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The Liepāja Lighthouse (
Latvian: ''Liepājas bāka'') 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 lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Ligh ...
located in
Liepāja
Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...
on the
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
n coast of the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
.
History
The lighthouse is located on the southern bank of the civil harbour of Liepāja, near the entrance. It was built of
cast iron
Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
from resmelted ship-wreckage in 1868. During its lifetime the lighthouse suffered wartime damage, mainly during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, when it was hit by sixteen rounds fired by the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
light cruiser ''
SMS Augsburg''. Their traces have survived to the present day, as indentations in the lighthouse's external cladding. The new
iron
Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
sheets covering the lighthouse bear the inscription ''KOD'', meaning they have come from Liepāja, the port and harbour town the lighthouse is located in. Currently the lighthouse's top viewing gallery can be accessed by an internal staircase of one hundred and forty nine steps.
See also
*
List of lighthouses in Latvia
This is a list of lighthouses in Latvia. They mark the western coast of the country, which includes parts of the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Riga, and the Irbe Strait which connects the gulf to the Baltic.
Latvian lighthouses date from the Russian Im ...
References
External links
Lighthouses completed in 1868
Resort architecture in Latvia
Lighthouses in Latvia
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