Blankenese Low Lighthouse

Blankenese Low Lighthouse is a lighthouse on the river Elbe, located in the Hamburg district of Blankenese. It entered into service in 1984 and is scheduled to be demolished in 2020.

Blankenese Low Lighthouse
Diagram Dimensions
LocationBlankenese, Hamburg
Coordinates53°33′27.80″N 09°47′44.66″E
Year first constructed1984
Year first litsince 29. November 1984
ConstructionReinforced concrete
Tower shapeCylinder tower, 2 Signals lamps
Markings / patternWhite and Red
Tower height42 metres (138 ft)
Focal height41 metres (135 ft), height of light
Original lenselectric
Intensity13 Mcd
Range8,410 metres (4.54 nmi)
CharacteristicGlt. W 4s (Equal Light, White, 4 Seconds)
Admiralty numberB 1568.7

Description

Blankenese Low Lighthouse and Blankenese High Lighthouse form a range of lights for ships sailing upriver on the Elbe. With a range of 8.4 kilometers, they have the longest range on the Unterelbe.[1]

The lighthouse is made of concrete and stands 42 meters tall. The column is striped in red and white with a white steel lantern house at the top. The column has 12 portholes facing the river and two on the other side; the lantern has another six. It is positioned approximately 30 meter offshore in the river Elbe and 1,340 meters away from the high lighthouse.

On the base of the tower is a 5 m high two-level staircase deck. The tower itself works as a sun clock pointer to the people seating at its shadow. Inside it has a helix staircase going to the top. There is no seating place at the top of the platform, only at the bottom, which by high tide sometimes get washed. At the third floor is a door with a plate showing the function of the structure. However, due to graffiti this plate is covered.

The lighthouse is remotely controlled by the Seemanshöft Pilot Centre and belongs to the Hamburg Port Authority.

Construction

Due to the offshore location of the lighthouse, a caisson was used to build the 700 ton concrete foundation to a depth of ten meters below the water surface. The 11 ton lantern house was assembled with the help of a floating crane.

The development stage of the range of lights in the early 1980s was met by controversy, including public protests and legal action.

Replacement

Due to adjustments to the Elbe fairway, both the High and the Low Lighthouses are scheduled to be replaced to a similar 32 m high at coordinates 53.555465°N 9.807458°E / 53.555465; 9.807458 and demolished.[2][3] It is planned to preserve the base of it, but without the steel platform. However, it is not the HPA that decides if and how this socket can be used later. As long as the interests of the port or the shipping industry are not affected, this is the task of other Hamburg authorities.

Preview after Demolition
Preview New Lighthouse
  • Lighthouse with Orion Leader NYK Line Vehicle Carrier
  • Lighthouse stairs
  • Lighthouse ground level
  • Lighthouse
  • Lighthouse
  • Lower Platform
  • Lighthouse Low Tide Rule of 7 m NN
  • Lighthouse Tower seen from bottom
  • Plate description
  • Companies involved
  • Location
  • Water level (m) 44.72 NN (Niedrig-Niedrg) low-low tide
  • Water level (m) 2.55 NN
  • Detail
  • Deck rail
  • Door graffiti

See also

References
  1. "Lighthouse Blankenese Low, Hamburg". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  2. "New lighthouses for Blankenese". www.hamburg-port-authority.de. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  3. Meyer-Odewald, Jens (23 October 2018). "Blankenese erhält Deutschlands vierthöchsten Leuchtturm". www.abendblatt.de (in German). Retrieved 13 May 2019.
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