Ole Judichærs forslag til et tårn med vippefyr anno 1701

A bascule light or tipping lantern (Danish:''vippefyr'') was a type of small navigational aid popular in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

in the 18th century and before. It consisted of a basket in which wood or coal was set; this was then burned. The basket was affixed to a

bascule Bascule may refer to: * Bascule bridge, a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances the span in providing clearance for boat traffic * Bascule (horse), the arc a horse's body takes as it goes over a jump * Bascule light, a sma ...

that allowed it to be manipulated as required. (The bascule – from the French for "seesaw" – refers to the counterbalancing of the

lever A lever is a simple machine consisting of a beam or rigid rod pivoted at a fixed hinge, or ''fulcrum''. A lever is a rigid body capable of rotating on a point on itself. On the basis of the locations of fulcrum, load and effort, the lever is div ...

, which facilitates raising and lowering the basket; when one end is lowered the other is raised.) The ''vippefyr'' system was generally viewed as ineffective, as it produced little light and was usually unreliable.

Background

In 1560

Frederick II of Denmark Frederick II (1 July 1534 – 4 April 1588) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1559 until his death. A member of the House of Oldenburg, Frederick began his personal rule of Denmark-Norway at the age of ...

ordered the erection of beacons at Skagen, Anholt and

Kullen Lighthouse The Kullen Lighthouse ( sv, Kullens fyr) is an operational lighthouse in Scania, located by the mouth of Öresund, at the point of Kullaberg peninsula, in Höganäs, on the south-west coast of Sweden. Kullen is one of the most prominent landmark ...

to mark the main route through Danish waters from the North Sea to the Baltic. The current vippefyr at Skagen is a reproduction of the original, which dates back to 1626, preceding Frederick's decree. The design dates to 1624 and Jens Pedersen Groves. The lighthouse was originally built and funded by the Danish state with the proceeds of the

Sound Dues The Sound Dues (or Sound Tolls; da, Øresundstolden) were a toll on the use of the Øresund, or "Sound" strait separating the modern day borders of Denmark and Sweden. The tolls constituted up to two thirds of Denmark's state income in the 16th a ...

for the use of the "

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; da, Øresund ; sv, Öresund ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width v ...

", which King

Eric of Pomerania Eric of Pomerania (1381 or 1382 – 24 September 1459) was the ruler of the Kalmar Union from 1396 until 1439, succeeding his grandaunt, Queen Margaret I. He is known as Eric III as King of Norway (1389–1442), Eric VII as King of Denmark (1396 ...

introduced in 1429 and which remained in effect until 1857. In 1577, the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

astronomer Tycho Brahe became the lighthouse administrator at Kullen, a position he held until his death in 1601. The vippefyrs at Skagen, Anholt and Kullen were not the only such lights. For instance, in 1705 the Danish postal service established a bascule light on the island of Bågø in the Little Belt on the mail route Assens- Årøsund. The photo at left is a replica light built at

Verdens Ende Verdens Ende ("World's End", or "The End of the Earth" in NorwegianNickel, Phyllis and Hans Jakob Valderhaug (2017). ''Norwegian Cruising Guide—Vol 2: Sweden, West Coast and Norway, Swedish Border to Bergen''. Attainable Adventure Cruising Ltd. ...

, Norway. It is located on the southernmost tip of Tjøme, an island on the west side of the entrance to

Oslofjord The Oslofjord (, ; en, Oslo Fjord) is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the and lighthouses and down to in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the Nor ...

Gallery

File:SKG-Gammel-Fyr.JPG, Vippefyr, Skagen, Denmark. The vippefyr is a reconstruction of the original vippefyr which was built in 1626 File:Vippfyr.jpg, A vippfyr on Gärdet in Stockholm, 2022 File:Vippefyret-verdensende-tjome.JPG, Verdens Ende Light (Replica)

References

{{reflist

External links

Worldlights.com page
Navigational aids Lighthouses