The Lindau Lighthouse () is a

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 ...

Lindau Lindau (, ''Lindau am Bodensee''; ; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Lindou'') is a major Town#Germany, town and Lindau (island), island on the eastern side of Lake Constance (''Bodensee'' in German) in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital ...

, on

Lake Constance Lake Constance (, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein (). These ...

. It is the southernmost lighthouse in

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 ...

, and the only lighthouse in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. It is tall and has a circumference of at its base. Notably, it has a clock in its facade.

History

The lighthouse was built from 1853 to 1856 at the western

mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole" * Golden mole, southern African mammals * Marsupial mole Marsupial moles, the Notoryctidae family, are two species of highly specialized marsupial mammals that are found i ...

in the entrance to the harbour of Lindau and was first lit on 4 October 1856. It succeeded the light station in the Mangturm tower of 1230.

Light and optics

During the first years of operation, the light was created by an open oil fire. At that time the keeper would have to keep the fire burning steadily in great pans and operate a bell and

foghorn A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. ...

. The firing was later converted to

kerosene Kerosene, or paraffin, is a combustibility, combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in Aviation fuel, aviation as well as households. Its name derives from the Greek (''kērós'') meaning " ...

and then gas. Since 1936 the tower has been operated electrically and was automated in the early 1990s. The light is lit on demand by ships using radio signals. The

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 ...

is one flash every three seconds, which is created by two rotating

parabolic reflector A parabolic (or paraboloid or paraboloidal) reflector (or dish or mirror) is a Mirror, reflective surface used to collect or project energy such as light, sound, or radio waves. Its shape is part of a circular paraboloid, that is, the surface ge ...

Current situation

The lighthouse and the entire port of Lindau were originally built for the

Ludwig South-North Railway The Ludwig South–North Railway (''Ludwig-Süd-Nord-Bahn''), built between 1843 and 1854, was the first railway line to be constructed by Royal Bavarian State Railways. It was named after the king, Ludwig I, whose infrastructure priorities had ...

of the

Royal Bavarian State Railways The Royal Bavarian State Railways (''Königliche Bayerische Staats-Eisenbahnen'' or ''K.Bay.Sts.B.'') was the state railway company for the Kingdom of Bavaria. It was founded in 1844. The organisation grew into the second largest of the German ...

and later used to be operated by the shipping department for Lake Constance of

Deutsche Bahn (, ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG ) is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). DB was fou ...

. Eventually the port was sold to the city works of Constance in 2002 together with the Bodensee-Schiffsbetriebe GmbH shipping company. After several years of negotiations, the port area and thus the lighthouse was transferred to the town of Lindau in April 2010. It is open to visitors who may find information on local fauna and flora and on Lake Constance shipping. The lighthouse is a popular subject for photographs (from the north side of the harbour together with the "Bavarian Lion" on the other side of the harbour entrance).

References

External links

* {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1856 Lighthouses in Germany Buildings and structures in Lindau (district)

History

Light and optics

Current situation

See also

References

External links