Île Vierge (

Breton language Breton (, ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albeit as a member of t ...

: ''Enez-Werc'h'') is a islet lying off the north-west coast of Brittany, opposite the village of Lilia. It is in the commune of

Plouguerneau Plouguerneau (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. International relations The commune is twinned with a number of villages in South East Cornwall, England, including: * St Germans, UK * Ti ...

, in the département of Finistère. It is the location of the tallest stone

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

in Europe, and the tallest "traditional lighthouse" in the world. The International Hydrographic Organization specifies Île Vierge as marking the south-western limit of the English Channel.

History

About 1450, the Conventual Franciscans established an abbey on the island. The name "Île Vierge" probably comes from a chapel dedicated to the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

. In 1507, the monks moved to Aber Wrac'h on the mainland. In 1844, the French state purchased the island from sieur Goyon de Coëpel for 6,000 francs.

The lighthouses

The first lighthouse was a square tower high constructed in 1842–45. It started operation on 15 August 1845,

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

of the

Assumption of the Virgin The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Catholic_Mariology#Dogmatic_teachings, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and d ...

. It had a fixed white light visible for . It remained in use while the second lighthouse was under construction in 1896–1902. A

foghorn A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. W ...

was installed in 1952, replaced in 1993 by an electric beacon. The newer lighthouse is tall, made of blocks of granite. The external face is a truncated cone; the interior face is cylindrical, lined with 12,500 opaline glass tiles made by Saint-Gobain. There are five steps to the front door; inside, 360 steps of stone and 32 of iron lead to the lamp platform. The electric lamp was installed in 1952 on the original mechanical turning plate, sitting in a bath of

mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

. The plate was replaced with an electric motor in 1983. The lamp has four lenses with a

focal length The focal length of an optical system is a measure of how strongly the system converges or diverges light; it is the inverse of the system's optical power. A positive focal length indicates that a system converges light, while a negative foca ...

of 0.5m. The twin beam gives a white flash every 5 seconds, visible for . Electrical generators were installed in 1959, supplemented in 1967–1994 by two wind turbines. The light and rotation are activated automatically by a photoelectric sensor. Although the lighthouse is automated, the site is still staffed. The island is open to the public from April to September, as is the lighthouse, by appointment. The number of visitors was 5,944 in 2003; 5,974 in 2004; 7,371 in 2005. Both lighthouses are a listed monument since 2011.

Notes

External links

*
Ile Vierge, the highest lighthouse in Europe
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ile Vierge Vierge Lighthouses in Brittany Lighthouses completed in 1845 Lighthouses completed in 1902 Landforms of Finistère Tourist attractions in Finistère Monuments historiques of Finistère Round towers

History

The lighthouses

See also

Notes

External links