Oviši Lighthouse
Lighthouse in Latvia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oviši Lighthouse (Latvian: Ovišu bāka) is a lighthouse located in Oviši, Latvia near Tārgale on the Courland Peninsula coast of the Baltic Sea.
Oviši Lighthouse | |
 | |
| Location | Oviši, Ventspils Municipality Latvia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 57°34′07.7″N 21°42′57.3″E |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1814 |
| Construction | stone tower |
| Height | 33 metres (108 ft) |
| Shape | broad cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern |
| Markings | white tower and lantern |
| Heritage | National industrial monument  |
| Light | |
| Focal height | 38 metres (125 ft)[1] |
| Range | 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi) |
| Characteristic | Fl W 7.5s |
| Latvia no. | UZ-475[2] |
History
The lighthouse is the oldest functioning lighthouse in Latvia; the village was once a settlement of plunderers which made false signal-fires to rob seamen on stranded ships and steal their goods. The locality, on historic maps, is known as Lusesort or Lyserort.[3] The name originates from the Swedish word lysa, meaning to burn;[4] ort meaning cape.[5] When the lighthouse was built in the nineteenth century, it was used as a navigational aid, with its walls more than half a metre thick. The lighthouse is 33 metres in height, built as a double-cylindrical structure, with a 3.5-metre-high (11 ft) storage building westward of the lighthouse. Currently the base of the lighthouse houses a museum based on the history of Latvia's lighthouses.[6][7]
