Roter Sand Lighthouse

Lighthouse in Lower Saxony, Germany

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Lighthouse

53°51′18″N 8°04′45″E / 53.855°N 8.079167°E / 53.855; 8.079167TowerConstructed1885Foundationsteel caisson basementConstructioncast ironHeight28 metres (92 ft)Shapetapered cylindrical tower with balcony and lanternMarkingstower with horizontal white and red bands, black basement, lantern and roofOperatorFörderverein Leuchtturm Roter Sand^[1]Heritagekulturdenkmal

LightDeactivated1986Focal height24 metres (79 ft)

Roter Sand is a lighthouse in the North Sea, in the Weser estuary. It entered service in 1885.^[2] The light was deactivated in 1986 but the tower still serves as a day beacon. Roter Sand Lighthouse was the first building ever to be erected directly on the sea floor.^[3]

On 1 October 2010, the structure was awarded the title "Historical Monument of Engineering in Germany" (Historisches Wahrzeichen der Ingenieurbaukunst in Deutschland) by the Federal Chamber of Engineers.^[4]

Description

Including the foundation, Roter Sand Lighthouse is 52.5 metres (172 ft) tall. At low tide, it measures 30.7 metres (101 ft) above sea level.^[5] Its focal height is 24 metres (79 ft) above mean high tide, while the tower as such is 28 metres (92 ft) tall.^[6]^[1]

The three oriel windows of the tower. The hoisted flag shows that guests are staying in the lighthouse over night.

The foundation is cylindrical and protrudes 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) from the sea at low tide. The tower above is conical. It is painted with red and white bands above a black base.^[1] The order of colours is white-red-white-red-white whereby the coloured section also marks the five floors inside the tower. The entrance is located at the lower rim of the lowest white band.

The basement serves as a storage. A stairway leads from there to the sleeping room. Further up is the kitchen with a coal-heated oven, and a living and service room. The latter has three oriel windows, two of which have the same height as the room itself while the third one leads even higher. The oriels used to host minor lights and point towards North-west, South and North-east. From the service room, a balcony around the lantern can be reached via a stairway. However, it is not possible to walk all around the lantern because the higher oriel window blocks one part of the balcony.

During the 1940s, the rooms used to be different with the inside of the black sector being accessible as storage. At the entrance level, there used to be the equipment for the generation of electrical power.

Tourism

Day trips to the lighthouse, from Bremerhaven via the vessel "Lev Taifun", can be taken in June, July, and August. Staying overnight is also possible.^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Germany: Bremerhaven". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
^ Buddee, Gisela (2010). Elbe/ Weser/ Bremen: Leben am Strom. DuMont Reiseverlag. p. 62. ISBN 978-3-7701-9211-3.
^ "Der Leuchtturm Roter Sand – maritimes Wahrzeichen der Nordsee" [Roter Sand Lighthouse – A maritime landmark of the North Sea] (in German). Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz. Archived from the original on 15 September 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
^ "Der Leuchttum 'Roter Sand'" [Roter Sand Lighthouse]. Historische Wahrzeichen der Ingenieurbaukunst in Deutschland (in German). Bundesingenieurkammer. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
^ "Leuchtturm Roter Sand" (in German). Uwe Liehr. Archived from the original on 20 August 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
^ Scheiblich, Reinhard; Staack, Hans Helge (2004). Leuchttürme-Lexikon [Encyclopedia of lighthouses] (in German). Hamburg: Ellert & Richter Verlag. p. 146. ISBN 3-8319-0038-8.
^ "Törns mit der "Lev Taifun" zum Leuchtturm Roter Sand – Bremerhaven.de". Seestadt Bremerhaven (in German). 20 June 2016. Archived from the original on 2 May 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.