Nieuwpoort Lighthouse, Maritime landmark at Old Sea Dyke, Nieuwpoort, Belgium

Nieuwpoort Lighthouse is a 29-metre concrete tower on the right bank of the IJzer estuary, painted in alternating red and white horizontal bands so it works as a landmark by day. Three small rectangular windows are set into the front face, one in each of the upper bands. A wider circular gallery with a railing and a glazed lantern sit on top; the light itself is 28 metres above the water.

A stone lighthouse ordered by Gwijde van Dampierre in 1284 stood at the harbour mouth, paired with a movable wooden tower to form a light line; English raids damaged both in 1383. The stone tower was destroyed with explosives by the Belgian army on 18 October 1914. A 26-metre tower built in the Lombardsijde dunes from 1881 was shot apart by a British warship on 30 October 1914. The acetylene-gas tower of 1922–1926 was dismantled by the retreating German army in 1944, and its lens system, stored in Paris, was fitted into the present concrete tower of 1949.

The tower is a protected monument, listed in 2004. Its name recalls the old "vierboete", from the French "bouter le feu" (to light a fire), the term used for the medieval fires that guided ships into the IJzer mouth. The last keeper retired in 1963 and was never replaced.

The lighthouse has operated automatically since 1963 through remote control, requiring no permanent staff on site. Visit when weather permits clear views to appreciate both the tower and the surrounding coastal landscape where the river meets the sea.

The Fresnel lens system inside weighs about 150 kg and turns on a toothed gear, making one revolution every 14 seconds to produce two red flashes. It was removed for safekeeping in Paris during World War II and later mounted in the rebuilt tower. A diesel generator takes over if the power grid fails, and an astro clock switches the light on at dusk and off at dawn.