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The Loneliest Lighthouse

Sweet story from the Austrian Times:

Lonely lighthouse gets protected status
A lighthouse left stranded in the middle of a German industrial estate hundreds of miles from the sea after the island it was destined for was captured by the British in 1890 has been given listed building status.

The Helios lighthouse has stood among factory chimneys, warehouses and wasteland since 1890 after it had been ordered from the manufacturer Helios-Elektrizit�ts AG by the German government to be situated on the island of Zanzibar. But shortly before it was due to be delivered Zanzibar was handed over to the British - who announced they did not want a German-made lighthouse on their island.

The lighthouse maker located at the heart of the Ehrenfeld industrial estate since 1881 then decided to use the unwanted building as a way of advertising their products - but so far from the sea they attracted few buyers and by 1904 the firm was bust despite a buyout by AEG and Siemens.

But although Cologne is landlocked and the lighthouse factory bankrupt, the tower has been a good advert for the maritime business. Carpenter Max Dietrich Bahr, 74, a former sailor, makes ship's steering wheels in his small workshop located in the car park below the lighthouse. And there is even a shipyard nearby - even though the city and even the nearest river and lake is miles away.

Now the former lighthouse factory is a furniture warehouse, and the factory chimneys that once dominated the skyline have vanished and been replaced by modern buildings. But the Helios lighthouse - the only genuine functioning lighthouse that never saw the sea - has remained.

Local councillors are now considering what to do with the building including the possibility of allowing tours and exhibition inside, and are even considering a plan to put a small beach bar with imported sand in the area.

Carpenter Bahr said: "I miss the sea, but Cologne is my home. This was the best I was going to get. With the lighthouse in the background it's not hard to imagine that the sea is not far away."

But most locals in the landlocked German city admit they had no idea what the 44-meter-high building was.

Lucas Weber, 34, said: "I always thought it was a chimney that they had converted." And Katja Baumgartner, 28, added: "I never realised it was a real genuine lighthouse - they should definitely clean it up and make sure people are aware of its history."

And a German graphic designer even designed a set of local postcards adding in a beach and sea to sell in the local area. Andre Schmitz said: "Who knows, with global warming it might still end up by the sea."

A great story and a fascinating bit of history. I love the idea of a beach bar with trucked in sand... Hat tip to the Bayou Renaissance Man for the link. Posted by DaveH at May 9, 2010 8:11 PM