Special lighthouses: Lindesnes – where Norway’s oldest light burns

Lindesnes is the southernmost point of mainland Norway. For ships sailing along the coast of the already notorious Skagerrak, the jutting headland was, on the one hand, an important landmark, but at the same time a deadly hazard. For this reason, a beacon was lit here as early as 1656 – the oldest in the country.

Lindesnes: still manned

Over the centuries, the station underwent several changes: coal was replaced by paraffin, and electrification took place in 1950. The lighthouse itself has also been rebuilt several times, starting with a simple wooden structure and evolving into the present-day white cast-iron tower dating from 1915, with its first-order Fresnel lens in the red lantern room. In 2003, Lindesnes Fyr was automated – yet two lighthouse keepers still look after the site to this day. This is unique in Norway.

• Name: Lindesnes Lighthouse, Norway
• Location: Skagerrak, North Sea
• Coordinates: 57°58'56.4"N 007°02'48.3"E
• Tower height: 16.1 m
• Fire height: 66.1 m
• Reference: FFl W 20s

The Lighthouse Museum

The Lindesnes Lighthouse Museum (Lindesnes Lighthouse Museum) not only provides information about the long history, the technology and life at the lighthouse station at Norway’s southernmost point, but also about the culture along the coast of Sørlandet, the country’s southernmost region. The lighthouse itself is open to visitors. The grounds offer magnificent views of the coast on both sides.

Here you will find even more special lighthouses.

For visiting boats: two marinas

The Båly Marina is the best starting point for a rewarding trip to the cape, some twelve kilometres away – for example, by public bus. From the bus stop, it’s not far even on foot until the land ends and the horizon begins. It also lies at the western end of the 500-metre-long Spangereid Canal, which only opened in 2007.

It was blasted through the rock to create a sheltered alternative to the sea route, cutting right across the base of the peninsula – and, in the truest sense of the word, to bypass the problem of the often treacherous conditions off the cape. However, it is only suitable for small vessels: the maximum depth is two metres, and the clearance height is four metres.