Kiipsaare Lighthouse is located on the tip of the
Harilaid peninsula on the island of
Saaremaa
Saaremaa (; ) is the largest and most populous island in Estonia. Measuring , its population is 31,435 (as of January 2020). The main island of the West Estonian archipelago (Moonsund archipelago), it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hi ...
,
Estonia
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
, in the territory of
Vilsandi National Park
Vilsandi National Park () is a marine protected area in Saaremaa Parish, Saare County, Estonia. It includes part of the island of Vilsandi, a number of smaller islands, and adjacent parts of western Saaremaa including the Harilaid peninsula.
...
.
The lighthouse was built from reinforced concrete in 1933. Its purpose was to warn mariners on the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
about the dangers in the vicinity of the peninsula and to be of assistance in taking bearings. At that time the lighthouse was inland, but due to erosion it is now more than offshore.
A lack of supporting ground has caused the lighthouse to lean.
[Eesti Loodus, Kiipsaare rannad ja tuletorn](_blank)
, K. Orviku, H. Tõnisson 2009. 5: 6–13.
While in 1988 the waterline was still from the lighthouse, by the early 1990s the sea had already reached the lighthouse and it started to incline. Because of this the generator was removed in 1992 and Kiipsaare Lighthouse remained in the records as a daymark until 2009.
The lighthouse played a prominent role in the Estonian World War II film „
Somnambuul“ from 2003.
Gallery
File:Kiipsaare Tuletorn NorthEast-Overcast-2023.jpg, Kiipsaare Lighthouse, 2023
File:Kiipsaare Tuletorn, South, 2023.jpg, Kiipsaare Lighthouse seen from South with the tip of Kiipsaare Nukk visible in the background, 2023
File:Kiipsaare Tuletorn, East, 2023.jpg, Long exposure of Kiipsaare Lighthouse by moonlight, 2023
File:Kiipsaare Tuletorn Base, East, 2023.jpg, Base of Kiipsaare Lighthouse, 2023
File:Kiipsaare Tuletorn Top, East, 2023.jpg, Top (lantern room and cupola
In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout.
The word derives, via Ital ...
) of Kiipsaare Lighthouse occupied by cormorants
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) ado ...
, 2023
File:Kiipsaare Tuletorn, North-East, Morning Sun, 2023.jpg, Kiipsaare Lighthouse seen from North-East in the early morning sun, 2023
File:Kiipsaare Tuletorn North-2023.jpg, Kiipsaare Lighthouse photographed from Kiipsaare Nukk, 2023
File:LighthouseKiipsaate.jpg, Kiipsaare Lighthouse at sunset (2013)
See also
*
List of lighthouses in Estonia
References
External links
Estonian lighthouses listMaritime Administration (in Estonian)
Lighthouses in Estonia
Buildings and structures in Saaremaa
Inclined towers
Saaremaa Parish
Tourist attractions in Saare County
Lighthouses completed in 1933
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