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Germany's Elbe estuary leads from the North Sea to the port of Hamburg. The estuary has been improved for the navigation of large vessels, and its marked by more than 70 lighthouses in all: the largest number of lighthouses on any inland waterway in the world. This page lists those lighthouses on the Elbe above Brunsbüttel, where the waterway narrows from the broader waters of the Elbemündung (mouth of the Elbe). Even with this restriction, there are more than 50 lighthouses in the list. Interest in lighthouses is strong in Germany, and most of the towers are in good condition. A federal law provides blanket protection to historic lighthouses. There is concern, however, that many of the lights may be deactivated in the coming years as navigators depend less and less on them. In German, a lighthouse is a Leuchtturm ("light tower"), plural Leuchttürme. The front light of a range is the Unterfeuer and the rear light is the Oberfeuer. There are many modern range lighthouses, and most of these towers are crowned by a topmark: a large, distinctive structure that serves to mark the range clearly in the daytime. Some topmarks are conical, others are funnel-shaped, and some consist of one or more gallery-like rings around the tower. Lighthouses in Germany are operated by the regional harbor authority, called the WSA (Wasser- und Schiffahrtsamt). All the lights on this page are in the jurisdiction of the Hamburg WSA. The WSA's are linked to and regulated by a federal agency, the Wasser- und Schifffahrtsamtverwaltung des Bundes (WSV). Germany is a federal republic with 16 member states called Bundesländer. Hamburg is one of the 16 states. Downstream, lighthouses on the south bank of the Elbe are in the state of Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) while those on the north bank are in the state of Schleswig-Holstein. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume B of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from NGA Publication 114. What's Hot:
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Hamburg Lighthouses
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![]() Wittenbergen Unterfeuer; WSA Hamburg photo |
Niedersachsen (Elbe South Side) Lighthouses
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![]() Mielstack Unterfeuer; WSA Hamburg photo |
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Schleswig-Holstein (Elbe North Side) Lighthouses
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![]() Pagensand Nord Leitfeuer WSA Hamburg photo |
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![]() Glückstadt Unterfeuer WSA Hamburg photo |
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![]() 1911 Leuchtturm Hollerwettern (also Brokdorf Oberfeuer in left distance) photo copyright Malte Werning; used by permission |
Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted March 30, 2005. Checked and revised February 8, 2008. Lighthouses: 52; lightships: 2. Site copyright 2008 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.