The Kugelbake (English: Ball Beacon) is a historic

day beacon A day beacon (sometimes ''daybeacon'') is an unlighted nautical sea mark. A signboard identifying it is called a '' day mark''. Day beacons typically mark channels whose key points are marked by lighted buoys. They may also mark smaller navigab ...

in the city of

Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is a town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has a footprint o ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, at the northernmost point of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

, where the River

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

flows into the

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 ...

. In the

Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...

dialect of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the term ''bake'' referred to all navigational aids – including

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 ...

s. About 30 meters (100 feet) high and built of wood, the Kugelbake is the principal landmark of Cuxhaven; since 1913, it has been depicted on the city's coat of arms. Large wooden structures guiding mariners have stood on this spot for over 300 years.Maritime Monuments on the Elbe estuary
retrieved 29-Feb-2012.T. Thees: ''Die Geschichte der Kugelbake'' The History of the Kugelbake (Cuxhaven: Stiftung Kugelbake, o. JA.)

Position

The Kugelbake stands at a busy shipping lane in the

borough of Döse and was once a vital nautical landmark. At this point, the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

is about 18 km wide. Geographically speaking, the

ends here and the

begins. From a nautical point of view, the Kugelbake can be said to separate the Outer and Lower portions of the Elbe. It is also regarded as the symbolic separation between the Elbe and

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...

estuaries. Its distinctive design, well known to skippers, is now a popular tourist destination. *Height above MHW: 29.63m

History

The first navigational aid was built on this spot around 1703 at the instigation of the

Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

Inspector Paul Allers after an existing bearing, a group of trees, was swept away by a fierce storm surge. It was constructed of wood and had a short service life due to the harsh weather and floods common on the point. It was rebuilt approximately every 30 years, the first reconstruction taking place around 1737.Marie-Louise Rendant:''Kugelbake, Alte Liebe & der Steubenhöft'' (RegionenVerlag GmbH) In 1853, the Kugelbake was lit nightly to guide ships in the difficult curvature of the estuary. The light consisted of a fire in a small hut located inside the structure. By 1878 the light served only as a reserve because a

lightvessel A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. It is used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, the ...

was placed in the channel throughout the year. At the outbreak of the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

in 1870, the light was reduced to confuse potential enemies and in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

it was completely removed for the same reason. In 1924 it was rebuilt, but instead of the eponymous ball, two round perpendicular composite discs were attached at the top. The current construction was built after 1945. The Kugelbake was also the spot where amateur radio pioneer

Jonathan Zenneck Jonathan Adolf Wilhelm Zenneck (; ; 15 April 1871 – 8 April 1959) was a German physicist and electrical engineer. Zenneck improved the cathode-ray tube by adding a second deflection structure at right angles to the first, which allowed two-di ...

experimented with radio communications between the Mainland and ships at sea during the winter of 1899–1900. A wooden hut was built within the structure, equipped with the necessary antennas and technical equipment for the very first coastal radio station in

. The first transmissions were sent between the Kugelbake and the steamship ''Silvana'' to a distance of 32 km. In the autumn of 1900, transmissions were sent as far as the Elbe Islands and

Heligoland Heligoland (; , ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , ) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. The islands were historically possessions of Denmark, then became possessions of the United Kingdom from 1807 to 1890. Since 1890, the ...

, 63 km away. In 2001 the Wasser- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung () transferred the Kugelbake to the federal historic properties agency, since the beacon had lost its nautical importance. A foundation was established for the preservation of this historic landmark, which since 2002 has belonged to the city of Cuxhaven.

Bearers of the name

Ro-Ro Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...

vessel was built in 2009 for container traffic on the Elbe, registered at

. It has crew of 6, a displacement of 3900 metric tons, is 79.3 m long and 18.6 m wide, and is equipped with a 1900 kW power plant.Maker's Data on the MV Kugelbake of 2009
Retrieved 27-Feb-2012.

References

Gallery

File:Kugelbake 001, Cuxhaven, Germany, foto taken from the Elbe river, ship sign, mouth of Elbe river (left side).jpg, Kugelbake as seen from the tidal flats File:Charte Schuback 1831 Ausschnitt Türme komplett.png, Lighthouses and day marks in the Elbe estuary (1831) {{Authority control Cuxhaven Lighthouses completed in 1853 Elbe Lighthouses in Lower Saxony Transport in Lower Saxony Beacon towers Buildings and structures in Cuxhaven (district)

Position

History

Bearers of the name

See also

References

Gallery