History
There have been different kinds of lighthouses at Kullen for more than 1000 years, but the first conventional lighthouse was established by King Frederick II in 1561. This was a Vippefyr or bascule light. In 1577, the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe became the lighthouse administrator at Kullen, a position he held until his death in 1601. Apparently he was originally not very diligent about his duties. Complaints by merchant mariners led in 1585 to Brahe being explicitly ordered to better look after the lighthouse or lose his land at Kullaberg.
The present lighthouse was designed by the Swedish architect Magnus Dahlander, in 1898. It is built in granite and brick and has three large lenses in a lensehouse that rotates four times per minute, hence giving twelve flashes per minute. Based on Augustin-Jean Fresnel's design, the lensehouse was constructed by the French company Barbier & Barnard and delivered in the summer of 1900. It consists of three lenses of 2.55 m in diameter, weighs 6 metric tons and rotates on a base filled with 50 liters of mercury. The Kullen lighthouse was automated in 1979 and is remote-controlled by the Swedish Maritime Administration's check at Norrköping. However, in spite of being automated, the lighthouse is one of few remaining staffed with a lighthouse keeper.
Read more about this topic: Kullen Lighthouse
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