Phare d'Eckmühl

Phare d'Eckmühl

Phare d'Eckmühl, 2007
Finistère
Location Penmarch, France
Coordinates 47°47′53.9″N 4°22′21.9″W / 47.798306°N 4.372750°W / 47.798306; -4.372750Coordinates: 47°47′53.9″N 4°22′21.9″W / 47.798306°N 4.372750°W / 47.798306; -4.372750
Year first constructed 1831
Year first lit 1897
Construction granite
Tower shape square prism tower, octagonal watch room, gallery, lantern
Markings / pattern unpainted gray tower, white lantern
Height 213 feet (65 m)
Focal height 197 feet (60 m)
Original lens Fresnel lens
Range 23 nautical miles (43 km; 26 mi)
Characteristic Fl W 5s
Fog signal Horn: 1 bl. ev. 60s
Admiralty number D0890
NGA number 113-308
ARLHS number FRA-256

The Phare d'Eckmühl, also known as Point Penmarc'h Light or Saint-Pierre Light, is an active lighthouse in Penmarc'h, Finistère department, Brittany, France. At a height of 213 feet (65 m) it is one of the tallest lighthouses in the world.[1] It is located at the port of Saint-Pierre, on Point Penmarc'h, on the southwestern corner of Finistère and the northwestern entrance to the Bay of Biscay.

Phare d'Eckmühl during construction in 1895

The tower was built following a decision on April 3, 1882 to modernize the coastal lighthouses and raise the focal height of the Penmarc'h lighthouse, built in 1835, to 60m. However, engineers reported that the old tower could not support such an extension, so in 1890 it was decided to build a new lighthouse, the plans of which were completed on April 3, 1882. Funding came unexpectedly on 9 December 1892 when Adélaïde-Louise Davout, Marquise de Blocqueville, left substantial funds for the new tower in her will, provided the lighthouse was dedicated to the memory of her father, the general Louis Nicolas Davout, who was "Prince d'Eckmühl", a title he won after the Battle of Eckmühl. The tower was inaugurated on October 23, 1897.

The centennial of the lighthouse was celebrated in 1997.[2]

The tower is open to the public. Reaching the top takes climbing 307 steps, 227 stone steps followed by an iron staircase.

See also

References

  1. Although it is not mentioned in Rowlett, Russ. "The Tallest Lighthouses". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  2. "Bienvenue a ECKMÜHL 97". bagadoo.tm.fr (in French). Retrieved 15 August 2010.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eckmühl lighthouse.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/13/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.