Lindesnes Lighthouse is a coastal lighthouse located at the southernmost point of mainland Norway. It is also Norway's oldest surviving lighthouse, built on 27 February 1655. The lighthouse occupies a strategically important position on the Skagerrak, connecting the North and Baltic seas. The nearest town is Lindesnes.
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| Lindesnes Lighthouse Norway |
The lighthouse is one of the most visited attractions in the county of West-Agder (one hundred thousand visitors per year). In 2004, the lighthouse museum was opened, which is also used as a cultural center.
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| Lindesnes Lighthouse Norway |
History
Lindesnes Lighthouse is extremely important for navigation between the rocky Norwegian and sandy Danish shores of the Skagerrak, with frequent fog and bad weather, as well as strong sea currents. The cape area is often described as the site of many shipwrecks, so it was decided to build Norway's first lighthouse here. On July 18, 1655, King Frederick III of Denmark issued a decree giving Kristiansand resident Powell Hansønn the right to build a lighthouse on Cape Lindesnes. Construction was to be financed from taxes. collected from ships calling at Norwegian ports south and east of Bergen. However, due to the storm, ships with materials for the construction of the lighthouse arrived at the cape a week late, and the ship with coal from England did not arrive at all. They managed to build a three-story wooden tower, in which 30 candles burned behind glass. This was not enough, and the king ordered the lighthouse to be extinguished the following year.
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| Lindesnes Lighthouse Norway |
The lighthouse began to function again only 69 years later, on February 1, 1725. To avoid confusion with the lighthouse in Skagen, on the northern tip of Jutland, it was decided to simultaneously include two coal-fired lighthouses - on Lindesnes and on the island of Markøy a little to the west. Both beacons came into operation at the same time. In 1822, the lighting system of both lighthouses was changed. In 1844, the lighthouse on Markøy was extinguished, and in 1854 a lens was installed at the Lindesnes lighthouse, which significantly increased the lighting power. In 1915, a new iron lighthouse was built and the lens was moved there. In 1920, the last significant reconstruction of the lighthouse was carried out - a new engine was built and an anti-fog system was made. The lighthouse was occupied by the German army during World War II. In 1992, it was restored and opened to the public, and in the same year, a foundation responsible for the preservation of the lighthouse was created. The keeper was constantly at the lighthouse until 2003, after which a new radio navigation system was put into operation.