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CHAUDI LIGHTHOUSE

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(autotranslated, could have mistakes)

Cape Chauda, ​​whose name is given by the lighthouse installed on it, is the eastern entrance cape of the Feodosia Gulf. It is low, flat, steep, surrounded by a narrow rock reef.

The decision to install a light beacon on the cape was made in 1862 after several ships crashed one after another on the reefs off its coast at night in inclement weather. Disasters have happened here before, but these were associated with large human casualties, and therefore attracted everyone's attention.

The sinking of the Russian steamship Orest was especially tragic. On the night of December 3–4, with a strong northeast wind with a frost of 16° and thick sea fumes, he ran aground near the cape. The crew and passengers managed to get ashore, but this did not save them: 30 people soon died from the cold, the rest were very badly injured.

The commission investigating the causes of the disaster came to the conclusion that this and other disasters that occurred in this place in previous years occurred due to the absence of a lighthouse on the cape. The investigative report said: “If a 1st category lighthouse was built on Cape Chauda, ​​rising 100 feet from the surface of the sea, then its light

“b would have protected the transport “Abin” and the steamship “Orest” from crashing, despite the unfavorable atmospheric conditions” [122].

The Directorate of Lighthouses of the Black and Azov Seas hastily developed a lighthouse project and submitted it to the Marine Technical Committee, where it was approved. However, there were no funds in the treasury for this lighthouse, and its construction was “temporarily” postponed. It was built only more than 20 years after the events described - on August 18, 1888, it began regular lighting.

The Hydrographic Department in the Pilot's Notes for 1888 reported that the lighthouse is intended "... to prevent accidents with ships sailing into the Kerch Strait, and will make it easier for ships to approach Feodosia. The white lighthouse building, consisting of a one-story residential building and a tetrahedral tower attached to it in the middle, was built from rubble stone with external cladding with Kerch Guryev piece stone. The height of the tower from the base is 37 feet, the height of the fire from sea level is 121 feet. The fire is constant white with flashes of white and red alternately every minute. The mathematical horizon of the fire is 12.6 miles.”

In the 1892 edition of the “Login of the Black and Azov Seas” it was noted that the light of the lighthouse is very bright

, thanks to the use of a lamp of 6 concentric luminaires, and in clear weather can be visible even at a distance of up to 20 miles.

From the first days of its opening, meteorological observations were carried out at the lighthouse, the data of which was reported daily to Feodosia by telephone.

On December 30, 1909, the newspaper "Odessa Listok" wrote: "Navigation along the Crimean-Caucasian line is fraught with great danger due to the lack of sound signals. With the onset of winter, when strong north-eastern winds prevail with significant frosts causing evaporation and fog, with strong snowstorms hiding the light of the lighthouses, the corner adjacent to Kerch the strait is one of the most dangerous for sailors... It is extremely necessary to install sound signals at the Kyz-Aul, Chaudinsky lighthouses and near Feodosia.”

The Main Hydrographic Directorate ordered special studies to be carried out on the approach to Feodosia to select a location for installing sirens. They showed that the best place for the siren is Cape St. Elias. It was considered inappropriate to install an additional siren at Cape Chauda. The siren at the selected location was put into operation in 1910.

Stubborn battles during the Great Patriotic War for the Crimea and the North Caucasus

The lighthouse was seriously injured, but overall the building was preserved. In 1956 it was reconstructed. Currently, the lighthouse, equipped with a modern electric light-optical apparatus, shines with a long-flashing white light, providing a visibility range of up to 17 miles.

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LUX Light Archive, Archive record: "CHAUDI LIGHTHOUSE", , https://light.lux143.org/node/1311/, accessed 2026-07-03, archive v0.24.42.

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