Kullen Lighthouse

The Kullen Lighthouse (Swedish: 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 24.5 nautical miles (45.4 km). 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. This was a Parrot lighthouse or bascule light. In 1577, the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe became the lighthouse administrator at Kullen, a position he held until his death in 1601. Apparently he was originally not very diligent about his duties. Complaints by merchant mariners led in 1585 to Brahe being explicitly ordered to better look after the lighthouse or lose his land at Kullaberg. That year Frederick II commissioned the Flemish architect Anthonis van Obbergen to replace the tower.