The Kullen Lighthouse (Swedish: 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 landmarks along the Swedish coastline, and with its 1000 Watt electric bulb in a huge lenshouse, also the most powerful lighthouse in Scandinavia, overlooking one of the world's most heavily traveled waters.
 Kullen Lighthouse | |
 | |
| Location | Kullaberg Kattegatt Sweden |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 56°18′04.0″N 12°27′05.4″E / 56.301111°N 12.451500°E |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1563 (first) 1585 (second) 1749 (third) 1792 (fourth) 1843 (fifth) |
| Construction | granite and brick tower |
| Automated | 1979 |
| Height | 18.5 metres (61 ft) |
| Shape | cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern attached to a 2-storey building |
| Markings | grey unpainted stone tower, white lantern, black lantern dome |
| Power source | kerosene, electricity  |
| Operator | Kullens Fyr[1][2] |
| Heritage | governmental listed building, governmental listed building complex |
| Fog signal | (2) 30 s |
| Light | |
| First lit | 1898-1900 (Magnus Dahlander) (current) |
| Focal height | 78.5 metres (258 ft) |
| Lens | 1st order clamshell Fresnel lens |
| Intensity | 1 kW |
| Range | 24.5 nautical miles (45.4 km; 28.2 mi) |
| Characteristic | Fl W 5 s |
| Sweden no. | SV-7146 |
The lighthouse is 15 meters tall and its focal plane is located 78.5 meters above sea level making it the highest located lighthouse in Sweden. Every 5 seconds, the Kullen Lighthouse flashes white for 0.3 seconds with 27 nautical miles reach.
History
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Kullen is the oldest lighthouse location in Scandinavia founded 1561 by the Danish king Fredrik II
This lighthouse was a "Parrot lighthouse" with an iron casket 20 feet above ground.
1563 there was a new stone tower with 12 candlelight as source for light but already 1585 it was replaced with a covered lantern and from 1624 coal was used for light.
During the centuries wood, candlelights, coal, oil, kerosene and electricity have been used to send out a beam that reached 50K as a minimum.
The present lighthouse is built in stone and brick and has three large 1 order Fresnel lenses in a lens house that rotates four times per minute, hence giving twelve flashes per minute. Based on Augustin-Jean Fresnel's design, the lens house was constructed by the French company Barbier & Barnard and delivered in the summer of 1900. It consists of three lenses of 2.58 m in diameter, weighs 6 metric tons and originally rotated on a base filled with 50 liters of mercury. The mercury was replaced in September 2016 with two bearings. The Kullen lighthouse was automated in 1979 and is remote-controlled by the Swedish Maritime Administration's check at Norrköping. The last keeper left in 1996.
Area setting
editThe Kullen Lighthouse is situated within the Kullaberg Nature Reserve, a cliff and forest habitat for a variety of rare species, criss-crossed by numerous hiking trails. Approximately three kilometers to the southeast is the harbour town of Mölle.
See also
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References
edit- ^ Leuchtturm Kullen www.schwedische-leuchtfeuer.de
- ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Sweden: Scania (Helsingborg-Malmö Area)". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
Further reading
edit- Hilmer Carlsson, Fyrväsendets utveckling och de svenska insatserna för fyrteknikens förbättrande, in Årsbok : Föreningens Sveriges sjöfartsmuseum i Stockholm, p. 31-209: Stockholm 1943.
- Nordisk Familjebok, Stockholm : Nordisk familjeboks förlags aktiebolag, 2 ed. 1904.
- Swedish Maritime Administration: Kullens fyr – Official data in Swedish
- Lighthouse Depot: Kullen Lighthouse Archived 6 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
External links
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- Kullens fyr
- Sjofartsverket Archived 8 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine (in English)
- The Swedish Lighthouse Society