The Ameland lighthouse is a recognizable symbol of the island with its red-white striped slender tower. The cast iron tower was the first in the Netherlands to receive a group flashing light. It is without a doubt the most drawn, painted and photographed building on the island. It is located near Hollum on the Oranjeweg and can be recognized by its color and the pattern of the lanes during the day and by the character of the lighthouse light at night. During the Ameland Art Month of 2016, the lighthouse itself becomes an art object. The lighthouse has no name. Source: VVV Ameland
The red and white icon of Ameland
- Group glittering light on Ameland
- Character of the lighthouse
- Name of the tower
- WWII
- Quirinus Harder
- Lighthouse
- Stair steps
- Museum
- Lighthouse keeper
- Lighthouse Run
- Unicorn from Hollum
- April 1st
- Art Month Ameland 2016
- Antennas for telecommunications
Group glittering light on Ameland
Ameland is proud of its tower and uses the landmark where possible to indicate the island. It was the first tower in the Netherlands with a group sparkle light, a coastal light or buoy light that regularly shows a certain number of sparkles. The sparkles are bundled in a group. Each combination of glares lasts less than the intervening darkened time between two groups.
Character of the lighthouse
The glare of the Amelander lighthouse consists of three flashes with an interval of 15 seconds. It is called the character of the lighthouse light. Each tower has its own brilliance and sailors recognize the tower by its character. Initially the character consisted of three flashes and a 30 second interpose.
Name of the tower
King Willem III was the client for the construction of a lighthouse on Ameland. Construction started in 1880 and the tower was finished in 1881. The light was turned on for the first time on May 10, 1881. Here and there it is mentioned that the lighthouse is called Bornrif , but that name is never used colloquially and is not officially registered. After construction, the tower was not given a name. In the 1980s, the manager at the time placed a buoy near the tower with ‘Bornrif’ on it and that name has been around ever since. Bornrif is a sandbank in the North Sea, off the coast of Ameland, the area that the tower looks out to the northwest and warns sailors about. Ameland simply speaks of the lighthouse . The municipality of Ameland itself only uses the designation ‘lighthouse’ or ‘lighthouse of Ameland’. A name does not appear in the municipal documents and is not officially registered.
Painting by Reinier Knol / Source: Reinier Knol
WWII
During the Second World War, the Germans smashed the optics in May 1940. After the liberation, an auxiliary light was immediately installed. That was a weak light and that is why the tower was nicknamed the table lamp . A new optic, from Ouddorp on Goeree, arrived in 1952. This is the rotating optic with the character of three flashes and 15 seconds of rest. The light has a strength of 4,400,000 candelas. The lamp is a mercury iodide lamp, 220V and 2000W.
Quirinus Harder
The architect of the tower is Quirinus Harder. The Amelander tower was the last in a series of towers that he designed. Harder did not see the lighthouse in its completed state: he died in 1880, the year construction started. Other towers from his drawing board are:
- 1878: High lighthouse of IJmuiden
- 1878: Low lighthouse of IJmuiden
- 1877: Lange Jaap (Huisduinen)
- 1876: Vuurduin (Vlieland)
- Source: Waddeneilanden1875: Scheveningen Lighthouse
- 1875: Noorderhoofd (Westkapelle)
- 1866: Breskens Lighthouse
- 1863: Eierland Lighthouse (Texel)
- 1862: Lighthouse Flaauwe Werk (probably}
- 1856: High lighthouse of Renesse (Upper part only)
- 1856: Low lighthouse of Renesse
Lighthouse
The light house was renovated in 1988: it started showing defects and leaking. A simple radar was placed on the top. The radar was replaced in 1996 for a larger one. The tower had a radio beacon and played a role in water traffic safety. Satellite navigation has taken over this role. The tower no longer has a radio beacon and is only a beacon for sailors and islanders due to its appearance and light.
Stair steps
The striking red-white tower has some special features:
- the tower is built of cast iron;
- the light of the tower is at a height of 58 meters above sea level;
- the tower is 55.3 meters;
- the number of steps to the circulation is 236;
- the number of floors is 14;
- the position of the tower is 53°26.951′ N 5°37.546′ E;
- basic shape is round;
- appearance consists of red and white bands.
Finish Tour of Hope – Photo PA / Source: Persbureau Ameland Lighthouse out of balance on April 1 / Source: Persbureau Ameland On the road – Photo Persbureau Ameland / Source: Persbureau Ameland
Museum
There is no longer a lighthouse keeper sitting in the top looking out at the sea. His workspace is set up as a permanent exhibition space. Dolls represent the lighthouse keepers of yesteryear. Since July 2004, the tower has been owned by the municipality of Ameland, which took over the building from Rijkswaterstaat. The beacon is housed at the Amelander Museums Foundation (STAM), the lighthouse keeper was employed by STAM and has since been selling tickets at the bottom of the lighthouse to those who want to climb and view the monument. The tower was closed between 2001 and July 2004 because it no longer met safety requirements. Previously, Jaap Boersma, entrepreneur from Hollum, ran the tower for fourteen years. He opened the attraction to the public and turned it into a successful tourist attraction. In vain he tried to obtain his right to remain operator of the tower through the courts. He welcomed 70,000 visitors annually.
Before the tower was opened to the public again, adjustments were made:
- Sprinkler system;
- fire-resistant material;
- additional smoke detectors;
- public address system.
National monument
In 1982 the tower was given the status of a national monument. The monument is part of the country’s industrial heritage.
Lighthouse keeper
The tower lost its crew in 2004, but kept the light. Of all the Wadden Islands towers, only the beacons of Schiermonnikoog and Terschelling remained manned. The Brandaris on Terschelling became a maritime traffic post. Vlieland had lost its crew before and Texel also lost its lighthouse keeper. The towers of Vlieland, Texel and Ameland were supposed to have infrared cameras in 2005 to monitor the Wadden area, but that did not happen. There are no cameras on the Ameland tower other than those aimed at the inside.
Lighthouse Run
The Amelander Lighthouse Run takes place once a year. Organization agency Ameland Actief started the activity in 2006. Whoever climbs up the spiral staircase the fastest is the winner.
The Lighthouse Trail has been organized since 2014, a trail run in the area around the lighthouse and with the finish in Hollum.
Unicorn from Hollum
The old dome stood on the ground for twenty years. On January 23, 2008, it was lifted up, windows and all, and placed on the roof of the new Maritime Museum on the Oranjeweg in Hollum. The light house was removed from the tower in 1988. There has since been a new top. The dome served as a diorama on the ground in front of the then Rescue Museum, but the exhibition space was not functional: the windows kept fogging up. It was as if he didn’t feel at home on ground level. Since January 2008, the old light house has stood on top of the roof of the new museum. On top of the dome is a unicorn that acts as a weather vane to indicate from which direction the wind is blowing. The old dome has retained one character trait: it still leaks.
April 1st
Special things sometimes happen to the lighthouse, such as in 2015 when the tower suddenly tilted on April 1. It was said to have been blown off course after a heavy storm. It was April 1.
The design / Source: Rachel van BalenThe implementation in 2016 / Source: Persbureau AmelandSource: Persbureau AmelandSource: Persbureau Ameland
Art Month Ameland 2016
Lighthouse gets a color
During the Ameland Art Month of 2016, the icon of Ameland with its famous red and white stripes will be painted by an artist. The tower itself becomes a work of art during Art Month. The Amelander Museums Foundation makes the tower available for the art project. The tower needs to be painted and could use a brush of paint. In the run-up to this renovation, the tower will be covered in scaffolding and painters will turn the tower into a work of art. Not only the outside becomes art. The inside will be filled with work by ten artists. The twentieth Ameland Art Month is from November 1 to 30, 2016. The design by artist Rachel van Balen has been chosen to decorate the outside. Divers, whales, porpoises and seals visit the tower for a month. Porpoises and seals are found in the North Sea and Wadden Sea. Every now and then a whale ends up in the North Sea and sometimes one even washes up on the beach of one of the Wadden Islands. Rachel van Balen will start the transformation in mid-October 2016 and will be finished on November 5, 2016, the day of the opening of the Art Month. The artwork can be admired on Ameland until early December. The tower was then cleaned and repainted in red and white colors. That renovation was already planned.
Antennas for telecommunications
KPN has had telecommunications antennas installed on the tower, so that there is mobile phone coverage on the island. There is also a radar on top of the dome. The images and communications received by the radar are forwarded to the Brandaris on Terschelling and assessed there.
Source: Ameland Press AgencyIn the scaffolding (2017) / Source: Ameland Press AgencyRed and white is coming back / Source: Ameland Press AgencyTelecommunication equipment and radar on the tower (photo 2019) / Source: Ameland Press Agency
read more
- Museum on Ameland – Lighthouse, Bunker, Mills and more
- Amelander Lighthouse Run – up in record time
- Ameland in the Second World War – Atlantic Wall
- Getting married on Wadden Island Ameland
- Unicorn – Mythical creature in heraldry