Bogskär Lighthouse

Bogskär Lighthouse

The lighthouse of Bogskär
Location	Bogskär Baltic Sea Finland
Coordinates	59°30′18″N 20°20′54″E
Tower
Constructed	1882
Construction	concrete tower (lower part) skeletal tower (upper part)
Height	22 metres (72 ft)
Shape	cylindrical tower (lower part) hexagonal prism with lantern and helipad (upper part)
Markings	white and blue horizontal bands (lower part) white skeletal tower (upper part)
Power source	acetylene, solar panel
Racon	T
Light
First lit	29 August 1882
Focal height	28 metres (92 ft)
Light source	solar power
Range	8.8 nmi (16.3 km; 10.1 mi)
Characteristic	Fl(3) W 20s (1991–)

Bogskär Lighthouse was constructed in the 1870s and was completed in 1882, on Sweden's initiative. The lighthouse, in the Bogskär islets of the Åland Islands. Of steel construction, it was erected on a three-metre granite plinth. The red-painted 25 metres (82 ft) high lighthouse had seven floors.

The lighthouse had a crew of nine, of which half were occupying the lighthouse at a time.

The lighthouse was damaged in a storm during the winter of 1889. In an 1894 repair, it was strengthened and to add weight, the space between its inner and outer shells was filled in with concrete up to the third floor.

In 1905, a wireless telegraph was installed, replacing the previous communication via light signals to passing ships.

In the First World War, a German warship destroyed the original lighthouse.

A new automated lighthouse was constructed in 1922 on concrete pillars. The lighthouse was restored in 1981, when it was equipped with a helipad. The lighthouse is now painted blue-white and is solar-powered.

See also

• Suomen leijona