GORODETSKY LIGHTHOUSE

(autotranslated, could have mistakes)

In the northeastern part of the Kola Peninsula, between capes Bolshoy Gorodetsky and Maly Gorodetsky, Gorodetskaya Bay juts into the coast. Since ancient times, ships traveling from the Barents Sea to the White Sea and back have found shelter in it. The Guba still serves as an anchorage for fishing fleet vessels, which enter mainly its inner part. Bolshoi Gorodetsky Cape has a light color of soil and therefore is also called White, and Maly Gorodetsky, located 1.5 miles southeast of Bolshoy, is gray in color and is called Black.

The Pomor pilot's guide (see the essay “Abramovsky”) gave the following recommendations about sailing on the approaches to the Gorodetsky camp, located on the shore of the bay: “Go into it about the Russian canopy cleanly, to the left of the corgs only you know - there are a lot of underwater corgis; lower them into the water; and between the corgis, move to the right in a small number; stand against the two crosses, which are on the Russian side (eastern coast Kola Peninsula. -Auth.);

In January 1828, Lieutenant M. F. Reinecke (later vice admiral, head of the Hydrographic Department), who carried out hydrographic surveys of the northern coasts of Russia, sent the following report to the hydrograph general, Vice Admiral G. A. Sarychev: “During my repeated voyages in the Barents Sea, I noticed a great similarity in the views of capes Gorodetsky and Svyatoy (meaning Cape Saint Nos. -Auth.), which is why navigators do not distinguish one from another, especially in unclear weather and from a mistake they are susceptible to an unpleasant situation, and sometimes even death. To avert these disastrous consequences, it is necessary to mark one of these capes by erecting a wooden tower on it, similar to the Oryol or Pulong one.”

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Coast of the Kola Peninsula in the area of Gorodetskaya Bay

Sarychev decided to erect a tower on Cape Svyatonossky (see the essay “Svyatonossky”), and the Gorodetsky capes remained unfenced until 1876.

In 1871, the Hydrographic Department applied to the Maritime Ministry for permission to plan the construction of a light beacon on Cape Maly Gorodetsky, and while design and preparatory work was being carried out, to install a temporary day sign on the cape. It was supposed to use the northern tower of the Mudyug lighthouse, which was decided to be abolished (see the essay “Mudyugsky”).

In 1873, the disassembled tower was delivered to Arkhangelsk, where it was rebuilt, replacing unusable parts with new ones. In 1876, it was installed on the Maly Gorodetsky Cape, 260 m from the edge of the coast at an altitude of 30 m from sea level. The tower was a wooden triangular pyramid with a roof covered with boards with gaps.

In 1894, the Hydrographic Department presented two projects for the Gorodets lighthouse to the Marine Technical Committee: a capital stone one in the form of a residential building connected to a tower, and in the form of a one-story house with a winch-lifted lantern in an iron frame. The lighthouse was supposed to ensure the safety of the entrance to the White Sea from the north with variable strong currents and navigation in the narrow passage between the shore and the Oryol cats. The construction cost for the first project was 34,010 rubles, for the second - 3,812 rubles.

The Marine Technical Committee approved the construction of a stone lighthouse, noting that the lighthouse is remote from populated areas and will be built in a desert area, and therefore the estimate needs to be increased.

The Maritime Ministry doubted the need to build such an expensive lighthouse in a “desert place” and delayed the final approval of the project.

The resolution of the issue was accelerated by the consideration by the Committee of Ministers of the report of the Arkhangelsk governor for 1894. In it, the governor, in particular, noted: "The absence of any rescue facility, pilotage marks and lighthouses along the shores of the Murmansk coast forced me to initiate a petition for the establishment of such, especially since the early approaching autumn dark evenings and autumn storms coincide precisely with the return of industrialists home and can easily lead to wrecks and deaths. Only thanks to the courage of the Pomeranian industrialists, their knowledge of the shores and habits of the sea should be attributed the fact that there are relatively few accidents. Nowadays... The Maritime Ministry has identified points where it is planned to install lighthouses and distinctive lights” [10].

Emperor Nicholas II personally emphasized the words about the absence of lighthouses. It had an effect. Permission to build a stone lighthouse was received. In 1896, they began choosing a location for the buildings. We stopped at the top of Mount Sazonova, where a wooden tower previously stood. The construction was led by retired Major General Gakkel, who built lighthouses on the White Sea.

The house with a tower that rose above the middle of the roof was built from local stone and materials delivered from Arkhangelsk. Wooden buildings (a bathhouse, storerooms, a house for the caretaker and service personnel) were roughly cut down in Arkhangelsk by the Directorate of White Sea Lighthouses and sent to the Tersky Coast on private ships chartered by Gakkel.

The main work was completed in the summer of 1897, but it was not possible to complete it that same year, since the steamer “George” with a cargo of building materials intended for the final finishing of the lighthouse was shipwrecked due to loss of geographical location and sank. The lighthouse was completed in 1898.

For the first time, a ray of light illuminated the sea near Cape Maly Gorodetsky on September 20, 1898. In the lighthouse tower of an octagonal shape, painted with white and red vertical stripes, a rotating lighting apparatus of the “fire-lightning” type of the 3rd category was installed, shining from a height of 16 m from the base and 55 m from sea level with a white group flashing light for a distance of up to 14 miles.

In the same 1898, 6 km from the lighthouse on Cape Bolshoy Gorodetsky, a pneumatic siren with a kerosene engine was installed in a wooden house. A separate wooden house and bathhouse were built for the team serving it.

In 1901, the lighthouse's lighting apparatus burned down. We bought a new one in Paris and planned to deliver it to the lighthouse on the Merkur steamship. However, due to someone's negligence, they were late in loading the lighting equipment - the ship left with clothes and food for the lighthouse workers, but without the lighting apparatus. Instead of punishing the sluggish official, he had to be thanked, since the steamship “Merkur”, before reaching the Kola Peninsula, sank with all its property. The equipment was installed at the lighthouse only the following year, 1903.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the lighthouse was serviced by a keeper and three freelance employees with their families. Later the number of service personnel was increased to 6 people. It was difficult to serve, since there were no settlements nearby. Occasionally it was possible to go to the village of Ponoy, located several dozen miles away at the mouth of the river of the same name. But such long walks, especially in winter, sometimes ended tragically: in 1909, a lighthouse keeper almost died from frostbite, and in 1912, the wife of a siren driver froze to death.

To make life easier for lighthouse workers, on the eve of the First World War, the lighthouse was connected by telephone to nearby settlements and a longboat was allocated to the keeper. In 1912, a rescue station was established at the lighthouse.

In 1919, there was a fire at the lighthouse again, which brought a lot of trouble. Despite the devastation in the country, by 1921 the lighthouse was completely repaired and re-equipped - an acetylene lighting apparatus was installed on it, as a result of which the visibility range of the fire increased from 14 to 20 miles.

During the Great Patriotic War, ships and convoys of transport passed by the lighthouse. Already on August 31, 1941, the lighthouse helped the allied convoy of 6 transports and 12 escort ships pass safely into the White Sea. In total, in 1941, seven convoys consisting of 53 transports and 49 ships arrived at the ports of the White Sea. During this time, 4 convoys consisting of 47 transports and 25 escort ships proceeded to England.

The Nazis often and fiercely bombed this area and sent their submarines to the Throat of the White Sea. On October 18, 1941, in the area of ​​the Gorodetsky lighthouse, an enemy submarine sunk the Argun transport, which was traveling from Arkhangelsk to Iokanga. The Arguni team was picked up by the hydrographic vessel Mgla and taken to Arkhangelsk. The command of the White Sea Flotilla carried out a thorough analysis of the causes of the incident and made conclusions that served as the basis for improving the navigation support of the postings, in particular, increasing the number of handling points. The lighthouse was also bombed, but survived.

In the 1970s, a new lighthouse complex was built on Maly Gorodetsky Cape, which included a light beacon in the form of a stone tower rising above a red one-story house; lighthouse technical building with radio beacon equipment KRM-100 and nautofon LIEZH-300; two semi-detached residential buildings; warehouses for fuel and lubricants and household buildings. The height of the tower from the base is 18 m, and from sea level - 55 m. The lighthouse shines in the sector from 312 to 171 ° with a white flashing light for a distance of up to 26 miles.

Nikolai Fedoruk, who began his service at the White Sea lighthouses in 1961, has been the head of the lighthouse for more than 20 years. Working next to him are his wife Anna Stakhovna and his son Evgeniy and his daughter-in-law. The lighthouse reliably ensures the navigation of ships at the entrance to the Throat of the White Sea.