Nieuwe Sluis is a Dutch

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 ...

in the Nieuwesluis community, a few kilometres west of

Breskens Breskens is a harbour town on the Westerschelde in the municipality of Sluis, Netherlands. Its population is 4,787 (). The town is noted for the ''Visserijfeesten'' (Fishery Festival), the largest festival in Zeeland. A ferry connection exists b ...

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

, and the southernmost in the country.

History

Designed by Quirinus Harder, it was built between 1866 and 1867. The octagonal, black and white tower marks the entrance to the

Westerschelde The Western Scheldt ( ), in the province of Zeeland in the southwestern Netherlands, is the estuary of the Scheldt river. This river once had several estuaries, but the others are now disconnected from the Scheldt, leaving the Westerschelde as ...

. The tower is tall and consists of five stories. It is part of a series of lights marking the end of the

Schelde The Scheldt ( ; ; ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old English ("shallow" ...

river and guide traffic between 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 ...

and the harbor of

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. Nieuwe Sluis is the oldest extant

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 ...

lighthouse in the Netherlands after the one in

Renesse Renesse () is a village in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland, and lies about 28 km west of Hellevoetsluis. Renesse is a popular tourist resort with zero-fare bus services in the area (in ...

was demolished in 1915. Initially it was yellow, then it received red-white bands, before it was painted black and white. The lens assembly was made by the French company of Barbier, Bénard & Turenne, and includes a copper cupola. Initially it was the first in a series of

leading lights Leading lights, also known as range lights in the United States, are a pair of light beacons used in navigation to indicate a safe passage for vessels entering a shallow or dangerous channel; they may also be used for position fixing. At nigh ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the lighthouse was deactivated and covered in camouflage paint; it was not reactivated until 1951. Originally the lighthouse stood on top of the dike, but when that dike was raised as part of the

Delta Works The Delta Works () is a series of construction projects in the southwest of the Netherlands to protect a large area of land around the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta from the sea. Constructed between 1954 and 1997, the works consist of dams, slu ...

the lighthouse ended up on the seaside. Since 2010 it no longer serves a nautical purpose and in October 2011 the light went out permanently. Alternative uses for the building were investigated. In 2012 ownership was transferred from the Belgian government to a foundation, and in 2014 that foundation was granted E20,000 by Dow Benelux for repairs and renovations.

References

External links

Stichting Vuurtoren Breskens
{{Authority control Lighthouses completed in 1867 1867 establishments in the Netherlands Lighthouses in the Netherlands Towers in Zeeland Rijksmonuments in Zeeland Sluis 19th-century architecture in the Netherlands

History

See also

References

External links