monument in the form of a metal structure with a bell leaning over the sea: it is dedicated to those who died on the ferry "Estonia", the local "Titanic", which in 1994, with almost a thousand people on board, was sunk by a storm. The floating debris, including several empty boats, washed up on Cape Tahkuna. The bell on the monument begins to ring when the wind reaches the same strength as in that ill-fated storm.

The lighthouse Kõpu (Dagerort) on the island of Hiiumaa is by far the main Estonian lighthouse. Built in the 1550s by Hanseatic merchants, and improved by the Swedes in the 17th century, this is one of the oldest lighthouses in the world - guidebooks say that it is the second after the Spanish one in A Coruña, built by the Roman Empire, but in fact the fifth: there is also a medieval lighthouse La Laterna in Genoa and a couple on British Isles. Like the wooden Surupi, Kõpu does not look at all like the graceful lighthouses of our time - impregnable man-made rock, on the flat "top" of which a powerful fire was once simply lit, and in the 19th century a turret with a lantern was built on. The narrow staircase inside the lighthouse was broken at the same time - and before that, the caretaker climbed up the ropes.

Lighthouse Kiipsaare on the Harilaid peninsula, which, in turn, is on the island of Saaremaa - one of the most little-known and hard-to-reach in Estonia, but perhaps the most spectacular. No, theoretically - an ordinary concrete tower of the 1930s, but here's the location ... the lighthouse is abandoned, it stands in the water not far from the coast and leans noticeably towards the sea, which has washed away for several decades Sandy shore. All around - desertion, wind, tall grass. Estonian local historians are wondering what will happen first: someone will guess to climb onto the lighthouse and light it, or the tower will finally collapse.

Beacon fire

Huge Russia is rich in islands, but we have much fewer outstanding lighthouses: almost everything was either built much later and without frills, or destroyed by wars and restored according to standard projects, such as the numerous lighthouses of the Black Sea.

Tolbukhin (Kronstadt)- this unsightly round beacon on an artificial island can be seen from the western tip of Kotlin Island, a few kilometers further down the bay. However, this oldest lighthouse in Russia, built in 1719 by decree of Peter I, and it's hard to imagine how many "flags to visit us" he saw.

Watchtower beacon ( Leningrad region) - a thin graceful tower of the early twentieth century shines not over the sea, but over Lake Ladoga, and its fire is visible for tens of kilometers. This is the highest historic lighthouse in Russia - 71 meters. To call it "the highest in the world" or "in Europe", as some guidebooks write, is, of course, too much - but among the lighthouses on fresh water, it is perhaps really out of competition.

Sekiro-Voznesensky Skete on the Solovetsky Islands ( Arhangelsk region) - here the lighthouse is unusual in that it is built right in the dome of the Ascension Church, standing on top of Sekirnaya Gora - not the highest, but the most noticeable place from the sea of ​​the Bolshoy Solovetsky Island. The skete has been known since the 16th century, the current church was consecrated in 1862.

Another temple-lighthouse of Nicholas the Wonderworker is located in the Crimea, near the village of Malorechenskoe and is well visible from Alushta. Built in 2004, it is very beautiful, but still, unlike the Solovetsky church, here the connection of the church with the lighthouse is just an unbanal design move.

Lighthouse at Cape Svyatoy Nos (Murmansk region)- one of the most inaccessible in Russia, as it stands on a deserted cape separating the Barents Sea from White Sea. The lip (that is, the bay) under the cape has the eloquent name Lopskoe Stanovishche. The low wooden tower was built in the 1860s and has been perfectly preserved since then.

Murmansk memorial lighthouse- well visible from Kola Bay or from the railway station (which in Murmansk is located near the port): a red-and-white turret among gray high-rise buildings on a slope. Nearby is the snow-white church of St. Nicholas-on-Waters and the cabin of the Kursk submarine raised from the bottom. In fact, this is not a lighthouse, but only a memorial stele dedicated to all those who died at sea in peacetime. Inside the lighthouse there is a memorial hall with books in memory of sailors of different fleets. The thickest of these books is by no means with military sailors, but with fishing ones.

Petrovsky lighthouse in the village of Vyshka ( Astrakhan region) - founded by Peter I during a campaign against Persia, rebuilt in stone at the end of the 19th century, it was supposed to mark the entrance to the navigable channel of the Volga ... but the sea left - the water level dropped, the Volga washed up new banks, and now the lighthouse stands sadly in the middle of the steppe. Even more vivid scenes could have been left by the dried up Aral Sea ... but there were no capital lighthouses on its shores.

It's always dark under the lighthouse (Japanese proverb)

Not quite ours, but very interesting lighthouses:

Adzhigol lighthouses at the mouth of the Dnieper (Kherson region, Ukraine) - two lighthouses on artificial islands, 35 and 70 meters high, are distinguished by the fact that they were built by Vladimir Shukhov, the creator of the famous "hyperboloid structures" like the radio tower on Moscow's Shabolovka. Hyperboloids, light and very strong due to their shape, look amazing: it seems that the openwork net just hangs on the lighthouse, but in fact it is it that holds all its weight.

The Aktau lighthouse on the Caspian Sea (Mangyshlak region, Kazakhstan) is unique in that it stands on the roof of an ordinary high-rise building. In the 1960s and 70s, when the city of Shevchenko was being built (that was the name of Aktau under Soviet rule), the lighthouses were not yet automated and needed a caretaker, and the city’s designers found an ideal way out - to build a multi-storey building with a lighthouse on the roof, and assign the caretaker the nearest apartment on the top floor.

Holy Landmarks of Pomors

in Russian northern seas long before the lighthouses, there was a well-functioning system of landmarks, which was created by the coast-dwellers. Here the sky is often overcast, and in summer it is a completely polar day, leaving no opportunity to navigate by the stars. But on the capes and islands, the Pomors set up crosses with characteristic triangular tops: at the canonically located Orthodox cross, the slanting crossbar with its upper end seems to the north.

The crosses also served as signs - somewhere as a leading sign (and still relevant in their places!), And somewhere - as border signs, marking the possessions of the Russian people; on important islands and capes, they stood in groups described in the sailing directions, and made it possible to unmistakably identify the place. Religious plots were carved on the western side of the crosses, and on the eastern side there was often something like sailing directions, clues to the sailors who went to the cross.

On trade route from Europe to Arkhangelsk, the crosses stood in direct line of sight from each other on the rocks Kola Peninsula and the White Sea skerries, and in some places (say, near Teriberka) this "track" has been recreated. Pomeranian crosses have survived even in Svalbard and Novaya Zemlya. And this is one of the strongest images of Rus': the Orthodox cross as a guide.