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 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.

The lighthouse is 15 meters tall and its focal plane is located 78.5 meters above sea level (before a correction in 1992, the official height was 88.5 meters), making it the highest located lighthouse in Sweden. Every 5 seconds, the Kullen Lighthouse flashes white for 0.3 seconds with a range of convert|24.5|nmi|km|1. In times of fog, a foghorn provides an audible warning of a double signal every 30 seconds.

History

There have been different kinds of lighthouses at Kullen for more than 1000 years, but the first conventional lighthouse was established by King Frederick II in 1561. In 1577, the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe became the lighthouse administrator at Kullen keeping it until his death in 1601. [ [http://www.sjofartsverket.se/templates/SFVXPage____1581.aspx#tyco Tycho Brahe's lighthouse description on www.sjofartsverket.se (swedish)] ] Being the landowner of Kullaberg, Brahe was in 1585, due to complaints by the merchant navy, explicitly ordered to better look after the lighthouse or lose his land.

The present lighthouse was designed by the Swedish architect Magnus Dahlander, in 1898. It is built in granite and brick and has three large lenses in a lensehouse that rotates four times per minute, hence giving twelve flashes per minute. Based on Augustin-Jean Fresnel's design, the lensehouse was constructed by the French company Barbier & Barnard and delivered in the summer of 1900. It consists of three lenses of 2.55 m in diameter, weighs 6 metric tons and rotates on a base filled with 50 liters of mercury. The Kullen lighthouse was automated in 1979 and is remote-controlled by the Swedish Maritime Administration's check at Norrköping. However, in spite of being automated, the lighthouse is one of few remaining staffed with a lighthouse keeper.

Area setting

The 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.

References

* 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.
*" [http://www.sjofartsverket.se/templates/SFVXPage____1581.aspx Swedish Maritime Administration: Kullens fyr] - Official data in Swedish"
*" [http://www.lighthousedepot.com/database/uniquelighthouse.cfm?value=1991 Lighthouse Depot: Kullen Lighthose] "