Russarö Lighthouse ( Finnish: ''Russarön majakka'',

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

: ''Russarö fyr'') is 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 ...

situated on the island of

Russarö Russarö is an island south of Hanko. The island is closed to the public as it is military area of the Finnish Defence Forces. The island hosts the five-storey Russarö Lighthouse built in 1863 and a Finnish Meteorological Institute weather stati ...

, outside Hanko, Finland, at the western extremity of the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...

in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. It is commonly known as ''Hangon silmä'' ( 'The Eye of Hanko'). Earlier unilluminated

daymark A daymark is a navigational aid for sailors and pilots, distinctively marked to maximize its visibility in daylight. The word is also used in a more specific, technical sense to refer to a signboard or daytime identifier that is attached to a ...

s and lighthouses existed on the spot, dating back to 1815. The current lighthouse was built in 1863, making it one of the oldest surviving lighthouses in Finland. It was the first in Finland to operate also during winter months, due to the

Port of Hanko The Port of Hanko is a cargo port in the city of Hanko, on the south coast of Finland. Situated almost at the tip of the Hanko Peninsula, it is the southernmost of all Finnish ports. Harbours The port comprises three areas: *Western harbour: 5 ...

being in the 19th century the only port open throughout the year. Constructed of bricks and mortar over a

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

base, the lighthouse is octagonal in shape and comprises five

storey A storey (British English) or story (American English) is any level part of a building with a floor that could be used by people (for living, work, storage, recreation, etc.). Plurals for the word are ''storeys'' (UK) and ''stories'' (US). T ...

s. The top floor features a beautiful

vaulted ceiling In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...

. The base is natural stone colour (brown), the main tower red. In the summer months, day cruises to the island of Russarö are operated from Hanko's Eastern Harbour. However, due to the dilapidated state of the lighthouse, visitors are no longer allowed entry into the tower.

References

{{Authority control Lighthouses in Finland Buildings and structures in Uusimaa Water transport in Finland Hanko Lighthouses completed in 1863