Cabo Raso Lighthouse is an active Portuguese
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses mar ...
that is located in the Fort of São Brás of Sanxete, near
Cascais
Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourism in Portugal, tourist de ...
,
Lisbon District. It is a cylindrical, red, metallic tower, thirteen meters high, with a lantern and balcony and attached buildings.
History
The small maritime fort of São Brás of Sanxete was originally erected, together with the nearby fort of Cresmina, to protect the
Guincho Beach
Praia do Guincho (English: Guincho Beach) is an Atlantic beach located on Portugal's Estoril coast, 5 km from the town of Cascais, and is located in the municipality of Cascais, more precisely in the parishes of Cascais and Alcabideche, in th ...
, a vast sandy area where enemy ships could easily disembark troops. In 1894 the fort ceased to serve a defensive function and a lighthouse beacon was installed on the site.
In 1884, the Portuguese Commission on Lighthouses and Beacons decided on the need for construction of a lighthouse at Cabo Raso. The original plan was modified in 1893, because it was going to prove too expensive. The cheaper solution involved building a house for the lighthouse keeper, with 4 rooms. The light was installed on a slab positioned in front of one of the windows of the house, and, after its use, was moved into the interior of the room on a wooden carriage that rested on rails. This lighthouse went into operation on January 1, 1894, with a fixed oil light. In 1914, a sound signal was added, created by a tube of compressed air. The following year, the light of the lighthouse was finally transferred to the current iron tower, which is painted red and has a range of twenty nautical miles.
This lighthouse was electrified in 1947, connected to the public power grid in 1969 and automated in 1984. In December 2003 the previous light system was replaced and an ML-300 flashlight with TF 3B flasher and 50W12V lamps was installed.
See also
*
List of lighthouses in Portugal
This is an alphabetical list of lighthouses in Portugal and its autonomous regions.
Norte
* Casa do Facho em Fão (Esposende, Apúlia e Fão)
* Farol de Azurara (Vila do Conde, Azurara)
* Farol de Esposende (Esposende, Esposende, Marinhas ...
*
Directorate of Lighthouses, Portugal
The Directorate of Lighthouses in Portugal (''Direção de Faróis'') is responsible for managing the country's 47 lighthouses, as well as other marine navigation activities. It is headquartered in Paço de Arcos.
Lighthouses have played an impo ...
References
External links
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{{Lighthouses in Europe
Lighthouses in Portugal
Buildings and structures in Cascais