Hey guys,
a little late but here is my third and last post about the island of Wangerooge. On the small North Sea island there are two lighthouses, of which I have already presented one in my last post. This was the new lighthouse. If there is a new lighthouse, there must of course be an old lighthouse, and this I would like to introduce you today in more detail.
For this I would like to tell you first of the old lighthouse, which you can see below in the pictures. In 1830, a lighthouse was built on the island, which was the basis for today's old lighthouse. Because around the turn of the year 1854/55 there was a big storm tide on Wangerooge. A new lighthouse was planned in the east of the island, as there was more protection for the lighthouse there. In 1856, the newly built lighthouse was put into operation. It was also the first building in the village. The old lighthouse stands in the middle of the village of Wangerooge. At some point the old lighthouse was raised a few meters. This was because the first hotels were built on the north side, which made the lighthouse a blind spot, making it impossible to see. Some time later, however, the operation of the old lighthouse was completely stopped, because it was no longer technically up to date and thus navigation could not be guaranteed. Also, it was still not high enough.
Today, the new lighthouse is 65 meters high, which is quite a bit higher than the old lighthouse. The latter guided shipping from there on. The old lighthouse was probably also taken out of service because the new lighthouse saved on personnel. Because the new lighthouse runs completely without personnel and thus automatically. This process can be observed all over Germany and probably all over the world. The last lighthouse keeper retired in 1999. In contrast to the new lighthouse, the old lighthouse can be visited. Since then it has been used as a lookout tower. What I found very encouraging during the climb to the top in the lighthouse, was that on the walls at the spiral staircase was how many steps there are still up. A little motivation must be ;)
There are a whole 161 steps to the top - but actually more than doable. I was just a little dizzy afterwards. From the top you have a great view over the island, the Wadden Sea and the shipping lanes. Also, you can see above how such a living room in a lighthouse looks like, where the lighthouse keepers spend the whole day. I actually found that even more interesting than the view. But see for yourself:
Honestly, almost exactly the same I had imagined the interior and a spiral staircase of a lighthouse. You could have really shot a movie here and found the perfect location. Also the picture on the wall in the living room fits in so well. Then the curtains in front of the windows, the style. And also the old spiral staircase. My expectations were not disappointed ;)).
And here the view from the lighthouse:
What I found very nice was that in the lighthouse itself is a small island museum. This was brought to life by some islanders. The museum consists of a collection of exhibits that tell the stories of the lighthouses of Wangerooge. In fact, you can even get married in the old lighthouse. Quite romantic, come to think of it ;) The guardroom of the lighthouse keeper serves today as a wedding room. Several thousand couples have already gotten married here. What do you say? Would it be a place where you would get married?
How did you like my post about the lighthouse and the story about it? How do you like the view? Feel free to write me your feedback in the comments. Until next time!
