Tahkuna Lighthouse

Tahkuna Lighthouse, situated on the north end of Hiiumaa, is a cast-iron lighthouse which’s construction started in 1873. Assembled of cast iron parts, utilising the so-called Gordon system, it was created with prefabricated details. The details were easy to transport, making this tall tower rather easy to build.

Did you know…?
• The lighthouse was bought from the world exhibition of Paris in 1871 by Czarist Russia
• It is Estonia’s tallest lighthouse – 42.7 m above sea level

As it is known, the cape of Tahkuna on Tahkuna peninsula is the most northern tip of Hiiumaa. All passing  ships are warned of the closeness of land by a lighthouse which was assembled from parts of cast iron in  1875. It was made in Paris and delivered to Hiiumaa in parts. Two beacons were ordered from Paris at the  same time. Ristna lighthouse was erected in the most western point of the island in 1874.

The story of Hiiumaa’s lighthouses is an interesting one: up to the middle of the 19th century, stone was  used as building material (Kõpu lighthouse); the so-called stone period was followed by cast iron period  when Tahkuna and Ristna lighthouses were erected. The 20th century may be called the period of rein-  forced concrete (Tohvri lighthouses).

Tahkuna lighthouse is the highest lighthouse in Hiiumaa 42.6 m. Its absolute height is still less than that  of Kõpu lighthouse which reaches 102 meters above the sea level. The light of Tahkuna lighthouse can be  seen from the distance of 18 sea miles or 33 kilometres.

In October 1941, during World War II, the fighters of the Soviet Army surrendered to Germans at the foot  of Tahkuna lighthouse.

A wind generator was erected in Tahkuna in 1995 under the leadership of Hiiumaa Biosphere Protection  Area. This was the first of its kind built in Estonia.

On 28 September 1994, the biggest catastrophe in peacetime happened in the Baltic Sea passenger ferry  Estonia sank. To commemorate this tragic event, a monument “To children who perished in the Estonia  shipwreck” was designed by sculptor Mati Karmin and erected in Tahkuna- the place which is the closest  in Estonia to the place of the accident.