Tangasseri Lighthouse or Thangassery Lighthouse is situated at Tangasseri in

Kollam Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the List of cities and towns in Kerala, fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake ...

city of the Indian state of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. It is one of the two lighthouses in the

Kollam Metropolitan Area Kollam Metropolitan Area is the 4th largest Metropolis in Kerala and 14th largest List of million-plus urban agglomerations in India, urban agglomeration in South India. It is one of the List of Kerala cities by urban area growth, 10 fastest gr ...

and is maintained by the Cochin Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships. In operation since 1902, the cylindrical lighthouse tower painted with white and red oblique bands has a height of , making it the second tallest lighthouse in Kerala coast. Tangasseri Lighthouse is one of the most visited lighthouses in

History

Prior to construction of the lighthouse, the

British East India company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

had installed a tower with an oil lamp. In 1902 the present Tangasseri Lighthouse was completed, which by 1930 had suffered cracks in the tower that required jacketing masonry to be installed. The light source was modified in 1932, 1940, 1962, 1967, 1990 and 1994. In 2016, the Tangasseri Lighthouse got an elevator facility for its visitors.

Location

The lighthouse is located on the coast at Tangasseri in Kollam city and is one of the locations in India that still maintains

Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian people are a distinct minority group, minority community of mixed-race British and Indian ancestry. During the colonial period, their ancestry was defined as British paternal and Indian maternal heritage; post-independence, "Angl ...

culture. Tangasseri is home to remnants of an ancient Portuguese built coastal defence, the St Thomas Fort, a Portuguese Cemetery, a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

, the ancient Port of Quilon and the Infant Jesus Cathedral. Visitors are allowed access to the lighthouse between 11 am and 5 pm on all days except on Mondays.

Gallery

Thangassery light house - spiral inside - large.jpg, Upstairs in Tangasseri Lighthouse Leuchtturm in Kollam.jpg, Tangasseri Lighthouse Tangasseri Lighthouse, Oct 2016.jpg, Close view of Tangasseri Lighthouse A distant view of Tangasseri Lighthouse, Oct 2016.jpg, A distant view of Tangasseri Lighthouse from Kollam Port Road Information board in Thangassery Lighthouse.jpg, Information board in Thangassery Lighthouse Tangasseri Lighthouse, Mar 2016.jpg, Tangasseri Lighthouse as seen from Tangasseri breakwater

References

External links

* Lighthouses in Kerala Lighthouses completed in 1902 1902 establishments in British India Buildings and structures in Kollam {{India-struct-stub

History

Location

Gallery

See also

References

External links