INTS (INETSKY) LIGHTHOUSE

(autotranslated, could have mistakes)

Installed on the southern coast of the cape of the same name, located on the Winter Coast of the White Sea. The high, steep cape is easily recognized and serves as a good natural landmark for ships traveling along the Zimny ​​Coast.

This region has always been of great importance for the local population in terms of fishing. Along its banks and at the mouths of rivers flowing into the White Sea, a lot of fish were caught, of which salmon was considered the most valuable, then herring and navaga. In winter, when the White Sea is covered with alluvial ice floes, seals, seals and seals swim here from the northern latitudes. In the spring, southern winds and prevailing currents carry animals on the ice into the ocean. To hunt them, residents of the Winter and Terek coasts went to sea in boats with runners. To return home safely, they always needed landmarks.

In 1858, on one of the hills of the cape, 250 m from the edge of the coast, by order of the commander of the Arkhangelsk port, a navigation sign was installed. It was a white wooden pole 9 m high with supports and a black square board on top.

At the end of the 19th century, when the intensity of shipping in the White Sea increased and large ships began to visit its ports more and more often,

Northern sailors and owners of foreign ships began to persistently ask the Hydrographic Department to install a light beacon on Cape Intsy. These requests were heard, and the Hydrographic Department included the construction of a lighthouse in a 6-year (1892-1897) plan for the construction and re-equipment of lighthouses on the shores of the Russian seas.

The location for the tower was chosen by the director of the White Sea lighthouses, Colonel Vasiliev. He found the most suitable site for installing the tower to be on the top of a sandy hill, half a mile from the shore, where a watchtower built by fishermen had stood for a long time. She was looked after by residents of a nearby village, founded on the banks of the Intsy River back in 1830.

On August 8, 1900, the lighthouse began operating. It was an oblong, one-story red stone building, in the middle of which a red metal tower with a lantern at the top was erected above the roof.

The center of the 3rd class diopter light-optical apparatus was at a height of 17 m from the base and 34 m from sea level. The lighthouse shone a white, constant light for a distance of up to 12 miles. Lighting of the lighthouse began on July 15 and ended with the cessation of navigation. In addition, the lighthouse shone from February 1 to May 1 during the sea

Vera's catch.

The lighthouse was serviced by four civilian employees with their families. The first keeper was Ivan Vasilyevich Khromtsov, who laid the foundation for the Khromtsov lighthouse dynasty.

When choosing a site for the tower, Vasiliev apparently did not pay enough attention to the results of soil research in the area of ​​the site. Just two years after construction, it was noticed that the tower began to quickly settle. In 1905-1906 the foundation was strengthened, and in 1908 drainage was installed. But this did not help much; the building continued to settle, and cracks appeared in it. We had to do a major overhaul of the entire structure. The beacon apparatus was removed and installed on a temporary tower erected nearby. The old stone tower had to be completely dismantled and rebuilt. The new lighthouse with the same lantern structure began operating in 1913. In 1921, due to the action of groundwater, the lighthouse had to be rebuilt again, as the stone building began to collapse and the lighthouse tower fell. The work was carried out by the construction organization Archstromor, founded in February 1921. The house was secured with iron piles, and the tower was made of wood and taller than the previous one. The height of the fire from the base increased by 3 m and amounted to 20 m. Instead of conventional lamps, a kerosene-heating installation was installed in the lighting apparatus, due to which the visibility range of the fire increased to 14 miles.

Image removed from public review package. Local review only · not public no-info · image30.jpeg

Intsy Lighthouse

Soon after the opening of the lighthouse, a hydrometeorological station was established near it. Its specialists monitored sea conditions, water and air temperatures, visibility, as well as ice cover and bird migration. Observation data was transmitted daily by telephone to Arkhangelsk.

During the Great Patriotic War, the lighthouse, working in a special mode, reliably ensured the movement of convoys and transports to Arkhangelsk, and after the war it again took a peaceful watch. It currently shines a white flashing light up to 16 miles in a sector from 211.5 to 74.2°.

Almost the entire history of the lighthouse is connected with the Khromtsov lighthouse dynasty. Ivan Vasilyevich Khromtsov led the lighthouse from 1900 to 1913. In 1913, while rescuing sailors from a wrecked ship, he caught a cold, fell ill and died. He was replaced as caretaker by his wife, Kalista Ivanovna Khromtsova, a native Pomeranian, originally from Onega, mother of eleven children. Despite the great responsibility and difficult housekeeping, she became the first woman lighthouse keeper on the White Sea. All her sons linked their fate with the sea.

Archival documents preserve the report of Ivan Khromtsov (son of the founder of the dynasty), in which he lists the inhabitants of Ma

yak in 1920:

“Lighthouse keeper - Ivan Khromtsov, 45 years old;

Khromtsov's wife, 46 years old, employee;

Son of Khromtsov, 23 years old, employee;

Son of Khromtsov, 22 years old, employee;

Son of Khromtsov, 16 years old, employee;

Khromtsov’s daughter, 13 years old;

Khromtsov’s daughter, 8 years old;

Son of Khromtsov, 7 years old.”

The famous polar captain Nikolai Ivanovich Khromtsov spent his childhood at the lighthouse. Until recently, the grandchildren of Ivan Vasilyevich and Kalista Ivanovna kept watch at the Intsy lighthouse - Veniamin Vasilyevich was the caretaker, and his brother Alexander Vasilyevich worked at the lighthouse as a technician. Another grandson, Ivan Vasilyevich Khromtsov, has been working since 1959 in the Belomorsk section of the hydrographic service to the present day.

The Anufriev family has extensive experience working at the lighthouse. Valery Nikolaevich has been working at the lighthouse since 1969 (since 1985 - chief). After the tragic death of his wife during childbirth, he alone raised two sons, who currently work at the lighthouse with their father. Valery Nikolaevich’s brother Evgeniy Nikolaevich and his wife Svetlana Andreevna work next to them.