Harmaja ( sv, Gråhara) is an island and a
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 ...
outside
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, south of the
Suomenlinna
Suomenlinna (; until 1918 Viapori, ), or Sveaborg (), is an inhabited sea fortress the Suomenlinna district is on eight islands of which six have been fortified; it is about 4 km southeast of the city center of Helsinki, the capital of Finla ...
sea fortress. The island has been functioning as a landmark since the 16th century. A landmark structure was built on the island in the 18th century and a light house in 1883.
The first lighthouse was only 7.3 m high and it soon proved to be too low. In 1900 the height was doubled by creating a rectangular brick building on a granite base. A large
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 ...
alerted ships in fog and in bad visibility. Harmaja received the world's first directed and undirected radio beacon in 1936. The lighthouse is fully automated today.
There is also a
pilot station
Pilot Station ( esu, Tuutalgaq) is a city in Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 568 at the 2010 census, up from 550 in 2000.
Geography
Pilot Station is located at (61.936050, -162.883403), on the northern bank of t ...
on the island.
During the
1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...
this was the center of the
Olympic sailing event.
See also
*
Helsinki Lighthouse
The Helsinki Lighthouse (Finnish: ''Helsingin majakka''; also commonly known as ''Helsingin kasuuni'' — Swedish: ''Helsingfors fyra''; ''Helsingfors kassun'') is a caisson-type lighthouse located in the Gulf of Finland, due south of West Har ...
References
External links
1952 Summer Olympics official report.p. 58.
Finnish Maritime Administration: Harmajan majakka
Venues of the 1952 Summer Olympics
Olympic sailing venues
Lighthouses completed in 1883
Lighthouses completed in 1900
Lighthouses in Finland
Buildings and structures in Helsinki
Islands of Helsinki
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