HIGHEST cast-iron lighthouse in Europe - Lange Jaap - Huisduinen, NH, NL
Posted by: 
kaschper69
N 52° 57.331 E 004° 43.586
31U E 615975 N 5868716
The Lange Jaap is the HIGHEST cast-iron lighthouse in Europe.
Waymark Code: WMXHGJ
Location: Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Date Posted: 01/15/2018
Views: 21
"The lighthouse Huisduinen, called Lange Jaap, is a lighthouse in the north of Fort Kijkduin near Den Helder in the Dutch province of North Holland.
With a height of 63.45 meters, Lange Jaap was for a long time the highest lighthouse in the Netherlands, before being replaced by the new Maasvlakte lighthouse. The Lange Jaap is still the highest cast-iron lighthouse in Europe. The construction of the tower began in 1877, the commissioning took place on 1 April 1878. The lighthouse has a sixteen-cornered basic shape and consists of bolted together cast iron plates with a total weight of 506,100 kilograms. Architect of the tower was Quirinus Harder. Since 1988, the "Lange Jaap" is a listed building.
Prior to the construction of the Lange Jaap, the shipping off the coast around Den Helder and Texel was secured by various lighthouses and beacons. In addition, there was a tower on the site of today's Fort Kijkduin, where wood and coal were burned to warn ships of dangers. In 1822, a forty-four meter high stone tower was erected on the site of the fort, on which a beacon equipped with 26 oil lamps and mirrors was installed. In 1853, the mirrors were replaced by a lens system before the old tower became superfluous in 1878 with the construction of the Lange Jaap.
For the opening in 1878, the Lange Jaap was equipped with an Argand lamp and stationary lenses. These were replaced in 1903 by a rotatable optics. This lens system produced two flashes of light every ten seconds and was visible for about 30 kilometers. In 1912 the lighthouse received even stronger burners before it was electrified in 1924. During the Second World War, the beacon was destroyed by German marines. Only in 1945 after five years without a beacon, a makeshift optics was installed, which was replaced in 1949 by a new lens system. This system still generates four flashes of light in a twenty-second interval and is 54 kilometers wide."
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