Lighthouses of Russia: Gulf of Finland

Gulf of Finland Island Lighthouses
Note: These islands, located near the centerline of the Gulf of Finland, were under Finnish control between World Wars I and II. Retaken by Soviet troops during the Winter War of 1939-40, they were attached to the Russian Federation and remained as Russian possessions after the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Ostrov Rodsher (3)

Date unknown (station established 1806). Active; focal plane 20 m (66 ft); two white flashes, separated by 3 s, every 15 s. 19 m (62 ft) octagonal cylindrical concrete tower with lantern and double gallery. The tower is unpainted dark red stone; lantern dome painted dark red to match. 1-story keeper's houses in poor condition. Another ham radio operator has several photos, Ted Sarah has two additional photos, and the Confluence Project has a photo. This is a light and research station with half a dozen 1-story buildings. The original wood lighthouse was replaced in 1886 by a round brick tower. It is possible that the present lighthouse is a concrete encasing of the 1886 lighthouse. Ostrov Rodsher, a tiny island off the coast of Finland, is the westernmost point of Russia except for Kaliningrad. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS ERU-058; Admiralty C3932; NGA 13544.

Gogland (Gogland Severny) {Suursaari, Pohjoiskorkia, Högland, Hochland} (4) 1965 (station established 1807). Active (?); focal plane 133 m (436 ft); white light, 3 s on, 4.5 s off. Approx. 17 m (56 ft) round cylindrical concrete block tower with lantern and gallery, painted with red and white horizontal bands. 1-story keeper's house and other light station buildings. An excellent 2006 closeup photo is available, also a second photo and a distant view, and Google has a satellite view. Gogland (Suursaari in Finnish, Högland in Swedish, Hochland in German) is the largest of the central Gulf islands and the closest to the Finnish coast. The station was established as a range, with lights on short stone towers. In 1861, the rear light was replaced by a keeper's house with a large lantern on the roof; Huelse has a historic postcard view of this lighthouse. The 1861 lighthouse probably did not survive World War II, when Gogland was a base for Soviet troops. It was replaced after the war by a skeletal tower, and then by the masonry lighthouse in 1965. Light lists now describe the active light as a skeletal tower once again, but in view of the photos this seems likely to be a mistake. A Russian travel agency has built a hotel on the island and is offering tours from Primorsk. Located atop Pohjoiskorkia, a steep hill at the northern end of the island. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS ERU-056; Admiralty C5374; NGA 13556. Mys Lounatrivi (Gogland Yuzhny) (2) 1906 (station established 1861). Active; focal plane 27 m (89 ft); white flash every 6 s. 25.5 m (84 ft) round brick tower with lantern and gallery, mounted on a hexagonal stone base. The tower is unpainted red brick with trim painted white. Dmitry Rostopshin's photo is at right, another closeup of the lighthouse is available, the Confluence Project has a photo of the station, Trabas has a distant photo by Capt. Peter, and Google has a satellite view. This is (or was) a light and research station with half a dozen 1-story buildings, and the lighthouse is dwarfed now by a tall communications tower. Located at the southern tip of the island. Accessible only by boat; a Russian travel agency has built a hotel on the island and is offering tours from Primorsk. Site and tower closed. ARLHS ERU-213; Admiralty C5378; NGA 13552.

Mys Lounatrivi Light, 2007 Creative Commons photo by Dmitry Rostopshin

Bol'shoy Tyuters (Great Tyuters) {Tytärsaari}

1904. Active; focal plane 75 m (246 ft); white light, 1 s on, 1 s off, 3 s on, 9 s off. 21 m (69 ft) hexagonal brick tower. Bol'shoy Tyuters is one of a group of four islands in the middle of the Gulf. A black and white closeup is available, Huelse has a historic postcard view, and Google has a satellite view. In 2004 the island was incorporated within the Ingermanlandsky National Nature Reserve, part of an international biosphere reserve developed in cooperation with Finland. Located on the highest point of the island, about 30 km (19 mi) south of Kotka, Finland, and 80 km (50 mi) west northwest of Kurgolovo, Russia. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS ERU-017; Admiralty C3938; NGA 12960.

Sommers (Ostrov Sommars, Ostrov Mayak) (3)

Date unknown (late 1940s?). Active; focal plane 53 m (174 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 37 m (121 ft) square steel skeletal tower with gallery, painted red; the upper 2/3 of the tower is surrounded by a slatted daymark painted with red and white horizontal bands. Trabas has a distant photo by Capt. Peter, and distant sunset photo is available; a third photo shows a tall radar and communications tower built on the island. Several keeper's houses and other structures survive at this station. The first two lighthouses were round masonry towers about 9 m (30 ft) tall. Sommers is a small island about 12 km (7.5 mi) northwest of Moshchnyy and 18 km (11 mi) south of Hanski on the Finnish coast. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS ERU-065; Admiralty C3944; NGA 13276.

Moshchnyy (Moschny, Bashnya) {Lavensaari}

1910. Active; focal plane 30 m (98 ft); three white flashes every 10 s. 29 m (95 ft) 16-sided cast iron skeletal tower with lantern and gallery, painted red. No photo available. Moshchnyy is an island about 20 km (13 mi) northwest of Kurgolovo. Located on the northern tip of the island. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS ERU-154; Admiralty C3952; NGA 13280.

Ostrov Malyy

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 37 m (121 ft); white light, 2 s on, 4 s off. 27 m (89 ft) skeletal tower, painted red. The tower carries a slatted daymark painted white with a red vertical stripe. No photo available. Ostrov Malyy is a small island about 8 km (5 mi) due east of Moschnyy. Located on the highest point of the island. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS ERU-154; Admiralty C3964; NGA 13284.

Nerva (Ostrov Nerva) (2) Date unknown (late 1940s?). Active; focal plane 44 m (144 ft); white flash every 8 s. 37 m (121 ft) square steel skeletal tower with gallery, painted red; the upper half of the tower is surrounded by a slatted daymark painted white with a black horizontal band at the top. A photo is available, and Trabas has a photo by Capt. Peter. Several keeper's houses and other structures survive at this station. The original lighthouse was a 28 m (92 ft) round masonry tower. Located about 15 km (9 mi) northeast of Moshchnyy and a similar distance east of Sommers. ARLHS ERU-053; Admiralty C3946; NGA 13272. Seskar {Seiskari} (2) 1858 (station established 1807). Active; focal plane 30 m (98 ft); two white flashes, separated by 6.5 s, every 30 s. 31 m (101 ft) round tower with lantern and gallery, painted red with a broad white horizontal band covering most of the lower half. A large clamshell Fresnel lens is in use. The keepers houses were occupied by keepers as of 1998. Capt. Peter's photo is at right, and Huelse has a historic postcard view. The status of this site is unclear; Pete Amass obviously visited the station and climbed the tower in 1998, but there is a 2004 report that the island has only recently been opened to foreign visitors. Located on the northwestern point of Ostrov Lesnoy, the main island of the Seskar island group, about 16 km (10 mi) northwest of Mys (Cape) Kolgampja. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-005; Admiralty C3968; NGA 13288.

Seskar Light photo copyright Capt. Peter Mosselberger; used by permission

Lighthouses on the Approaches to Vyborg Bay
Bol'shoy Fiskar {Kiuskeri}

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 21 m (70 ft); two white flashes every 8 s. 10 m (33 ft) square brick tower, supposedly painted red with a white horizontal band. However, in Maksim Antipin's photo nearly the all the paint has worn off the tower. Located atop a small island at the eastern end of a string of similar islands, the Bol'shoy Fiskar Archipelago, about 24 km (15 mi) west southwest of Mys Krestoviy and 16 km (10 mi) southeast of Virolahti, Finland. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS ERU-212; Admiralty C5482; NGA 13296.

Malyy Fiskar

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 17 m (56 ft); flash every 5 s, white, red, or green depending on direction. 13 m (43 ft) square pyramidal skeletal tower with lantern and gallery. Lighthouse painted red; two sides of the tower carry a slatted daymark painted white. Maksim Antipin has a photo. Located at the southwestern tip of Malyy (Little) Fiskar, an island about 10 km (6 mi) southwest of Mys Krestoviy. The island is closed as a nature reserve. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS ERU-153; Admiralty C5488; NGA 13264.

Khalli

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 16 m (52 ft); white light, 1.5 s on, 2.5 s off. 12 m (39 ft) square pyramidal skeletal tower, mounted on a square concrete base. Lower porton of the tower painted red, upper portion gray. A closeup photo and a more distant view are available. Located on an isolated and dangerous rock about 9 km (6.5 mi) southeast of Malyy Fiskar. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty C5496; NGA 13268.

Mys Krestoviy {Ristniemi}

1893. Active; focal plane 14 m (46 ft); flash every 3.5 s, white, red, or green depending on direction. 6 m (20 ft) round cylindrical cast iron tower, painted white with a black horizontal band, mounted on a tall, tapered round concrete and stone pier. A 2007 photo is available. This lighthouse marks Mys (Cape) Krestoviy, the western entrance to Vyborg Bay. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-315; Admiralty C5492; NGA 13256.

Vyborgskiy Zaliv

1987. Active; focal plane 14 m (46 ft); two white flashes every 8 s. 10 m (33 ft) octagonal concrete tower with double gallery, painted with red and white horizontal bands, mounted on an octagonal concrete base. A 2007 photo is available. This lighthouse stands on a shoal in the middle of the entrance to Vyborg Bay (Vyborgskiy Zaliv) about 7 km (4.3 mi) southeast of Mys Povorotny and 35 km (24 mi) southwest of Vyborg. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS ERU-057. Admiralty C5505; NGA 13258.

Mys Povorotnyy

1924. Active; focal plane 18 m (60 ft); flash every 1.5 s, white, red, or green depending on direction. 10 m (33 ft) octagonal tower with lantern and gallery. Tower painted white with a red horizontal band at the base; lantern painted red. Sergey Volynkin has a photo, Maksim Antipin has a closeup, and another photo is available. This light has two narrow white sectors defining a sharp turn in the approach to Vyborg. The lighthouse was built under Finnish rule and has a typically Finnish design. Caution: there is another Mys Povorotnyy Light near Nakhodka on Russia's Sea of Japan coastline. Located on a small island off Mys (Cape) Povorotnyy, about 3 km (2 mi) southeast of Vilaniyemi and about 30 km (19 mi) southwest of Vyborg. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS ERU-057; Admiralty C5506; NGA 13112.

Vysotsky and Vyborg Lighthouses
Mys Ostryy Range Rear

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 20 m (66 ft); yellow light, 2 s on, 1 s off. 16 m (52 ft) concrete tower, painted white with a black vertical stripe on the range line. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. This is the first of several ranges that guide ships through a very narrow passage between closely spaced islands at Vysotsky (Vysock) in central Vyborg Bay. Located at the tip of a densely forested peninsula about 2 km (1.2 mi) southwest of Vysotsky. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-316; Admiralty C5514.1; NGA 13124.

* Vysotsky-Vizhnyy Range Rear Date unknown. Active; focal plane 25 m (82 ft); white light, 2 s on, 1 s off. 16 m (52 ft) concrete tower, painted white with a black vertical stripe on the range line. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Located between a road and a rail line about 2 km (1.2 mi) south of Vysotsk. Site probably open, tower closed. ARLHS ERU-320; Admiralty C5518.1; NGA 13136. Ostrov Patteri Range Rear Date unknown. Active; focal plane 22 m (72 ft); white light, 2 s on, 2 s off. 16 m (52 ft) concrete tower, painted white with a red vertical stripe on the range line; the tower also carries a white funnel-shaped structure as a daymark. No lantern. Dennis Eremin has posted a photo. This is the rear light of a southbound range. Located about 2 km south of Vysotsky. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-222; Admiralty C5530.1; NGA 13164. ** Vyborg {Viipuri} Castle (Malyy Shchit Range Rear) Date unknown. Active; focal plane 46 m (151 ft); continuous white light visible only on the range line. Light displayed through a window of the 50 m (165 ft) main tower of Vyborg Castle. A photo is at right, a closeup photo is available, as well as an excellent photo of the fortress, and Google has a good satellite view. The historic fortress of Vyborg was established by the Swedes in the 1290s, but the present main tower, known as the tower of St. Olaf, dates from the 1560s. The fortress is the oldest building in northwestern Russia. Located on a small island adjacent to downtown Vyborg. Site open; castle open for tours, including the tower. ARLHS ERU-231; Admiralty C5534; NGA 13188.

Vyborg Castle, 2006; anonymous Creative Commons photo

Primorsk and Mys Seyveste Area Lighthouses
Note: These lighthouses are on the north side of the Gulf and guide vessels en route between Vyborg and St. Petersburg.

Severnyy Beryzovyy (Ostrov Rondo Range Rear)

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 39 m (128 ft); one long flash every 6 s, white, red or green depending on direction. 35 m (115 ft) square skeletal tower; the upper portion of the tower is surrounded by a cylindrical daymark, painted white. A photo and a distant view are available. Located at the northern tip of the island of Severnyy (North) Beryzovyy, about 12 km (7.5 mi) northwest of Primorsk. Site status unknown. Admiralty C5500.1.

Kyurenniyemi {Kyrönniemi}

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 25 m (82 ft); white flash every 3 s. 21 m (69 ft) square cylindrical skeletal tower, painted red. The upper portion of the tower carries a daymark painted white with a black vertical stripe. No photo available. Located on a sharp cape about 11 km (7 mi) northwest of the Stirsudden lighthouse (next entry). Site open, tower closed. Admiralty C5582; NGA 13084.

Stirsudden (Mys Seyveste) (3)

1955 (station established 1873). Active; focal plane 47 m (154 ft); two white flashes every 15 s. 28 m (92 ft) round cylindrical concrete tower with lantern and gallery, rising from a 1-story cement block base. Lighthouse painted with red and white horizontal bands; lantern is red. 1-story brick keeper's house and other light station buildings. A Soviet postage stamp featured the lighthouse. Huelse has a historic postcard view of the original lighthouse, which was destroyed during World War II and replaced by a temporary tower. This light station guards the north side of the entrance to the narrow extension of the Gulf of Finland leading to St. Petersburg, just as the Mys Shepelevski Light (see below) guards the southern entrance. Located atop a cliff on the cape Mys Seyveste, southeast of Ozerki and about 40 km (25 mi) southeast of Vyborg. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-008; Admiralty C5584; NGA 13080.

Mys Flotskiy

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 24 m (79 ft); white flash every 3 s. 20 m (66 ft) square cylindrical skeletal tower, painted red. A white daymark is listed, but a photo shows only two boards of the daymark surviving. Located on Mys Flotskiy, a sandy headland about 7 km (4 mi) east of the Stirsudden lighthouse. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty C5586; NGA 13081.

Kurgolovo Area Lighthouses

Vigrund

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 22 m (72 ft); white flash every 5 s. 20 m (66 ft) square pyramidal skeletal tower, painted red. The lighthouse also carries a slatted daymary. No photo available. Located on a small island about 20 km (13 mi) west of Kaybolovo. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-230; Admiralty C3940; NGA 12964.

Kaybolovo (Kaibolovo)

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 61 m (20 ft); white light, 4 s on, 4 s off. 37 m (121 ft) square cylindrical skeletal tower, the top half covered by a slatted daymark. Tower painted black, daymark white. The Bellona environmental foundation has a photo (about halfway down the page). In 2003, thieves broke into the lighthouse to steal non-ferrous metals. They discarded the radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) that powered the lighthouse, creating a serious case of radioactive pollution. (Soviet-era RTG's are powered by highly radioactive strontium 90, and the presence of these increasingly dilapidated and dangerous power units in unattended lighthouses is a matter of grave international concern.) Located about 7 km (4 mi) southwest of Kurgolovo. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-139; Admiralty C3918; NGA 12972.

* Mys Pikhlisar

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 29 m (95 ft); white flash every 4 s. 25 m (82 ft) square cylindrical skeletal tower, the top half covered by a slatted daymark. Tower painted red, daymark white. A 2008 photo is available. Located on Cape Pikhlisar, marking the western entrance to the Luzhskaya bay, about 6 km (3.5 mi) east of Kurgolovo. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS ERU-142; Admiralty C3976; NGA 12984.

Mys Luto

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 25 m (82 ft); white flash every 3 s. 21 m (69 ft) square cylindrical skeletal tower, the top half covered by a slatted daymark. Tower painted red, daymark white with a black vertical stripe. No photo available, but Google has a good satellite view. Located on a promontory near the middle of the west side of Luzhskaya bay. Site status unknown. Admiralty C3977; NGA 12985.

Kolgampya Area Lighthouses
Gorki

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 181 m (594 ft); white light, 3 s on, 3 s off. 41 m (135 ft) round tower with a large round control room and other facilities, rising from a substantial building. No photo available, but the shadow of the tower is conspicuous in a Google satellite view. We do not know the nature of this installation. Located north of Vistino on the east side of the Luzhskaya bay, about 10 km (6 mi) south southwest of Cape Kolgampya. Site status unknown, probably closed. ARLHS ERU-138; Admiralty C3986; NGA 12988.

Mys Kolgampya (Kolgompya) Range Front

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 24 m (79 ft); quick-flashing white light. 21 m (69 ft) square cylindrical skeletal tower, the top half covered by a slatted daymark. Daymark painted white with a red vertical stripe. No photo available, but Google has a good satellite view. The purpose of this range is unknown; it probably indicates a line east of which special navigational rules apply for the approach to St. Petersburg. Located on the tip of Mys Kolgampya, a prominent cape about 30 km (19 mi) east northeast of Kurgolovo. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERU-076; Admiralty C3988; NGA 12992.

Mys Kolgampya (Kolgompya) Range Rear

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 31 m (102 ft); white light, 2 s on, 2 s off, visible only on the range line. 15 m (49 ft) square pyramidal skeletal tower, painted white. The north side of the tower carries a large slatted daymark painted white with a black vertical stripe. No photo available, but Google has an indistinct satellite view. Located about 1.2 km (3/4 mi) south of the front light and the cape. Site status unknown. Admiralty C3988.1; NGA 12996.

Sosnovy Bor Area Lighthouses

* Mys Ustinskiy (Sosnovy Bor)

Date unknown. Inactive. 29 m (95 ft) square cylindrical skeletal tower, the upper half covered on all sides by a slatted daymark. The tower is painted red, and the daymark is (or was) painted white with a black vertical stripe. A photo is available, and Google has a satellite view. Sosnovy Bor ("Pine Forest") is a new town built in connection with a large nuclear power plant but now also the site of a number of research institutes. Located on Mys Ustinskiy, a sharp cape marking the entrance to Koporye Bay, about 8 km (5 mi) west of Sosnovy Bor. Site open, tower closed. ex-Admiralty C3996.

* Mys Shepelevsky

1910. Active; focal plane 37 m (121 ft); two long white flashes every 16 s, white or red depending on direction. 36 m (118 ft) round cast iron tower with lantern and gallery. Tower painted with horizontal red and white bands; gallery painted black. Keeper's house and other light station buildings. Near the lighthouse is a new communications tower, more than twice the height of the lighthouse, also painted with horizontal red and white bands. Nikita Bogomolov has a closeup photo, Trabas has a photo by Capt. Peter, and Google has a satellite view. This lighthouse was prefabricated in France. It is an important light station guarding the south side of the entrance to the narrow extension of the Gulf of Finland leading to St. Petersburg. Located on the headland of Mys (Cape) Shepelevsky about 60 km (37.5 mi) west of St. Petersburg and 30 km (19 mi) west of Lomonosov. Site open, tower closed unless the keeper can be persuaded to give a tour. ARLHS ERU-007; Admiralty C4004; NGA 13004.

* Krasnaya Gorka

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 60 m (197 ft); white light, 1.5 s on, 1.5 s off. 38 m (125 ft) square cylindrical steel skeletal tower with lantern and gallery. Lighthouse painted red; the upper half of the tower is enclosed by a slatted daymark painted with red and white vertical stripes. 1-story wood service building, painted white. A good photo is available, as well as a closeup of the top of the tower, and Google has a satellite view. Located on the south shore of the Gulf of Finland on the west side of Krasnaya Gorka about 20 km (13 mi) west of Lomonsov. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS ERU-141; Admiralty C4006; NGA 13008.

Kronstadt Area Lighthouses
Note: Kronstadt is the historic home port of Russia's Baltic Fleet. The city and naval base are built on Kotlin Island, located 30 km (19 mi) west of St. Petersburg.

Tolbukhin (2) 1810 (station established 1719). Active; focal plane 29 m (95 ft); white light, 3 s on, 9 s off. 30 m (98 ft) 2-stage round cylindrical old-style stone tower with lantern and gallery, painted white; lantern dome is red. 2-story keeper's house and other light station buildings. Semyon Zakharov's photo is at right, another good photo is available, Trabas has a distant photo by Capt. Peter, and Google has a fine satellite view. This is the oldest active lighthouse in northwestern Russia. Located on a tiny island about 5 km (3 mi) west northwest of the western tip of Ostrov Kotlin, the island on which Kronstadt is located. A map is available. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS ERU-070; Admiralty C4010; NGA 13012. Morskoy Kanal Range Rear 1914. Active; focal plane 40 m (131 ft); long white flash every 6 s. 41.5 m (136 ft) octagonal tower with lantern and gallery. The lighthouse is unpainted gray concrete with black and white horizontal bands on the side facing the range line; this photo shows the daymark. Another photo shows the unpainted side of the tower, Trabas and Capt. Peter's photo is a side view, Dmitry Rostopshin has a distant view from downrange, and Google has a satellite view. The Morskoy Kanal is the dredged channel through Neva Bay (Nevkaya Guba) from Kronstadt to St. Petersburg. The range is an outbound (westbound) range guiding ships away from St. Petersburg. Located about 1 km (0.6 mi) southwest of Fort Kronshlot. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS ERU-050; Admiralty C4059.1; NGA 13056.

Tolbukhin Light, July 2007 photo copyright Semyon Zakharov; used by permission

Fort Nikolai Range Front

1891. Inactive since the early 1920s. 16 m (52 ft) round cast iron tower with lantern and gallery, painted red, built just outside the walls of Fort Kronshlot (formerly Fort Nikolai). An excellent closeup is available, Beasley has good photos (3/4 the way down the page), another photo is available, and Google has a satellite view. The current Fort Kronshlot Light was the rear light of this range. The light became unnecessary after the current Kronstadt Rear Light was built in the 1920s. It appears that the lighthouse has been maintained as a daybeacon, since still stands on the range line. Located 180 m (200 yd) west of the Fort Kronshlot Light on a small island just west of the naval base, near the east end of Ostrov Kotlin. A map is available. Accessible only by boat, but there are distant views from Kronstadt and from the civilian port of Lomonosov on the mainland 3 km (2 mi) to the south. ARLHS ERU-314.

Fort Kronshlot (Kronstadt Range Front) 1891. Active; focal plane 25 m (82 ft); continuous red light shone to the west; white light, 4 s on, 1.5 s off, shone to the east. 25 m (82 ft) round cast iron tower with lantern and gallery, painted red, built just outside the walls of Fort Kronshlot. Pete Amass has a photo (he calls this the Neva Bay lighthouse), Capt. Peter has a good photo, a distant photo of the fort and lighthouse is available, and Google has a satellite view. Built by Peter the Great in 1704, Fort Kronshlot is the oldest of the many fortresses protecting Kronstadt and St. Petersburg. The range guides ships up the channel on the south side of Ostrov Kotlin toward the naval base at Kronstadt. Located on a small island just west of the naval base, near the east end of Ostrov Kotlin. A map is available. Accessible only by boat, but there are distant views from Kronstadt and from the civilian port of Lomonosov on the mainland 3 km (2 mi) to the south. Site and tower closed. ARLHS ERU-046; Admiralty C4012; NGA 13016. Kabotazhnaya Gavan Range Front Date unknown. Active; focal plane 16 m (52 ft); red flash every 1.5 s. 15 m (49 ft) square skeletal tower, mounted on a square concrete pier. The entire lighthouse is enclosed by a wood daymark painted red with a black vertical stripe on the range line. Beasley has three photos (about 3/4 of the way down the page), and Google has a good satellite view. In Beasley's 2009 photos the paint has worn off, obscuring the vertical stripe. This light is a front range light that guides naval vessels as they enter the Kronstadt naval station. Located about 600 m (0.4 mi) north of Fort Kronshlot. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. Admiralty C4020; NGA 13032. Kabotazhnaya Gavan Range Rear (Petrovskaya Pristan) Date unknown. Active; focal plane 31 m (102 ft); quick-flashing red light. 29 m (95 ft) square steel frame tower, faced with wood siding, with lantern and gallery. Lighthouse painted white, except the side facing the range is painted red with a black vertical stripe on the range line; lantern painted red. Evgeny Gerashchenko's photo is at right, another closeup photo is available, Beasley has several good photos (2/3 the way down the page), there's a second photo taken from the shore, another photo shows the lighthouse and the dome of the historic Kronstadt cathedral, and Google has a satellite view. This light is a rear range light that guides naval vessels as they enter the Kronstadt naval station. The lighthouse stands on the Petrovskaya Pristan (mole), one of the breakwaters protecting the main harbor of Kronstadt, the traditional and historic home port of the Russian Navy. Site and tower closed, but there are good views from shore. ARLHS ERU-144; Admiralty C4020.1; NGA 13036.

Kabotazhnaya Gavan Range Rear Light, 2006 Wikipedia Creative Commons photo by Evgeny Gerashchenko

Morskoy Kanal Range Front

1914. Active; focal plane 19 m (62 ft); quick-flashing white light. 20 m (66 ft) octagonal concrete tower with lantern and gallery. The lighthouse is unpainted gray concrete, except the side facing the range is painted black with a white vertical stripe on the range line. A photo appears at the top of this page, Dmitry Rostopshin has a nice view, Trabas has a distant photo by Capt. Peter, and Google has a satellite view. Located about 1.6 km (1 mi) southwest of the Kronstadt lighthouse. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS ERU-049; Admiralty C4059; NGA 13052.

Kronstadt (Range Rear) Early 1920s. Active; focal plane 54 m (177 ft); continuous red light shone only to the west. 54 m (177 ft) octagonal concrete tower with lantern and gallery. Tower is unpainted gray concrete; lantern painted red. Jessica Brach has a 2007 photo, Dmitry Rostopshin has a photo, Beasley has a series of photos (halfway down the page), another photo is available, another photo shows the lighthouse and the city of St. Petersburg in the distance, and Google has a good satellite view. A map is available. Located near the east end of the naval harbor at Kronstadt, about 2.3 km (1.5 mi) east southeast of the front light at Fort Kronshlot. Site and tower closed, but there are good views from shore and distant views from the civilian port of Lomonosov on the mainland 3 km (2 mi) to the south. ARLHS ERU-047; Admiralty C4012.1; NGA 13020. Srednyaya Gavan Date unknown. Active; focal plane 13 m (43 ft); white light, pattern unknown. 10 m (33 ft) octagonal cylindrical cast iron tower, painted red. Rosalie Beasley has four photos (a little over halfway down the page), and Google has a satellite view. This was formerly the rear light of a range, showing a quick-flashing red light, but Beasley's photo show that only one tower survives and that it shows a white light. Located at the corner of a pier at the extreme southeastern tip of the Kronstadt naval base, about 400 m (1/4 mi) southwest of the Kronstadt lighthouse. Site and tower closed. Admiralty C4036.1; NGA 13044. Lightship Irbenskiy 1962. Decommissioned around 1990. 43 m (141 ft) single-masted steel lightship. Hull and mast painted red, superstructure white. Built in Finland for thr Soviet Navy, the Irbenskiy was stationed on the Mikhailovskaya shoal in the Irbensky Strait, between Estonia and Latvia, until it was replaced by a lighthouse in 1986. It was then reassigned to a station off Ventspils, Latvia, although it's not clear if it ever assumed that station. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 it has been moored at the Navy's hydrographic station. In 2009 the Navy announced that it would be scrapped, but a group of veterans is attempting to have it saved for possible display on the Neva River in St. Petersburg. Google has a satellite view of the ship moored at Lomonosov, on the south side of Neva Bay opposite the Kronstadt Naval Base. Site and vessel closed.

Kronstadt Range Rear Light photo copyright Dmitry Rostopshin; used by permission

St. Petersburg Area Lighthouses

* Petrodvorets (Petrodvortsovyj, Peterhof) Range Rear 1887. Active; characteristics unknown. Approx. 10 m (33 ft) round cylindrical cast iron (?) tower with lantern, gallery, and skeletal braces on the seaward side. Tower painted white, lantern and watch room red, and there is a white-bordered red vertical stripe shone on the range line. A photo is at right, and a good photo from the seaward side is also available. Beasley has several photos (about 1/3 the way down the page), including a photo of what is probably the front range light. More information is needed on this lighthouse. The front light is on a short concrete pillar at the waterfront. Located in Peterhof, on the south side of Neva Bay (Nevkaya Guba), below the great tsarist palace. Site status unknown. Site manager: Peterhof State Museum-Reserve. ARLHS ERU-317. Lesnoy Mole Range Front Date unknown. Active; focal plane 21 m (69 ft); red light, 2 s on, 1 s off. 16 m (52 ft) square cylindrical skeletal tower, painted black. The upper 2/3 of the west side of the tower carries a slatted daymark, painted red with a black vertical stripe. Trabas has a closeup photo by Capt. Peter, and Google has a satellite view. Located at the end of the Lesnoy docks on teh St. Petersburg waterfront. Site and tower probably closed to the public. Admiralty C4062; NGA 13072. Lesnoy Mole Range Middle Date unknown. Active; focal plane 26 m (85 ft); green light, 3 s on, 2 s off. 24 m (79 ft) square skeletal tower, painted black. Trabas has a photo by Capt. Peter, and the shadow of the tower is seen amidst a large number of containers in a Google satellite view. Located at the west end of the containership port; site and tower probably closed to the public. Admiralty C4062.05; NGA 13074. Lesnoy Mole Range Rear Date unknown. Active; focal plane 76 m (249 ft); red light occulting once every 4 s. 73 m (239 ft) round tower with lantern and several galleries, painted with red and white horizontal bands. A small photo is available (1/3 the way down the page), and the long shadow of the tower is conspicuous in this Google satellite view. This is the tallest Russian lighthouse and may be the world's tallest range light. The range guides ships into the commericial harbor of St. Petersburg, on the south side of the city. Front and middle lights are on skeletal towers. Located in a dockyard area on the waterfront; site and tower probably closed to the public. Admiralty C4062.2; NGA 13076. * St. Petersburg Rostral Columns 1811. Inactive. Two ornate red columns with galleries, topped by gas burners on tripods and decorated with six ships prows. Lights were displayed at the tops of the towers during the nineteenth century and decorative gas lights are lit there on special occasions today. A nice panoramic photo is available, and Google has a satellite view. Located at the eastern end of Vasilievski Island in downtown St. Petersburg, where the Neva River divides into two channels as it approaches the Gulf of Finland. Site open, towers closed. Site manager: City of St. Petersburg. ARLHS ERU-311.

Peterhof Lighthouse, April 2007 anonymous Creative Commons photo

Information available on lost lighthouses:

• Gogland Range Front, (?-?), Gogland

Notable faux lighthouses:

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Posted May 22, 2005. Checked and revised June 2, 2009. Lighthouses: 45; lightships: 1. Site copyright 2009 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.