Thridrangaviti Lighthouse
Þrídrangaviti Lighthouse is an active lighthouse off the southwest coast of Iceland, in the archipelago of Vestmannaeyjar. It is often described as one of the most isolated lighthouses in the world. Þrídrangar means "three rock pillars", referring to the three named sea stacks at that location: Stóridrangur, Þúfudrangur, and Klofadrangur. The lighthouse was commissioned on 5 July 1942.
Construction
Þrídrangaviti Lighthouse was constructed during 1938 and 1939. It was originally built by hand without machinery, and it was accessible only by scaling the tallest of the three rocky stacks, whose top is above the sea. It was built under the direction of engineer Árni Þórarinsson, who recruited experienced climbers. They were local Westman Islanders who had long supplemented their diet by gathering seabird eggs from the sea cliffs of Iceland. The climb presented significant challenges: a sea swell at the base made the transfer from boat to rock difficult even in calm weather, while the vertical face was worn smooth by the sea and slick with spray. With drills and hammers, the team inserted spikes into the rock that were connected by heavy chain. With each visit during calm weather they were able to add a few more chain links, forming a twisting route upward. Their climbing tools could not bite into the rock near the top, and there were no handholds, so using the same technique developed for gathering seabird eggs, they made a three-person "human stack" - one man on his knees, a second on top of him, and a third one climbing on the second one - for the final pitch. According to Þórarinsson:They began in the summer of 1938. The wind churned up the seas so frequently the climbers could only stay for a few hours at a time lest they be unable to re-board the boat. The crew eventually stayed on the precarious rock ledge in tents for a month to finish the house. It was completed around the start of WWII in 1939, but the lamp equipment ordered from a Danish company could not be delivered because Denmark was then occupied by Germany. As a result, there was a delay of three years to install lighting, now supplied by Britain. The lighthouse was commissioned on 5 July 1942.
The light was automated with a lampchanger shortly after the war. A helipad for helicopter access was added in the 1950s. It was converted to solar power in 1993.
Technical features
- The lighthouse building is situated about above the sea
- The building is square concrete whitewashed single-storey hut, with a roof that resembles a battlement on a medieval castle tower, including embrasure-like openings. The red lantern sits on the roof and is high.
- The light is above the sea, which determines the "height of sight", meaning the light beam is first visible at sea level from.
- The beam is a long white flash followed by a short white flash every 30 seconds.
- The lighthouse Admiralty No. is L4802 —