Calais Lighthouse (french: link=no, Phare de Calais) is located in Calais in Pas-de-Calais. The Lighthouse is located in the residential streets near the

Port of Calais The Port of Calais in northern France is the fourth largest port in France and the largest for passenger traffic. It accounts for more than a third of economic activity in the town of Calais. Background The Port of Calais was the first cable ...

and is a significant landmark as well as a navigational aid to ships and

ferries A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...

using the Straits of Dover.

History

There was a beacon at the summit of the watchtower from 1818.

King Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wa ...

in his plans to improve French ports decided the construction of a first-class lighthouse in Calais. This lighthouse started operating in 1848 and was electrified in 1883. After escaping the destruction of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

it was automated in 1987. The Calais lighthouse is classified as a French Monument historique since 19/04/2011.

Description

The lighthouse is 53m high, its tower is octagonal outside and round inside with walls 1.90m at the base and 1.50m at the summit. The foundations descend 7.40m under the cellars. The staircase has 271 steps leading up to the lantern. The central light of the lighthouse is permanent and the lantern, whose panels shut off the light, turns around the light, giving 4 flashes of 2/10th of a second every 15 seconds.Sign at the base of the tower: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lighthouse_Calais_sign.JPG

References

Buildings and structures in Calais Lighthouses completed in 1848 Lighthouses in France Lighthouses of the English Channel Monuments historiques of Pas-de-Calais Transport in Hauts-de-France {{Europe-lighthouse-stub

History

Description

See also

References