Lighthouses of the Polish coast

(autotranslated, could have mistakes)

Author: Victor Prilutsky (photo by the author).

Published with the kind permission of the author

There are several sea lighthouses on the Polish coast, 16 of which are still operational. Here are their names, starting from the east of Poland: Krynica Morska, Port Północny (Gdańsk), Sopot, Hel, Jastarnia, Rozewie, Stilo, Czołpino, Ustka, Jarosławiec, Darłówo, Gąski, Kołobrzeg, Niechorze, Kikut, Świnoujście. Also interesting are the currently inactive lighthouses located in Gdansk, Nowy Port and the lighthouse on Górze Szwedów (eastern part of the Hel Spit). In Poland, visiting lighthouses among residents and tourists arouses great interest. The so-called “lighthouse route” (Polish: “Szlak Latarni Morskich”), with a length of more than 500 km, has been created for them.

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Route map (http://podroze.gazeta.pl/podroze)

This route can be completed in stages. So in August of this year I decided to start by visiting 4 lighthouses: Rozewie, Stilo, Czołpino, Ustka. My Polish colleague, a member of the Society of Lighthouse Lovers and the author of many printed publications, Apoloniusz Lyseiko, kindly helped me with this.

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Ustka

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Ustka Lighthouse (German: Stolpmünde) on a pre-war postcard from the Klausa Hülse collection

• Tower height: 19.5 m.

• Fire height: 22.5m. (above sea level)

• Characteristics of fire: OcW6s (eclipsed white period 6 sec.) Darkness 2s-light 4 s.

• Fire visibility range: 18 mm (33 km)

• Coordinates: 54° 35' 28'' N,16°51′27″E

Brief history of the lighthouse

-1871 A mast was erected at the lighthouse station, onto which an oil lantern with a Fresnel lens was raised. The lantern shone a red light for a distance of approximately 6 nautical miles [Mm], and the height of the light was 11.6 m above sea level.

• 1892. A new pilot station was built from red facing bricks with an octagonal tower adjacent to the western side of the building. At the top of the tower, optics with a more modern lens were installed in the lantern, but the characteristics of the fire, its height and visibility range remained unchanged.

-1904 Changed the light characteristic to eclipse white. In this form, the lighthouse has survived to this day.

• 1945 November 15, re-introduction of the lighthouse after the end of World War II.

• in 1947, on January 1, the name of the lighthouse was changed from Postomino to Ustka.

The sea lighthouse in Ustka stands at the base of the eastern pier, which protects the entrance to the port, which lies at the mouth of the Słupia River on the Baltic. For centuries, Ustka was the sea window to the world for Slupsk, which in the 14th century belonged to the League of Hanseatic Cities and played a major role in Pomerania. In 1831, Slupsk sold the port in Ustka to Prussia and from that time on, the planned development of the Slupsk port, and especially its port facilities, began. Now the lighthouse optics consists of a Class V Fresnel apparatus (diameter 1120mm and height 920mm). The light source is two (one spare) halogen lamps, each with a power of 1000 W. The lighthouse has been open to the public since 1992.

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Photo 1 Modern view of the lighthouse

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Photo 2 View from the eastern pier

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Photo 3 Waves rolling onto the pier from NW

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Photo 4 Staircase at the lighthouse

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Photo 5 Steps

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Photo 6 Lighthouse Lens

Czolpino

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Lighthouse Cholpino (German: Scholpin)

• Tower height: 25.2 m.

• Fire height: 75m. (above sea level)

• Fire characteristic: Oc(2)W8s (eclipsing white period 8 sec.) Tem.2s-st.1s-tem.2s-st.3s

• Fire visibility range: 22 mm (40 km)

• Coordinates: 54° 43' 10'' N,17°14′47″E

Brief history of the lighthouse

-1872 The decision was made to build a lighthouse based on a project developed by engineer E. Kummer. The chosen location made it impossible for years to transport building materials by land, and therefore a special platform was built onto which the necessary building materials supplied by barges were unloaded. In this regard, the construction of the lighthouse in Cholpino lasted three years. A round tower of red brick was built. The diameter of the tower at the base is 7 m, and at the top, below the gallery, 6.2 m.

• in 1875, January 15, the lighthouse began operating. Initially, the lighthouse was equipped with oil lamps that used approximately 3,600 kg of mineral oil annually. In the period between the wars, oil lamps were replaced by electric lamps. Now the optical device consists of a Class I cylindrical Fresnel apparatus, manufactured in France in 1926. It consists of 215 polished prismatic elements arranged in 5 columns. The diameter of the device is 1800mm and the height is 2750mm. Inside the lens are two 1000-watt light bulbs, which are turned on via a photocell.

• in 1945. On December 7, after the war, the light of the lighthouse in Cholpino was lit again and continues to shine until today.

• in 1994, the lighthouse was opened to the public, thanks to which from the height of its tower you can see the beauty of the Słowinski National Park spreading around, as well as the moving dunes lying nearby.

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Photo 7 Scheme of Słowinski National Park

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Photo 8 Lighthouse Keepers' Estate

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Photo 9 Lighthouse in Cholpino

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Photo 10 Forest road to the lighthouse

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Photo 11 View from the lighthouse to Mount Rovokul (115m)

ENTRANCE

The lighthouse can be reached by following the path marked from the parking lot (about 1 km) of the Słowinski National Park, which is approached from the Smołdzina side.

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Photo 12 View of the lantern and dunes

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Photo 13 Light apparatus

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Photo 14 Author inside the lens

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Photo 15 Stairs of the lighthouse in Cholpino

Stilo

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Postcard showing a view of the lighthouse circa 1920.

• Tower height: 33.4 m.

• Fire height: 75m. (above sea level)

• Characteristics of fire: Fl (3)W12s (flash group white period 12 sec.)

• 0.3(2.2) 0.3(2.2) 0.3(6.7)=12sec.

• Fire visibility range: 23.5 mm (43.5 km)

• Coordinates: 54° 47' 21'' N,17°44′04″E

Brief history of the lighthouse

• 1904-1906 construction of the lighthouse. The total cost of construction was 81,800 marks, of which 10,000 marks cost the optical apparatus.

-1926 a 2000 W electric lamp and a backup gas fire source were installed

• 1945 - 1948 maintenance of the lighthouse by soldiers of the WOP (border protection troops) and sailors of the navy.

• 1975 lighting changed to reflector bulbs placed in 3 panels (8 bulbs each) on the turntable. The old lighthouse reflector with a Fresnel lens is now an exhibit of the lighthouse museum in Rozyv.

• 1992 opening of the lighthouse for visiting

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Photo 16 Lighthouse in Stilo

The construction of the lighthouse was carried out according to the design of Walter Körte from Berlin. All construction elements were delivered by sea. Prefabricated steel elements connected to each other with bolts were mounted on a foundation made of concrete and stones. The height of each element was 95 cm and the thickness was 2 cm. The joints of the elements were sealed with tin. The inside of the structure is covered with cork, painted white. The horizontal plan shows that the lighthouse tower has 16 corners. The greatest width at the base is 7.3 meters, and at the top under the lantern it is 3.7 m. The tower is crowned with two galleries and a conical roof. The body is painted in three belts, black, white and red, starting from the bottom. There are three lighthouses of this type of design in the world, two of them in Europe, including Stilo. I would like to note that currently working at the lighthouse together with her husband is a woman caretaker, Veronika Lozicka, the daughter of a corporal of the Border Zone Guard Troops in 1945-48. Since 1948, her father-in-law, Stefan Lozicki, has been the caretaker at the lighthouse for 33 years, and her husband Romuald has been working here since 1979.

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Photo 17 Staircase with tower design elements

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Photo 18 Lighting apparatus and ventilation system

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Photo 19 View from the side of the technical building 1926.

ENTRANCE

The lighthouse is located on a hill about 1 km from the seashore in the village of Stilo (on some maps there is the name Osetnik). The best way to get there is along road No. 213 in the direction of Wicko, along the way you need to turn onto the road to Sasino and further to Stilo.

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Photo 20 A memorial sign on the wall for the 100th anniversary of the lighthouse and a staircase

Rozewie

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Old and new lighthouse in Rosew (German: Rixhoft) on an old postcard from the 19th century.

• Tower height: 32.7 m.

• Fire height: 83.2m. (above sea level)

• Light characteristic: Fl W3s (flashing white period 3 sec.)

• 0.1(2.9) =3sec.

• Fire visibility range: 26 mm (48.1 km)

• Coordinates: 54° 49' 82'' N,18°20′18″E

Brief history of the lighthouse

• in 1696, a Swedish map was published - the oldest document confirming the existence of a lighthouse in Rozyv. According to legend, the first lighthouse keeper was the daughter of a Swedish captain, who was rescued in this place by fishermen. Since that time, sailors were warned against danger by the fire kindled by it at the edge of the shore.

• 1822, November 15, the first 16-meter lighthouse with 15 Argand lamps was put into operation.

-1875, in order to distinguish the fire in Rozyv from the fire at the lighthouse in Cholpino, another 16 m lighthouse was built

• 1866 The light on the old lighthouse was modernized. A class I Fresnel apparatus was installed and the Argand lamps were replaced by a rapeseed oil burner, and from 1877 a kerosene lamp was used.

• in 1910, a new lighthouse was modernized and raised by 5 m.

• in 1919 it was forbidden to use double markings for the lighthouse in Rozyv and the old lighthouse was turned off.

• 1945 a transmitter was installed and, in addition to the light signal, provides an RO signal according to Morse code.

• in 1972, by decision of the Voivodeship Committee for the Restoration of Monuments, the lighthouse was included in the register of architectural monuments.

• 1978, the lighthouse was raised 8 m because growing beech trees began to obscure the light. The old revolving mechanism was also replaced along with the lens with a double-sided panel containing 20 halogen reflector lamps on each side and mounted on the revolving table.

• in 1994, a GPS station was installed, allowing one to determine the position of the vessel with an accuracy of 5-10 meters.

Now the lighthouse museum has been located at the lighthouse since 1964. The museum contains an old reflector from the Stylo lighthouse with a Fresnel lens, navigation lights and models of lighthouses, starting with the ancient lighthouse on the island of Pharos. On the wall of the tower hangs a plaque in memory of Leon Vzork, the lighthouse keeper who remained at his post in September 1939, despite the German advance. On September 11, he was arrested and shot by the Germans. The lighthouse is named after the famous Polish writer Stefan Żeromski. Near the entrance there is a copy of a memorial plaque from 1933, which was destroyed during the war. The adjacent building with a brick chimney contains an old power station with a locomotive, opened to visitor access in 2006, and there are navigation signs near the lighthouse.

ENTRANCE

About 3 km by road No. 215 from Jastrzębiej Góry to Władysławowa. There is a parking lot near the lighthouse where you can leave your car.

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Photo 21 Lighthouses accessible to visitors through the Society of Friends of the Maritime Museum in Gdańsk

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Photo 22 View of the lighthouse in Rozyv

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Photo 23 Light apparatus of the Rozyve lighthouse (behind the glass is the “new” lighthouse)

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Photo 24 Turning on the light

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Photo 25 Staircase to the lighthouse

List of used literature:

• M.Czerner “Latarnie morskie polskiego wybrzeza” Poznan 1986

• A.Lysejko “Polish latarnie morskie” Wroclaw 2012

• K.Bielicki “Latarnie polskiego wybrzeza” Gdynia 2010

• “Admiralty List of Lights and Fog Signals” 2011/12 Vol.C