Lågskär Lighthouse is an automated

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 ...

located on the north side of

Lågskär Lågskär (Swedish for "low skerry") is a small island within the Åland's archipelago of Finland. It belongs to the municipality of Lemland. It is situated about south of Mariehamn in the Baltic's Sea of Åland. The main island of Lågskär ...

, one of Finland's

Åland Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1 ...

in the Sea of Åland of the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...

. It is the only striking feature on Lågskär on the generally uninhabited island. The lighthouse is designed as a concrete tower, square in shape, with a lantern and gallery. The lens has a focal plane of with white light flashing every 12 seconds. The light has run on

wind power Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to electricity generation, generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable energy, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller Environmental impact of wi ...

since 1986. While the ground floor of the site is open, the tower itself is closed. It is maintained by the Finnish Maritime Administration, and the buildings are often let out to ornithologists studying on the island.

History

A wooden lighthouse was built in 1840 on northwestern tip of the island and was rebuilt in 1859 as a masonry structure. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, it was destroyed by Russian bombardment. A temporary structure was erected thereafter. The present lighthouse was constructed in 1920. It introduced a rotating gas lighting device, which was the first of its kind in the world. There is a commemorative postage stamp of the Lågskär Lighthouse, part of Åland's "Lighthouses series", with a denomination of 2.10

Finnish markka The markka ( fi, markka; sv, mark; sign: Mk; ISO code: FIM, typically known outside Finland as the Finnish mark) was the currency of Finland from 1860 until 28 February 2002, when it ceased to be legal tender. The mark was divided into 100 pe ...

(fm). It was issued on 8 May 1992 and remained valid until 30 June 2002.

Architecture and features

The light is designed as a concrete tower, square in shape, with a lantern and gallery. The tower is painted red and the lantern white. There is also a -storey keeper's house and other light station buildings. It is a functional navigational guide and has a range of . The lens has a focal plane of with white light flashing every 12 seconds. The lighthouse has run on

since 1986. Since automation, the outbuildings and the tower have been used as an ornithological station.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lagskar Lighthouse Lighthouses in Finland Buildings and structures in Åland Buildings and structures completed in 1840 Lighthouses completed in 1840 Lighthouses completed in 1920

History

Architecture and features

See also

References

External links