Vasilisin lighthouse video walkthrough
Mayachnik project video walk through the 1:200 model of the striped Vasilisin tower — preserving what the island fire took away.
Open video on YouTubeHeritage Journey
Vasilisin
A Lost Light on Lake Onega
A striped wood tower on Vasilisin Island in Lake Onega was destroyed by ground fire circa 2011–2014. Archive sources, models, and a family preservation project keep its memory alive.
Explore the journeyV. P. Korablev / Mayachnik archive · Project archive
We drew attention to the need to restore this lighthouse. We made models, videos, and held exhibitions where Vasilisa dressed in a costume like this lighthouse. But it has remained a dream.
Vasily Korablev / Mayachnik project (interpretive family testimony)
Signature moment
One name — two fates
The island light that burned as a daughter named Vasilisa was born, and lives on in models and memory.
Conceptual orientation image only. Factual claims are supported in the evidence table below.
The journey
A striped tower erased by fire
From the lakeVasily Korablev / Korablev family collection · Family collection Island light on Lake Onega
On Ostrov Vasilisin in Maloye Onego Bay, an abandoned lighthouse was known to yachtsmen. The island once hosted a meteo station and even had a postal index before the station closed.
The towerVasily Korablev / Korablev family collection · Family collection Striped wood tower
Archive records describe a four-stage square wooden tower, 24 m high, with black-and-white vertical stripes, a lantern, and gallery. Focal plane 33 m; visibility 8 miles.
Inside the towerTrans-Onega 2013 expedition / LiveJournal archive · Third-party expedition photo Keeper's mark inside
Inside the tower, a painted inscription records maintenance on 8 August 1963 by the steamship I. Bering — a dated trace of care inside an already abandoned structure.
After the fireLUX Lights — conceptual orientation image · Project illustration Ground fire
Archive articles agree that a ground fire on the island destroyed the lighthouse. Sources differ on timing — approximately 2011–2012 versus 2014 — and the exact year remains open in Research mode.
Family memoryLUX Lights — interpretative watercolor after Korablev family photograph · Project illustration A name, a daughter, a dream
Vasily and his wife had visited the lighthouse years before their daughter Vasilisa was born in 2013 — the same period when the tower burned. The shared name drew the family toward restoring the light; the dream remains unrealized.
Preservation projectVasily Korablev / Mayachnik project · Project archive Models and memory
The Mayachnik project built accurate 1:200 and 1:100 models, produced a video walkthrough, and showed the lighthouse at the 2016 Lighthouse Festival in Petropavlovka — carrying what the tower no longer can.
Video walkthrough
Walk the lost tower in model form
On the island
Vasilisin Island on Lake Onega
Historical position of the Vasilisin lighthouse on Ostrov Vasilisin, Lake Onega (61°48.4'N 35°41.4'E).
Loading detailed map...
- 1
Ostrov VasilisinOrigin
A four-stage square wooden tower with black-and-white vertical stripes stood on Vasilisin Island; construction date is unknown in the archive.
Places in this journey
Island and lake context
Island lighthouse site
Ostrov Vasilisin
Ostrov Vasilisin in Maloye Onego Bay, Lake Onega — site of the striped wood tower until ground-fire destruction circa 2011–2014.
Why it matters
Why this journey matters
Not every lost lighthouse is a coastal giant. Inland lights on islands like Vasilisin can vanish quietly when fires take abandoned structures — leaving only photographs, models, and family memory.
This journey separates verified archive claims about the fire from interpretive family testimony about restoration dreams.
Russian and English story layers help share a Lake Onega case that connects public heritage with personal preservation work.
24 m tower1 lost island light2 model scales (1:200 and 1:100)
Heritage Journey
Vasilisin
A Lost Light on Lake Onega
The Vasilisin lighthouse was a distinctive four-stage striped wood tower on an island in Lake Onega, familiar to yachtsmen until a ground fire destroyed it circa 2011–2014. The Mayachnik project preserves its memory through models, video walks, and a family story tied to the name Vasilisa.
We drew attention to the need to restore this lighthouse. We made models, videos, and held exhibitions where Vasilisa dressed in a costume like this lighthouse. But it has remained a dream.
Vasily Korablev / Mayachnik project (interpretive family testimony)
Story beats
- —Island light on Lake Onega
On Ostrov Vasilisin in Maloye Onego Bay, an abandoned lighthouse was known to yachtsmen. The island once hosted a meteo station and even had a postal index before the station closed.
- 1963+Striped wood tower
Archive records describe a four-stage square wooden tower, 24 m high, with black-and-white vertical stripes, a lantern, and gallery. Focal plane 33 m; visibility 8 miles.
- 1963Keeper's mark inside
Inside the tower, a painted inscription records maintenance on 8 August 1963 by the steamship I. Bering — a dated trace of care inside an already abandoned structure.
- 2011–2014Ground fire
Archive articles agree that a ground fire on the island destroyed the lighthouse. Sources differ on timing — approximately 2011–2012 versus 2014 — and the exact year remains open in Research mode.
- 2013+A name, a daughter, a dream
Vasily and his wife had visited the lighthouse years before their daughter Vasilisa was born in 2013 — the same period when the tower burned. The shared name drew the family toward restoring the light; the dream remains unrealized.
- todayModels and memory
The Mayachnik project built accurate 1:200 and 1:100 models, produced a video walkthrough, and showed the lighthouse at the 2016 Lighthouse Festival in Petropavlovka — carrying what the tower no longer can.
In brief
A striped wood tower on Vasilisin Island in Lake Onega was destroyed by ground fire circa 2011–2014. Archive sources, models, and a family preservation project keep its memory alive.
Journey Map
Historical position of the Vasilisin lighthouse on Ostrov Vasilisin, Lake Onega (61°48.4'N 35°41.4'E).
Loading detailed map...
- 1
Ostrov VasilisinOrigin
A four-stage square wooden tower with black-and-white vertical stripes stood on Vasilisin Island; construction date is unknown in the archive.
Places in this journey
- Island lighthouse siteOstrov Vasilisin
Why this journey matters
Not every lost lighthouse is a coastal giant. Inland lights on islands like Vasilisin can vanish quietly when fires take abandoned structures — leaving only photographs, models, and family memory.
This journey separates verified archive claims about the fire from interpretive family testimony about restoration dreams.
Russian and English story layers help share a Lake Onega case that connects public heritage with personal preservation work.
24 m tower1 lost island light2 model scales (1:200 and 1:100)
Interactive Movement Timeline
OriginUnknown — Tower on the island
A four-stage square wooden tower with black-and-white vertical stripes stood on Vasilisin Island; construction date is unknown in the archive.
Evidence: 2 sourcesConfidence: mediumPlace: Ostrov VasilisinObjects: Vasilisin lighthouse towerSources: ВасилисинLoss2011–2014 — Ground fire
Archive sources say a ground fire on the island destroyed the lighthouse; exact year remains disputed between approximately 2011–2012 and 2014.
Evidence: 2 sourcesConfidence: mediumPlace: Ostrov VasilisinObjects: Vasilisin lighthouse towerSources: Василисин
Relationship Graph
This graph traces a lost lake light: installation on Vasilisin Island, decades of abandonment, ground-fire destruction, and memory preserved through models and archive sources.
Evidence
Official and object-specific sources carry the strongest confidence; secondary sources are shown as corroborating context.
| Relationship | Objects | Date | Confidence | Review | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Installed atHERITAGE-REL-000104 | Vasilisin lighthouse towertoOstrov Vasilisin | unknown | medium | accepted | Василисин, Маяк моряку - что тропа ходоку |
| DestroyedHERITAGE-REL-000019 | Vasilisin lighthouse towertoOstrov Vasilisin | 2011 – 2014 | medium | accepted | Василисин, Маячный фестиваль в Петропавловке |
Source Baseline
- Василисин lighthouse recordarchive_node
- Маяк моряку - что тропа ходоку — Остров Василисинarchive_node
- Модели маяков — Vasilisin modelsarchive_node
- Маячный фестиваль в Петропавловкеarchive_node
- Об истории и развитии маячного дела в Россииarchive_node
Identity Changes
- Operational island lightThe tower served as a navigational mark on Lake Onega with distinctive vertical daymark stripes.
- Abandoned structureArchive text describes an abandoned lighthouse familiar to yachtsmen after the meteo station closed.
- Destroyed / memory objectGround fire destroyed the tower circa 2011–2014; models, video walks, and festival dioramas preserve its memory.
Current Status
- The Vasilisin tower is modeled as destroyed; no structure remains at the island site.
- Accepted field claim records status утрачен (lost) with approximate loss window 2011–2014.
- Mayachnik project models and video walkthrough carry public memory of the tower.
Open Questions
Research still in progress — these do not affect accepted relationships above.
- Exact destruction year — archive sources cite approximately 2011–2012 versus 2014.
- Original construction or commissioning date (unknown in archive).
- Whether physical restoration of the tower remains feasible.
Why LUX?
Lost Lights need memory objects as much as demolition dates. Models, festival dioramas, and family projects are part of how heritage survives after the tower is gone.
The archive keeps disputed loss dating visible instead of flattening 2011–2012 and 2014 into a false precision.
Story and Research views keep public narrative and source tables on one URL.
Rights & Attribution
Content License
Original editorial content on this page: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International. See Rights & Reuse.
Media Rights
- The black-and-white striped wooden Vasilisin lighthouse tower in a forest clearing. · Rights status: Unknown · License: Project archive · Third-party material
- The full height of the Vasilisin lighthouse tower seen from the ground. · Rights status: Unknown · License: Third-party expedition photo · Third-party material
- Vasilisin lighthouse seen from the water. · Rights status: Unknown · License: Family collection · Third-party material
- 1963 maintenance inscription inside the Vasilisin tower. · Rights status: Unknown · License: Third-party expedition photo · Third-party material
- Watercolor illustration of Vasilisa in a striped lighthouse-pattern dress beside a model tower. · Rights status: Unknown · License: Project illustration · Third-party material
- 3D model of the Vasilisin lighthouse for the video walkthrough. · Rights status: Unknown · License: Project archive · Third-party material
- Low-angle view of the Vasilisin striped tower against the sky. · Rights status: Unknown · License: Family collection · Third-party material
Attribution
"Vasilisin" · vasilisin-lost-light · © LUX143 · Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International · https://light.lux143.org/heritage-journeys/vasilisin-lost-light/ Vasilisin lighthouse tower — Mayachnik archive · Rights status: Unknown · Project archive · Source: Mayachnik archive Vasilisin tower full height — Trans-Onega 2013 · Rights status: Unknown · Third-party expedition photo · Source: LiveJournal archive Vasilisin from the lake — Korablev family collection · Rights status: Unknown · Family collection · Source: Korablev family collection Interior inscription 1963 — Trans-Onega 2013 · Rights status: Unknown · Third-party expedition photo · Source: LiveJournal archive Vasilisa family memory — LUX interpretative illustration · Rights status: Unknown · Project illustration · Source: Interpretative watercolor after Korablev family photograph Vasilisin 3D model — Mayachnik project · Rights status: Unknown · Project archive · Source: Mayachnik project Vasilisin low angle — Korablev family collection · Rights status: Unknown · Family collection · Source: Korablev family collection
Citation
LUX Light Archive, Heritage journey: "Vasilisin", vasilisin-lost-light, https://light.lux143.org/heritage-journeys/vasilisin-lost-light/, accessed 2026-07-03, archive v0.24.42.