Liepaia (Libava, Libau) Lighthouse

The Liepāja (Liepaia/Libava) Lighthouse (Latvian: Liepājas bāka) is a lighthouse located in Liepāja on the Latvian coast of the Baltic Sea.in 1856, the head of the Naval Ministry of Russia ordered the construction of a lighthouse in Liepaia to begin.

The State Ministry of the Marine Fleet of Russia bought the Liepaia lighthouse project from the English company Chance Brothers (Great Britain, Birmingham).

The project of the lighthouse was coordinated for a long time and altered several times. This was due to the fact that in 1860, large-scale work began on the reconstruction of the port: new piers were built from cap stone, a new entrance to the port, the entrance channel was expanded, and an embankment was built.The layout of the harbor changed several times, and as a result it was difficult to choose the final location for the lighthouse.Ultimately, the Hydrographic Department decided to build two lighthouses in Liepaia: a large one and a small one, both on the south side of the harbor. Large - to illuminate the raid, on the border with massive city buildings; small - at the end of an artificial stone dam, to designate it.

The technical design and installation of lighting equipment was carried out by the English company Chance Brothers & Co Near Birmingham.

The project of the Great Lighthouse was approved by the Emperor. Its builder was appointed engineer-captain Rainboat. Construction began in 1866. After two years of construction, the lighthouse was opened, and on July 20, 1868, the light on its tower came on.

The local press wrote: “... The building of the lighthouse is remarkable for its strength and simplicity. On a granite foundation, placed on piles driven deep into the ground, there is a round iron tower. The lighthouse lantern is 100 feet above sea level. Its light is visible at a distance of 30 miles. Near the lighthouse a beautiful house was built for the caretaker and watchmen...”.

The lighthouse tower, 33 meters high, was painted red, while the lantern and the roof underneath were painted green. The lantern was equipped with a 2nd category diopter light-optical apparatus with an Argand lamp, purchased in England. It shone with a constant white light with flashes in a minute for a distance of up to 9 miles. The lenses in the apparatus were rotated by means of a mechanism powered by a weight of 250 kg. Every 4-5 hours, the lighthouse employees started the mechanism, lifting this weight up.In the same 1867, the lighthouse was officially transferred to the jurisdiction of the Hydrographic Department.

* NB! In The Lighthouse Work of Sir James T. Chance (APPENDIX): 2nd order - 1868 - Libau, Baltic - Fixed and revolving *

In 1895, the inspection of the Main Hydrographic Department ordered to repaint it: instead of red, it became striped with horizontal white and red stripes, which made it sharply different from the factory pipes. The lantern, roof and gallery were left red.

With the start of the First World War, Liepaia turned out to be a front-line city. On July 19, 1914, all the main mechanisms, lighting equipment and spare parts for them were buried in the ground.

Damaged by German naval shelling during World War I, it was repaired in 1923-25 (The lantern of the lighthouse miraculously remained intact during the shelling.).

In April 1915, during the retreat, Russian troops dismantled the lighthouse and took it to Russia. In turn, in April 1915, during the German occupation, a new light-optical system was installed on the lighthouse, consisting of two lenses with focal lengths of 250 mm mounted on a rotating table and became the first lighthouse in Latvia that began to use electric lighting for transmission signals.The light source was a 1000 W lamp. The backup source there was a kerosene burner.After the release of the port, all damage was repaired, 7 sections were replaced in the tower.

The original Fresnel lens was removed by Soviet troops early in World War II, but the lighthouse suffered no damage in that war.

In the post-war years, a new light-optical apparatus was installed on the lighthouse, providing a visibility range of the lighthouse up to 16 miles.

The Liepaia port lighthouse is a valuable object of the cultural and engineering heritage of Latvia, which has been preserved without significant changes since 1868. This is the only lighthouse tower in Latvia made of cast-iron segments.

Site and tower closed.