Büsum Lighthouse () is an active 20th century

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

located in

Büsum Büsum () is a fishing and tourist town in the district of Dithmarschen, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the North Sea coast, approx. 18 km southwest of Heide. Büsum is also the administrative seat of the ''Amt'' ("collec ...

a fishing and tourist town, which lies on

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

coast of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

, in Germany. The current lighthouse is the second to be built in the town, two other separate breakwater lights mark the entrance of the small harbour from the North Sea.

History

The first lighthouse built in 1878 was simply a lantern mounted on a wooden post, which was fuelled by kerosene. A replica of this early aid to navigation, exists next to the local museum. The current lighthouse was constructed in 1912 and 1913, and is made up of prefabricated

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

sections, and is similar in design, although not as tall, as the lighthouses at Westerheversand,

Hörnum ( Sölring Frisian: ''Hörnem'', Danish: ''Hørnum'') is a municipality in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is located on the southern headland of the island of Sylt. The municipality is part of the '' Amt' ...

and

Pellworm Pellworm (; ; North Frisian ''Polweerm'') is a municipality in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The municipality is located on the island of Pellworm – one of the North Frisian Islands on the North Sea coast of G ...

. Originally painted black, it did not receive its current red and white

daymark A daymark is a navigational aid for sailors and maritime pilot, pilots, distinctively marked to maximize its visibility in daylight. The word is also used in a more specific, technical sense to refer to a signboard or daytime identifier that ...

colour scheme until 1952. The lantern has twin galleries with a roof of sheet copper. The lighthouse at 21.4 metres, is higher than most buildings in the town, and stands 22 metres above mean high tide. It has a nominal range of 19

nautical miles A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude at the eq ...

and a

light characteristic A light characteristic is all of the properties that make a particular somewhat navigational light identifiable. Graphical and textual descriptions of navigational light sequences and colours are displayed on nautical charts and in Light Lists ...

showing a white, red or green

sector Sector may refer to: Places * Sector, West Virginia, U.S. Geometry * Circular sector, the portion of a disc enclosed by two radii and a circular arc * Hyperbolic sector, a region enclosed by two radii and a hyperbolic arc * Spherical sector, a po ...

, isophase light of three seconds on, then three seconds off. In 2013, the centenary of the lighthouse was celebrated, when it was depicted on a 58-cent lighthouse stamp series by

Deutsche Post (, ) is a brand of the DHL Group (listed as ), used for its domestic mail services in Germany. The services offered under the brand are those of a traditional mail service, making the brand the successor of the former state-owned mail monopoly ...

the German postal service. Operated by the Water and Shipping Authority at

Tönning Tönning ( German; Low German ''Tünn'', ''Tönn'' or ''Tönnen''; Danish: ''Tønning''; North Frisian: ''Taning'') is a town in the district of Nordfriesland in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. History Tönning was destroyed in the ...

, it is registered under the international Admiralty number B1606 and has the NGA identifier of 114-10580.

Breakwater lights

Located on the harbour breakwaters of Büsum are two other lights. On the west mole is a 9-metre high red tower which displays an occulting red light. The east mole has a similar tower, painted green that displays an occulting green light.

References

External links

WSA page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Busum Lighthouses in Schleswig-Holstein Lighthouses completed in 1913 Heritage sites in Schleswig-Holstein

History

Breakwater lights

See also

References

External links