Eckwarden rear range light, Range lighthouse in Butjadingen, Germany.
Eckwarden rear range light is a 45-meter-tall cast iron structure located on the Butjadingen coast designed to guide ships through the Jade Bight waters. It functioned alongside a front range light to create precise navigation channels for passing vessels.
The Eckwarden range light line was commissioned in 1962 to mark the third section of the fairway to Wilhelmshaven's ports. The rear light stood on the dike at Eckwarderhörne, while its 18.4-metre front light was mounted on a steel pipe in the mudflats off Butjadingen. The line, bearing 154°, showed a white isophase light every three seconds. It was switched off on 5 June 2012 when the new Jappensand range took over after the JadeWeserPort fairway was realigned.
The name Preußeneck recalls Prussia's 1853 Jade Treaty purchase of about 2.2 hectares at Butjadingen's southwest tip, which placed Eckwarderhörne in Prussian territory. The tower now houses a documentation centre in its former engine house, and its 18.4-metre platform is open to visitors.
Access to the lighthouse is from the landside via marked paths along the coast in Butjadingen. The structure sits in a coastal setting where weather conditions can change quickly, so visitors should come prepared.
The tower's name recalls Prussia's 1853 Jade Treaty purchase of about 2.2 hectares at Butjadingen's southwest tip, which placed Eckwarderhörne in Prussian territory. A citizens' initiative founded in 2009 campaigned to save the light, and after demolition was halted in October 2012 the tower passed to the Stiftung Oberfeuer Preußeneck.
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