Germany has two coastlines, one facing northwest on the North Sea and the other facing northeast on the Baltic Sea. This page lists lighthouses of the Baltic coast from Flensburg at the Danish border southeastward to Lübeck, including all of the eastern coast of the state of Schleswig-Holstein. The 19th-century history of this area is complex. From 1815 to 1864 Schleswig (including the coast north of Kiel) was under Danish control, and Holstein (Kiel and southeastward) was a duchy associated with Denmark but also a member of the German Confederation. The two duchies were combined as a single province of Prussia in 1866 and thus entered the German Empire when it was formed in 1871. As a result of this history, several of the light stations in the region were established by Denmark, and one Danish lighthouse survives, at Marienleuchte on the island of Fehmarn. 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. Modern range lighthouses are crowned by a topmark: a large, distinctive structure that serves to mark the range clearly in the daytime. Lighthouses in Germany are operated by the regional harbor authority, called the WSA (Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsamt). Most of the lighthouses on this page are operated by WSA Lübeck, but two lighthouses at the northern entrance to the Kiel Canal (Nord-Ostsee Kanal) are operated by GDWS ASt Nord (Generaldirektion Wasserstraßen und Schifffahrt-Außenstelle Nord), which operates the canal and other northern inland waterways. The WSA's are linked to and regulated by a federal agency, the Wasserstraßen-und Schifffahrtsverwaltung des Bundes (WSV). ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume C of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from NGA Publication 116.
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Schleswig - Flensburg District Lighthouses
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![]() Kalkgrund Light, Flensburger Förde, July 2002 Flickr Creative Commons photo by Johann-Nikolaus Andreae |
Rendsburg - Eckernförde District Lighthouses
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![]() 1981 Eckernförde Hafen Light, Eckernförde, August 2008 Flickr Creative Commons photo by Harald Hinnerichs |
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Kiel City Lighthouses
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Plön District Lighthouses
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Ostholstein (East Holstein) District Lighthouses
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![]() Flügge Light, Fehmarn, April 2011 photo copyright Stephan Hix; used by permission |
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Hansestadt Lübeck Lighthouses
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Southeast Jylland | Northeast: Sjælland | East: Mecklenburg
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted April 9, 2005. Checked and revised March 7, 2018. Lighthouses: 37; lightships: 3. Site copyright 2018 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.