Porkkala Lighthouse ( Finnish: ''Porkkalan majakka'', Swedish: ''Porkala fyr''), also known as Kallbåda or Porkkala Kallbåda, is a lighthouse located in the municipality of

Kirkkonummi Kirkkonummi (; , , Sweden ) is a municipality in Finland, located in the southern coast of the country. Kirkkonummi is situated in the western part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Kirkkonummi is approximately . It is the most populous Mu ...

, Finland, approximately from the southern tip of the

Porkkalanniemi Porkkalanniemi (), often referred to simply as Porkkala (), is a peninsula in the Gulf of Finland, located at Kirkkonummi (Kyrkslätt) in Southern Finland. The peninsula had great strategic value, as coastal artillery based there would be abl ...

peninsula, in the western part of the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

. The lighthouse was built in 1920, to replace the earlier Porkkala-Rönnskär one. Porkkala-Kallbåda was the last lighthouse in Finland to be intended for manual operation by lighthouse-keepers. For this reason, and due to the small area of the

skerry A skerry ( ) is a small rocky island, or islet, usually too small for human habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low stack (geology), sea stack. A skerry may have vegetative life such as moss and small, ...

it is built on, the lighthouse design incorporates integral accommodation and service facilities for two operators and their families, similar to those found in the Bengtskär Lighthouse. It is built on massive

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

foundation, and constructed of red brick. After the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

, the Porkkalanniemi area was placed under the control of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. When the area was returned to Finland in 1955, the Porkkala-Kallbåda lighthouse was found to be in such state of disrepair as to be uninhabitable, and it was instead automated and operated remotely from

Harmaja Harmaja () is an island and a lighthouse outside Helsinki, south of the Suomenlinna sea fortress. The island has been functioning as a landmark since the 16th century. A landmark structure was built on the island in the 18th century and a light ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. The lighthouse building is now leased to the Finnish mountaineer

Veikka Gustafsson Eero Veikka Juhani Gustafsson, known as Veikka Gustafsson (born 14 January 1968) is a Finnish people, Finnish Climber (climbing), climber who has ascended all 14 eight-thousanders without using supplemental oxygen. He is also known for presentin ...

. The Porkkala Lighthouses form part of a milieu designated and protected by the

Finnish Heritage Agency The Finnish Heritage Agency (, ), previously known in English as the National Board of Antiquities, preserves Finland's material cultural heritage: collects, studies and distributes knowledge of it. The agency is a cultural and research institutio ...

as a nationally important built cultural environment (''Valtakunnallisesti merkittävä rakennettu kulttuuriympäristö''). The area is also protected as a

grey seal The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or "earless seals". The only species classified in the genus ''Halichoerus'', it is found on both shores of the Nort ...

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

, for which reason the general public are not allowed to disembark onto the skerry.

References

{{Authority control Lighthouses in Finland Buildings and structures in Uusimaa Water transport in Finland Kirkkonummi Lighthouses completed in 1920