The Brandaris is a lighthouse on the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Wadden Sea island Terschelling, in

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

. It is the oldest lighthouse in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, listed as a Rijksmonument, number 35032 and rated with a very high historical value.

History

The first tower was built in 1323 to guide ships on their way to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, through the

Zuiderzee The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee'') was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands, extending about 100 km (60 miles) inland and at most 50 km (30 miles) wide, with an o ...

, the narrow opening between

Vlieland Vlieland (; fry, Flylân) is a municipality and island in the northern Netherlands. The municipality of Vlieland is the second most sparsely populated municipality in the Netherlands, after Schiermonnikoog. Vlieland is one of the West Frisia ...

and Terschelling. A good position marking was necessary because many islands in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

look very similar. When the sea flooded Terschelling in

1570 __NOTOC__ Year 1570 ( MDLXX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 8 – Ivan the Terrible begins the Massacre of Novgorod. * Janua ...

the tower was completely destroyed. In 1592 the construction of a new tower was started, but it collapsed before it was finished because bad building materials had been used. The current tower was built in 1594. In 1837 the tower was the first lighthouse in the Netherlands to be equipped with a rotating

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the c ...

Electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...

took place in 1907. Today, the light in the tower is controlled fully automatically.

Description

Brandaris is the oldest preserved tower specifically built as a lighthouse in the Netherlands. In 1907 it was the first lighthouse in the Netherlands to be fitted with electric lighting. Brandaris is specially equipped to prevent birds from flying against the tower.

Name

The name of this tower may be a reference to Saint Brendan of Clonfert. There is also a Dutch

rolling tobacco Shag, also known as rolling tobacco or loose tobacco is fine-cut tobacco, used to make self-made cigarettes by hand rolling the tobacco into rolling paper or injecting it into filter tubes. It got its name from the finely cut strands appearing li ...

brand , classified as heavy, containing of tar and of nicotine per of tobacco.

References

External links

Lighthouse Brandaris Terschelling
In: ''terschelling.org''
Lighthouse Explorer
{{Authority control Lighthouses in Friesland Terschelling Rijksmonuments in Friesland Lighthouses completed in 1323 Towers completed in the 14th century Lighthouses completed in 1594 Towers completed in 1594

History

Description

Name

See also

References

External links